Overview
Eleven Sooty Dreams could also have been called Meeting at Bolcho Pride, or Fire Deep Down Below, or Station in the Heart of the Flames, or Granny Holgolde’s Stories, or The Liars’ Bridge, or Eve of Battle After the Defeat, or Never Without My Embers, or Good-Bye to Death, or Fire Stories, or Terminal Childhoods, or Granny Holgolde’s Childish Sickness, or Even the Nursing Home Is in the Line of Fire.
In Manuela Draeger’s poetic ‘post-exotic’ novel, a group of young leftists trapped in a burning building after one year’s Bolcho Pride parade plunge back into their childhood memories, trading them with each other as their lives are engulfed in flames. They remember Granny Holgolde’s stories of the elephant Marta Ashkarot as she travels through the Bardo, to find her home and be reincarnated again and again. They remember the Soviet folk singer Lyudmila Zykina and her melancholic, simple songs of unspeakable beauty. They remember the half-human birds Granny Holgolde called strange cormorants, the ones who knew how to live in fire, secrecy, and death, and as the flames get higher they hope to become them.
Draeger, a heteronym for the acclaimed French writer Antoine Volodine, and a librarian in a dystopic prison camp, gives post-exoticism an element of tenderness, and a sense of nostalgia for children’s tales, that is far less visible in the other authors’ works. Eleven Sooty Dreams is her first book written for adults, a moving story of the constancy of brotherly, loving faithfulness.
While major retailers like Amazon may carry Eleven Sooty Dreams, we specialize in bulk book sales and offer personalized service from our friendly, book-smart team based in Portland, Oregon. We’re proud to offer a Price Match Guarantee and a streamlined ordering experience from people who truly care.
We’re trusted by over 75,000 customers, many of whom return time and again. Want proof? Just check out our 25,000+ customer reviews—real feedback from people who love how we do business.
Prefer to talk to a real person? Our Book Specialists are here Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST and ready to help with your bulk order of Eleven Sooty Dreams.