Set in the remote mountain area of Stranzha in South East Bulgaria, Kerana Angelova's novel explores vital tensions between human physicality and spirituality in a narrative spanning four generations. The dramatic action takes place amidst a pervasive but threatened natural environment, of ancient forests, ruthlessly logged and a sea which is overfished. Stranzha is a place that is a place that is both specific and otherworldly, in time and out of time, a place where old pagan/Christian practices persist, despite the changes in the outside world - vicious territorial wars, ethnic cleansing and communism. Remote Stranzha proves to be an ideal stage for an entirely original examination of the human condition." -- Christopher Buxton, novelist and translator