A comic classic of world literature, Aleko Konstantinov s 1895 novel Bai Ganyo follows the misadventures of rose-oil salesman Ganyo Balkanski ( Bai is a Bulgarian title of intimate respect) as he travels in Europe. Unkempt but endearing, Bai Ganyo blusters his way through refined society in Vienna, Dresden, and St. Petersburg with an eye peeled for pickpockets and a free lunch. Konstantinov s satire turns darker when Bai Ganyo returns home bullying, bribing, and rigging elections in Bulgaria, a new country that had recently emerged piecemeal from the Ottoman Empire with the help of...