Foto do autor

Ran Bosilek (1886–1958)

Autor(a) de Патиланци

7 Works 15 Membros 3 Reviews

About the Author

Obras de Ran Bosilek

Патиланци (2012) 5 cópias
Blackbird (1990) 3 cópias
Fairy Tales (2005) 1 exemplar(es)

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Nome de batismo
Негенцов, Генчо Станчев
Outros nomes
Босилек, Ран
Negentsov, Gencho Stanchev
Bosikek, Ran
Data de nascimento
1886-09-26
Data de falecimento
1958-10-08
Sexo
male
Nacionalidade
Bulgaria
País (para mapa)
Bulgaria
Local de nascimento
Gabrovo, Bulgaria
Local de falecimento
Sofia, Bulgaria

Membros

Resenhas

Ran Bossilek, born as Gencho Stanchev Negentsov, was a twentieth-century Bulgarian children's author of some renown, and although he has not been widely translated into English, I have long been familiar with his name. Having managed to track down two of his stories in translation - The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple and Blackbird - I have long wanted to read this more significant collection of tales. I was therefore quite pleased when I managed to obtain it through inter-library loan. There are forty-nine folktales here, taken from the Bulgarian tradition, and ranging from brief two-page vignettes to longer, more adventure-laden stories. Many of the stories feature animals, and have parallels in other traditions, whether Aesopic or Russian. They often feature folk characters quite common in Bulgarian and other Slavic traditions: Kuma Lisa the fox, Kumcho Vulcho the wolf, Zow Pow the rabbit, and of course, Grandmother Martha (AKA Baba Marta), who is said to bring the spring, and who is commemorated in the Bulgarian holiday of Baba Marta Day on March 1st.

I enjoyed these stories quite a bit, although there were definitely a few minor issues with the translation, particularly as it concerned incorrect or missing words. Fairy Tales was put out by the Sofia-based A&T Publishing, presumably for the tourist market, but does not appear to have been published outside of the country. I would love to see a western translation/edition, and for these stories to become more widely known in the English-speaking world. As always, given my love of comparative folklore, I enjoyed picking out similarities between the stories Bossilek told and those taken from other traditions. Examples include: The Golden Bird, which can also be found in the Brothers Grimm, or Entertaining, which peoples the Aesopic fable of The Fox and the Stork with Bulgarian folk characters like Kuma Lisa. Apparently The Golden Apple is a favorite tale in Bulgaria, and it appears, in slightly different form, in Bossilek's own The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple. Recommended to anyone interested in folklore in general, or Bulgarian traditional tales specifically.
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Marcado
AbigailAdams26 | Jul 11, 2019 |
A blackbird finds herself tormented by Aunt Vixen in this picture-book from Bulgaria. Each day the fox returns and demands one of her eggs, until finally the avian mother is bereft. Convinced that she will be next, the little bird is weeping when a dog happens by, and taking pity upon her, advises her to tell the vixen to pursue the "nice fat hen" in the nearby bushes, where he (the dog) will be hiding. A chase ensues, leading back to the fox's den, where Aunt Vixen addresses each of her body parts - her feet, eyes, ears and tail - finding all are loyal, save the tail. Her decision to "punish" her tail by giving it to the dog however, leads to her destruction, as he pulls her out of the den by it...

Published in English in 1990 by the Sofia-based Bulgarski Houdozhnik Publishing House, Blackbird reads like a traditional folktale, although it is possible that it is an original story from author Ran Bosilek, a children's author and translator famous in his own country. Unfortunately, not many of his stories have been translated into English, and what is available in that language has been published within Bulgaria, making it difficult to obtain elsewhere. I tracked down a copy through inter-library loan (my copy was a scan from the Library of Congress), and am glad I did. This isn't really a happy story - the fox is rather vicious, and then meets a gruesome end - but it is certainly fascinating. The artwork, created by Victor Paounov, is immensely expressive, with many delightful moments full of humor. I particularly liked Aunt Vixen's gloating looks, toward the beginning of the book, and Dog's wide-eyed surprise, when hearing Blackbird's story. I've only read one other tale from Bosilek - The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple - but I enjoyed this one enough that I hope to track down his collection, Fairy Tales. Recommended to readers interested in Bulgarian children's books, although they might find it rather difficult to track down.
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Marcado
AbigailAdams26 | Apr 23, 2019 |
Three brothers attempt to protect their mother's golden apple from the marauding Whirlwind in this retelling of a Bulgarian folktale, but predictably, it is the youngest who succeeds. Injuring the airborne thief when he attempts to snatch the fruit, the youngest brother enlists his siblings in his quest to track the miscreant down. But when he is lowered into the Whilrwind's underground lair, and rescues three beautiful maidens after slaying their captor, the youngest brother finds himself stranded deep under the earth by his duplicitous elders. Falling even further, into the Lower Land, the young man has further adventures, from slaying a dragon holding the entire country hostage, to saving a nest of eaglets from a three-headed snake. Finally, with the help of the grateful people and animals he has aided, the youngest brother returns home, there to reclaim his maiden, and presumably to live happily ever after.

Published in 1974 by Sofia Press, based in Bulgaria's capital, this charming picture-book presents an English translation - presumably meant for the tourist market - of a Bulgarian children's book. It reminded me of many similar titles I have read from the former Soviet Union, from publishing houses such as Raduga, or Progress Publishers, who often made children's books from that country available in English translation. Ran Bossilek's tale is the first example of this I have seen from Bulgaria however, and as such is quite interesting to me. The tale itself is engaging, and reminded me of a number of folktales from diverse cultures which feature this basic storyline. The artwork by Stoyan Iliev is lovely, with its stylized folk-art feeling - I particularly liked the designs contained in the clothing of the various characters - and its deep colors. Some pages resembled rather dark stained-glass windows, I thought. All in all, The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple is a title worth tracking down, and is one I would recommend to folklore lovers, as well as readers interested in Bulgarian children's literature. Where a copy might be obtained, however, is another question...
… (mais)
 
Marcado
AbigailAdams26 | Sep 9, 2015 |

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Associated Authors

Stoyan Iliev Illustrator
Victor Paounov Illustrator
Evgenia Vojnova Illustrator
Terry Whalen Translator

Estatísticas

Obras
7
Membros
15
Popularidade
#708,120
Avaliação
½ 3.4
Resenhas
3
ISBNs
4
Idiomas
1