<img class="alignleft" title="Under the Yoke" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hYTkVdy3mY4/Shh0WO9--uI/AAAAAAAAAwk/xTs8mnFMKng/s400/Under_the_yoke.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="240" />Yesterday I decided that I should track down a copy of <em>Under the Yoke</em>.  I was returning a long overdue library book. Yes, I love books but I also love to forget to return them. I read them and promptly forget about them.

Anyhow, today Bulgaria is celebrating Liberation Day--liberation from the Ottoman Empire.  So I figured what better way to spend a part of this national holiday than by reading <em>Under the Yoke</em>?

Well it turns out that our library has copies of the novel in Bulgarian (as it should) and in French (really?!) but we don't have an English language copy (um, yes, this is the American College of Sofia and we don't have a copy in English).  I look inquisitively at the librarian, she shrugs and I go back to my classroom.  It looks like I wont be reading <em>Under the Yoke </em>this holiday.  Foiled.<!--more-->

At home I decided to see if I can get a copy of <em>Under the Yoke</em> for my Kindle. Nope. But I do send the publisher a request even though it's clearly a long shot. I've never heard of the publisher. I do learn that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Under-Yoke-Bulgarian-Liberty-Introduction/dp/0543691780/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1267604572&amp;sr=8-2">amazon.com</a> has copies of the novel for $24 however this seems like a lot for a paperback.  Oh and I notice that the book has no reviews on amazon and that it's #709,410 on the amazon.com best seller's list.

Now here's the thing, I didn't expect the novel to be a best seller. Hell, I wasn't even sure I'd be able to find a copy on amazon. It's not like this is a popular title in the English speaking world. But it is interesting.

This novel, <em>Under the Yoke</em> by Ivan Vasov is credited as being  Bulgaria's first novel. As I understand it, it's a novel about life in Bulgaria while still under Ottoman rule or as the title implies the life of a people under the yoke of slavery.  It has elements of romance, war, rebellion and I am told there's even a section of the novel about education. It's a novel that is credited with helping to shape and solidify the national identity and psyche of the country.

I told one of my Bulgarian friends about my failure to get my hands on a copy of the novel and she laughed. Then she told me that I should just plan on reading it in April.  Apparently it's the perfect book to read in April given the  aptly named<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Uprising"> April Uprising</a>.

Perfect. Now all I need is a copy of the novel. In English.

So before I spend an entire Saturday visiting every book store in Sofia looking for an English language copy of <em>Under the Yoke</em>, I thought I'd ask my loyal Bulgarian readers if anyone has seen a copy of the novel in a bookstore recently. I'd also encourage you to get your hands on a copy of the novel and you can read or re-read the novel along with me during the month of April.  Yep, that's a challenge.