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 Notes from Hell, 2014 eBook edition | |
| Author | Nikolay Yordanov and Valya Chervenyashka |
|---|---|
| Translators | Milena Todorova (English), Doncho Hristev (French) |
| Language | Bulgarian, English, French |
| Genre | Biographical novel |
| Publisher | Hermes Books (2009), 30 Degrees South Publishers (2010), NY Creative and Publishing (2014) |
Publication date | November 20, 2009; 15 years ago (November 20, 2009) |
| Pages | 140 |
| ISBN | 978-619-90250-3-1[1] |
| Followed by | Don't Tell Mama |
| Website | www |
Notes from Hell (Bulgarian: "Записки от ада") is abiographical novel, written by Nikolay Yordanov and Valya Cherveniashka about her life in several Libyan prisons during theHIV trial in Libya. It follows the events during eight and a half years, spent behind bars under the rule ofMuammar Gaddafi. Cherveniashka, together with six more medics, was accused of being involved in the mass murder of hundreds of Libyan children, by deliberately infecting them withthe HIV virus in a hospital inBenghazi. She was sentenced to death several times between 2002 and 2007, and released after political negotiations on 24 July 2007.[2]
Yordanov met Cherveniashka during filming of the TV showPsychic Challenge in 2008, and proposed that they write the book together.[3] They met several times in her daughter's apartment inSofia.[4] The process took one and a half years, and the first edition was published in November 2009.
In 1999 seventeen Bulgarian nurses were kidnapped from ahospital in Benghazi,Libya where they worked and were confined in a police station in the capitalTripoli. During the next eight and a half years five of the nurses, including Cherveniashka, were held in different prisons accused of deliberately infecting more than 400 children withHIV. They survivedtorture, physical and mental abuse, and several death sentences, before their liberation in 2007.[5] Cherveniashka told her story to herco-author one year after her return to Bulgaria.
All of the defendants in the case claim that they had been tortured. In the chapters "The Red Carpet",[6] "The Hell in Me", and "Death Women Walking" Cherveniashka describes in details tens of different methods of torture she experienced, including drowning, beating, hanging, dog attacks and many more. She was also subjected to psychological violence, such as simulated infection with the HIV virus, and executions of other prisoners meters away from her cell.
The book was first published inBulgaria by Hermes Books as"Записки от ада: Ужасите в либийските затвори"("Notes from Hell: The Horror of the Libyan Prisons") on November 20, 2009.[7] On December 2, 2009, it was presented by Bulgaria's ex-foreign Minister of International Affairs -Solomon Passy,[8] who worked active on medics release.
In March 2010Notes from Hell was published inSouthern Africa by "30° South Publishers" as"Notes from Hell: A Bulgarian Nurse in Libya".[9]
"Notes From Hell" was re-issued as e-book by 30° South Publishers in 2011. Three years later it was published again in Bulgarian and English by NY Creative and Publishing.It's available on various formats, including epub, mobi, PDF and Kindle on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, etc., as well in the major online libraries.
In 2017, marking tenth anniversary of the medics liberation, a French language edition was published with different cover and new subtitle asNotes from Hell: A True Story.[4]
In 2018 British actress Nano Nagle recorded Cherveniashka's confession inaudiobook adaptation of the story.[10]
| Date Published | Title | Subtitle | Publisher | Territory | Language | Type | ISBN/ASIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 20, 2009 | "Записки от ада" | "Ужасите в либийските затвори" | Hermes Books | Bulgaria | Bulgarian | Paperback | 9789542608226 |
| March 1, 2010[11] | "Notes from Hell" | "A Bulgarian Nurse in Libya" | 30° Publishing | Southern Africa | English | Paperback | 9789542608226 |
| March 1, 2012[11] | "Notes from Hell" | "A Bulgarian Nurse in Libya" | 30° Publishing | Worldwide | English | eBook | 781920143473 |
| September 1, 2014 | "Notes from Hell" | NY Creative and Publishing | Worldwide | English | eBook | 9786199025031/B00OPDDUSM | |
| October 28, 2014 | "Записки от ада" | NY Creative and Publishing | Worldwide | Bulgarian | eBook | 9786199025017 | |
| October 9, 2017 | "Notes De L’Enfer" | "Une historie vraie" | NY Creative and Publishing | Worldwide | French | eBook | 9786199025055 |
| November 30, 2018 | "Notes from Hell" | NY Creative and Publishing | Worldwide | English | Audiobook | B07KRMC2KY |
The book received positive reviews inBulgaria, the country Chervinashka is from. A journalist fromStandart newspaper called it "a significant topic of discussion". Another newspaper,Telegraph praises the title as "one of the most emotional and revealing confessions".[12] Television journalist Ani Tzolova described it as "powerful story".[13]
InSouth AfricaNotes from Hell also received positive reaction from the critics. According to Michelle Bristow-Bovey fromCape Times, "Notes from Hell" documents more than a decade of torture, cruelty and despair. This intimate account is relayed with raw honesty and emotion. A cold, sobering look at some of life's injustices." Dries Brunt fromCitizen claims that "...This story shows brutality in its most extreme form, a wilful act of cruel injustice for which the Libyan government stands accused. Reading this book will make you cringe."[14]
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