num_pages: 0
description: The Real Thing is a memoir of a post-student adventure in the 1980s. After attending a music conservatory and realizing the glamour life of a concert pianist probably wasn't in the cards I got hooked on Bulgarian folk music. In a quest for the pure musical traditions and likewise searching for authenticity in my life I learned a bit of the language and traveled around Bulgaria for several months. I didn't expect purity and authenticity to include being removed from a bus at gunpoint being prevented from leaving the country when I wanted to or experiencing unique moments of friendship and sharing across a daunting cultural divide.
language: English
title: The Real Thing: Searching for Authenticity in Communist Bulgaria
publisher: Brad Hill