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Ilija Trojanow
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| Der Weltensammler |
The Collector of Worlds
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480 pages, Hardcover |
| Publication date: March 4, 2006 |
| ISBN: 3-446-20652-3 |
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British officer Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890), hero of Ilija Trojanow?s novel, is one of the strangest characters in a century rich in eccentrics: rejecting the comforts of 19th century colonial life, he obsessively learns indigenous languages, studies foreign religions, and travels, to the horror of local authorities, anonymously in alien lands. A convert to Islam, Burton becomes one of the first Europeans to enter, unsuspected, the holy sites of Mecca and Medina. His journey to the sources of the Nile turns into a mental and physical test of strength that leads to a complete breakdown. What drove this man who lived with a courtesan in India and studied religious texts at night, an Englishman who blended in amongst the Arabs and who, on his African travels, submitted himself to physical exertions so gruelling that even the natives considered them inhuman.
Ilija Trojanow has written a novel full of fascinating details and insights, trailing his hero through three continents to understand his fascination for Hinduism, Islam and African tribal myths. Simultaneously, his highly topical book explains why Western civilization still fails to understand the dynamics and secrets of foreign cultures.
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»Trojanow surprises us as only he can.« – Der Spiegel
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Ilija Trojanow, born 1965 in Sofia, grew up in Kenya and lives now in South Africa. Publications in Hanser Verlag include the novel DIE WELT IST GROSS UND RETTUNG LAUERT ÜBERALL (1995), a report from Bulgaria, HUNDEZEITEN. HEIMKEHR IN EIN FREMDES LAND (1999), and a travel book on India and the Ganges (2003).
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Sales to Foreign Countries
Arabic (Al Kamel), Netherlands (De Geus), Italy (Ponte alle Grazie), France (Buchet-Chastel), Poland (Twoj Styl), China (Yilin Press), Taiwan (Business Weekly), UK (Faber & Faber), Czech Republic (HOST), Bulgaria(Ciela Soft), USA (HarperCollins), Spanish (Tusquets), Spanish Catalan(RBA), Korea (Bookstory), Hungary (Cartaphilus), Romania (RAO), Russia (Logos)
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