TWELVE
MINUTES OF LOVE: A TANGO STORY has received a string of great features and
reviews, and also inspired this tango video animation commissioned by Portobello. It's
already been viewed more than 5,000 times on YouTube and will be featured at
the
Glasgow Short Film Festival's 'Words Per Minute' literary and film event on
11 February.
Kapka's
memoir featured as the lead review in Psychologies magazine:
'Three
reasons to read TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE: 1. For an insight into a hobby that
turns into an obsession; 2. To go on an emotional journey; 3. For a searing
account of heartbreak...Here's a woman discovering herself over a decade,
growing up and changing, in an understated, unassuming and unusual EAT PRAY
LOVE-type memoir.'
And from
Olivia Cole in GQ: 'New Zealand, to Edinburgh, Berlin and Buenos Aires, part
travelogue, part memoir, this is a sexy step through the myths around tango and
its physical, emotional and psychological layers. You will want to learn.'
The
Scotsman ran this interview (with a picture of Kapka and her tango shoes!): 'Kassabova is that rare thing,
an author who excels in every genre. She's a published poet and novelist, a
writer of travel guides, and of memoirs, whose earlier book, STREET WITHOUT A
NAME, is an autobiographical travelogue about rediscovering her native
Bulgaria. … TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE: A TANGO STORY is her touching and
insightful chronicle of a ten-year obsession that dragged her around the world
and back again by the heartstrings.'
A
brilliant, glowing review has appeared in the Independent: 'An
exquisitely crafted blending of travelogue, memoir, dance history and some
seriously good writing on the human condition, TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE delves
deep into the obsessive nature of tango fanatics and vividly depicts a world
full of beauty and heartbreak, of love and loss...This mix of travel writing,
personal experience and history is something that Kapka Kassabova has done
before, and she's frankly brilliant at it.'
And it's
not just the reviewers who are fans,
TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE: A TANGO STORY has the mark of approval from the dance
cognoscenti as well!
'A
beautiful book, beautifully written …. Kassabova is brilliant on why we dance
the Argentine tango, discussing the sense of melancholy and yearning
experienced by anyone who has danced its steps or indeed listened to its music
… an exquisitely written story.' -- Dance Today
In
addition to those above, TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE: A TANGO STORY has received
wonderful reviews in Time Out, Metro, Marie Claire and Big Issue, and press from New Zealand, (where Kapka lived
after leaving Bulgaria) - a New Zealand Herald feature here - and it's been picked as a Book of the Year in The Listener: 'Equipped
"with a pair of tango shoes, a dress, a silk fan, a city map with tango
venues marked on it, and an eye mask - so that I can sleep through the days and
dance through the nights", Kassabova takes us on a journey into tango -
and her own heart. As she criss-crosses the globe in search of milongas, she
explores tango's ecstasy and desperation, its unique subculture and exotic
characters. A compelling read.'
Kapka was
also interviewed by Harriet Gilbert on The Strand, with lots of lovely tango
music.
Here is an audio review from Scottish blogger Alistair Braidwood.
'Tanguera'
interviewed her for the Tango Hub site saying:' TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE doesn't disappoint - neither does
it show off. It's an endearing, heartfelt account of one woman's life with (and
without) tango'.
And here is Kapka Kassabova herself on the writing of TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE.
Kapka is currently at the Kolkata
Literary Meet at the Kolkata Book Fair and has a busy year of festival appearances including the Aye Write Festival in
Glasgow on 11 March (with a tango performance at the end, organised by them),
the Oxford Literary Festival on 25 March,
teaching at Arvon's Moniack Mhor site in Scotland, 9-14 April,
and representing Bulgaria at the Poetry Parnassus Week at the Southbank Centre,
26 June-2 July.
And last
but not least, TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE continues to ride high (#3 at the time of
writing) on the Dance titles on Amazon, with an array of glowing 5 Star
reviews!
For more
info on Kapka and TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE, click here.
