fiction paperback

[Sava Mintchev]

Yesterday's Sunday Times contains a review of The Porcupine, a new
book by Julian Barnes. The reviewer, Ned Balfe, writes:

The novel draws freely on the trial of Todor Zhivkov, the former
Bulgarian leader, although Barnes is more concerned to examine
the ways in which political discourse has been corrupted.
Solinsky, the prosecutor, is a cautious time-server, an
academic lawyer without real conviction or belief, and the result
is that Petkanov, the ideologue, speaks with an earthy, convinced
realism that makes Solinsky's arguments sound thin and unconvincing.
They don't even convince Solinsky himself, who has to resort to
the dishonesties of the old regime in order to get a conviction.

The book is published by Picador @ 5 pounds in the UK.

Sava