"Shrimp" is a novel in which Bulgaria's ancient history meets its more recent communist past and its chaotic, troubled present.
A young woman with mesmerizing green eyes and a representative of the world's oldest profession, Diva Mila is a superstar in the colorful and mystical world of clairvoyants, fortune tellers, and soothsayers. People flock to her in the hope of catching a glimpse of what awaits them in the future.
One of her strangest clients is the Assistant - a man who claims to be the right-hand man of the mythical underworld boss Gorki, although he himself is actually pulling the strings in the criminal world.
Bor, a newly unemployed loser in his 20s, is dating the Assistant's only daughter. The crime boss and his ever-silent wife hate the boy and are desperate to see him out of their daughter's life.
Like Updike, Kotsev uses comedy to talk about serious topics: ancient Bulgarian history, the communist past, the chaos of the present, widespread corruption, human superstitions, racism, and the connections between people. Many of the absurd but very realistic incidents in the book are told in the spirit of the dry humor of Ilf and Petrov, mixed with the fabulous, captivating style of Tom Robbins.
The result is a cinematic, absurd, but real novel - playful, observant, satirical and skillfully constructed, which finds the perfect balance to become a bewitching, charming, and endlessly entertaining read.