Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2026 All Rights Reserved

A novel by Ilko Minev is a bestseller in Brazil

Photo: BTA/Personal archive

The novel "Onde estão as flores" ("As Flowers Go: Escape to Homeland Amazonia") by Bulgarian writer Ilko Minev ranked second in the list of best-selling books in Brazil for the period 20-26 March 2023, the website Ploshtadslaveikov reported. 

The novel's protagonist, Licco Hazan, is an elderly man born in Bulgaria who settles in Amazonia. The book recounts the little-known and intensely intriguing story of how 50,000 Bulgarian Jews were rescued from the gas chambers during Nazi domination of Europe, details the flow of Jewish immigrants to the country's sparsely populated northern Manaus region and advocates, without ideologizing, a world without war, the book's synopsis in the ranking states.

In a 2018 interview with Radio Bulgaria's Albena Bezovska, Ilko Minev tells how he ended up in Brazil: 'In 1969, something happened in my life that surprised me and turned me into a dissident. In fact, a very good friend of mine became a dissident and the State Security did not believe that I was not involved. It became difficult for me, it was clear that I had no future in Bulgaria. The opportunity arose to leave the country and I went to Belgium, where I studied economics, and in 1972 I went to Brazil. Soon after my arrival I went to Manaus for three months and I have been there for 46 years now."




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Deultum Debelt archeological reserve

Celebrating 1160th anniversary of adoption of Christianity in Bulgaria continues at Deultum Debelt archeological reserve

On the day the Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of St. Archangel Michael, the National Archaeological Reserve "Deultum-Debelt" will mark 1,160 years since the Christianization of the Bulgarian people. The event will be attended by Vice..

published on 11/8/25 9:25 AM

In Calligraphic Nikolay Buzov equates paintings with the art of beautiful lettering

In his latest exhibition, Nikolay Buzov follows the principles of calligraphic art, offering a polyphony of abstract symbols and signs. His canvases emanate the sense of ease and freedom with which he creates his geometric structures. “The title..

published on 11/7/25 11:23 AM

Film about Bulgarian composer Dimitar Nenov will be screened in New York

On November 11 at 6:30 p.m., the Consulate General of Bulgaria in New York will host a special screening of a short film (18 min.) dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the prominent Bulgarian intellectual, composer and pianist Dimitar Nenov . During..

published on 11/6/25 9:40 AM