Dimitar Todorov Dimov ( bg, Димитър Тодоров Димов, 25 June 1909 – 1 April 1966) was a

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

dramatist, novelist and veterinary surgeon.

Biography

Born in

Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast f ...

, Dimov is best known for his best-selling novel ''Tobacco'' ( bg, Тютюн, translit. ''Tyutyun'', 1951) which was made into the 1962 film ''Tobacco'' directed by

Nikola Korabov Nikola Korabov ( bg, Никола Корабов, 7 December 1928 – 10 November 2016) was a Bulgarian film director and screenwriter. He directed thirteen films between 1956 and 1999. His 1962 film ''Tyutyun'' was entered into the 1963 Cannes ...

. The plot of Dimov's ''Tobacco'' deals with the fates of a number of characters connected to a major tobacco factory. The central thread of the plot is the story of Boris, an ambitious youth of poor origins who renounces his first love Irina to marry Maria, the heiress of the tobacco business. He proceeds to steer the business with great greed and ruthlessness. His wife's descent into insanity and death in the loveless marriage subsequently allows him to marry Irina, who has studied to become a doctor, but is seduced by the promise of the luxurious life as a mistress and eventually spouse of an affluent factory owner. However, their common life is poisoned by the preceding events and by their own selfishness and moral decay. Other characters, including a brother of Boris and a friend of Irina who works at the factory, are devoted to the Communist movement and its struggle; these and various other plot threads make the book into a broader picture of capitalist Bulgaria in the years leading up to the Communist seizure of power. The novel criticises the egoism, careerism, greed and exploitation characteristic of the class society that it depicts from a socialist perspective. Other novels authored by Dimov are ''Lieutenant Benz'' (1938), a story of fatal love between flawed characters during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

; and '' Doomed Souls'' (1945), a tragic tale of a dissolute young Englishwoman's passionate obsession with a fanatical and reactionary

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

set in Spain during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. His plays included ''Holiday in Arko Iris'' and ''Women with a Past''. Dimov died in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. There is a bust of Dimov in the

Borisova gradina Borisova gradina or Knyaz-Borisova gradina ( bg, Борисова градина or Княз-Борисова градина, translated as Boris' Garden or Knyaz Boris' Garden) is the oldest and best known park in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. I ...

park behind the

Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium ( bg, Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,2 ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

. His daughter

Theodora Dimova Theodora Dimova ( Bulgarian: Теодора Димова) (born 19 September 1960 in Sofia, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian writer and playwright. She graduated in English Language Studies from the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and has studie ...

is also a writer. In addition, a number of

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

s across Bulgaria are named in his honor (particularly in his hometown of

and in

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

References

Bibliography

* Димитър Веселинов. Френската лексика в романа "Тютюн" he French words in the novel Tobacco София, Сиела, 2009, 304 с.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimov, Dimitar Bulgarian writers 1909 births 1966 deaths Bulgarian novelists Male novelists Bulgarian male writers Male veterinarians People from Lovech Burials at Central Sofia Cemetery 20th-century Bulgarian novelists Bulgarian veterinarians 20th-century male writers