Going with a group of artist/photographers to Romania & Bulgaria and would love to have suggestions for any books/movies that would be a source of inspiration to 'get them in the mood.' Fiction or historical works with ties to either of those countries would be great. I will also be making a music cd to play while on our trip so would love any appropriate music that might work (can't say I am too familiar with this genre of music) Thanks for the help.
Posted by
St. Louis, MO USA
1976 posts
Hi Terry kathryn - what a cool trip! If you have any voracious readers in your group, you could suggest "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. The book takes place in both countries, I believe (Bulgaria for sure) and is a re-envisioning of the Dracula story. It's long and pretty dark, as befits a novel about Dracula, but I recommend it.
Posted by
OP
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
Thanks Sarah... We will have a few that are avid readers so I am glad to have something to recommend... might try to fit in time to read it myself.
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2367 posts
You can look on Graffiti Wall section of this site and it recommends novels that might be of help, not sure if it covers your area or not.
Posted by
Pearland, Texas, USA
441 posts
I don't have any books/movies to recommend but this always inspires me.
http://www.theglobaltrip.com/tgt_v3/photos/wouldyou/
Posted by
Everywhere
42 posts
"Between the Woods and the Water" (Patrick Leigh Fermor), anything by Herta Muller ("The Land of Green Plums", "The Appointment", "The Passport"), "Bury Me Standing" (Roma people), "The Last Hundred Days" (Patrick McGuinness). for a quick history I would recommend "Balkan Ghosts" (the chapters on Romania and Bulgaria), more in depth "Romania" Lucian Boia, Bradt travel guides has a good Transylvania guide. I hesitate to rec. movies but "Tales from the Golden Age" is quite good, different short films about 1980s Romania.
Posted by
white plains, ny, usa
4140 posts
Hello Terry ,Just back from Italy and Switzerland and saw your post . As far as music is concerned, have a listen to the work of Georges Enesco , well known Roumanian composer . He wrote much beautiful music. Two of the best examples are the Roumanian Rhapsodies numbers one and two . While not strictly Roumanian or Bulgarian , music by Bela Bartok ( Hungarian ) and Antonin Dvorak ( Czech ) are similar in style and approach to fit the bill musically ( with a little poetic licence ) Enjoy the Rhapsodies ,they are beautiful ! Best , Steve
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
3049 posts
"Forget the Balkans, This is Romania!" is a fantastic book but I wouldn't recommend it BEFORE the trip. Afterwards, they'll find it quite humorous.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2338 posts
Check out the RS tour page for his Bulgaria tour - under the "Videos and More" tab on the tour page there are movie, music, and book suggestions. I also second "The Historian" for a good read.