Bouncing Checks

Bulgarian author Georgi Gospodinov on politics and history:

In a recent interview pegged to the International Booker Prize, Gospodinov said Time Shelter looked beyond his country’s borders and was inspired by the global turn toward populism. “I come from a system that sold a ‘bright future’ under communism,” he said. “Now the stakes have shifted, and populists are selling a ‘bright past.’ 

 “I know via my own skin that both checks bounce,” Gospodinov added. “They are backed by nothing.”