Boeing-747 (New Canada Fiction Book 1)

Boeing-747 by Victor Tzakov is a highly topical migrant’s tale, delivered in a sequence of sharply conveyed episodes. There is no fat sentimentality in this rollercoaster of a narrative. The reader must be ready for shocking twists and turns. The underlying truth is that the migrant can expect ruthless exploitation of his weak position, but on this journey, he benefits from the unexpected “kindness of strangers.” With its switchback rhythm and its eye for concrete detail, this book could best be compared to Jack Kerouac’s On the Road or Gregory Roberts’ best seller Shantaram. The hero/antihero is a Bulgarian, who chooses to escape Bulgaria, at the very moment when Communism has given way to a democratic false dawn. He therefore has to convince the tough immigration judges that he has a genuine case to plead as a political refugee. Our man has quick wits but only a marriage can secure his continued stay. On top of this he has to navigate the extraordinary new country he finds himself in, a Bulgarian English speaker in Montreal at the heart of the intensely Francophone province of Quebec. Exposed to the alien size of Canada, our Bulgarian fights his way up from delivering junk mail in temperatures below minus forty, to surviving in the capitalist jungle. He thrives on his wits but he has always to fear betrayal from those closest to him. Like any migrant, he is a whisker away from catastrophe. The portrait of our hero is unsparing, particularly in the account of his personal relationships. But as he increasingly compares himself to a wolf in the jungle, fortunate encounters help him survive. And he is able to redeem himself with a magnificent piece of bravery in the end.