Four Minutes
Bulgaria

Four Minutes

by Nataliya Deleva

Society & Class Contemporary Fiction Fiction Short Stories 2017

Summary

Four Minutes explores the lives of people who exist on the margins of society in post-communist Bulgaria, focusing on loneliness, trauma, and the struggle to be seen and understood. At its centre is Leah, a woman who grew up in an orphanage marked by neglect and abuse. Now in her thirties, she continues to grapple with the wounds of her childhood while trying to build a meaningful life. When she volunteers at an orphanage, she forms a bond with Dara, a nine-year-old girl who has stopped speaking following her father’s murder. Leah hopes to adopt her, but prejudice and bureaucracy stand in her way.

Interwoven with Leah’s story are nine shorter portraits of other marginalised people, including Roma women and children, refugees, and survivors of abuse. Each section is designed to be read in approximately four minutes, reflecting the idea that a brief moment of genuine attention can foster empathy. Through these interconnected stories, Nataliya Deleva examines abandonment, exclusion, and the human need for connection, asking what it takes to truly see another person.

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About the author
Nataliya Deleva
Nataliya Deleva

Nataliya Deleva is a Bulgarian-born writer living in London, known for her emotionally nuanced fiction exploring social exclusion, trauma, identity, and belonging. Born in 1978, she studied public relations at Sofia University and has worked in journalism and digital marketing alongside her literary career. Her debut novel, Four Minutes (2017), originally published in Bulgarian as Невидими (Invisible), portrays people living on the margins of post-communist Bulgarian society. Through interconnected stories, the novel examines childhood trauma, loneliness, prejudice, and the struggle to be seen and accepted. It won the Best Debut Novel award at Bulgaria’s Peroto Literary Awards in 2018 and was shortlisted for Novel of the Year. Her second novel, Arrival (2022), written originally in English, explores domestic abuse, migration, motherhood, and the search for safety and belonging. Deleva’s work gives voice to overlooked lives and challenges the social structures that render certain people invisible.

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Details
Published
2017
Author
Nataliya Deleva