{"product_id":"19th-century-macedonian-folktales-by-marko-cepenkov","title":"'19th Century Macedonian Folktales' by Marko Cepenkov","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a5d7430-35d8-83ec-8537-639937f3e813-13\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6a5d7430-35d8-83ec-8537-639937f3e813-13\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a5d7430-35d8-83ec-8537-639937f3e813-13\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-98\" data-turn=\"assistant\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\" class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"88bb32c0-6687-41f2-99df-ea59bfd7f927\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-6-thinking\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-start=\"55\" data-end=\"681\"\u003eMarko Cepenkov spent much of his life gathering the stories, songs, sayings, customs and oral histories circulating through nineteenth-century Macedonia.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"55\" data-end=\"681\"\u003eThis selection presents sixty-six of his folktales in English, translated from Macedonian by Fay Thomev. It is less a polished literary anthology than an archive of stories still carrying the habits of oral transmission: abrupt transformations, repetitions, improbable bargains, practical peasants, foolish husbands, devils, saints, animals and travellers who wander casually across the border between the ordinary and the impossible. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"683\" data-end=\"1176\"\u003eThe tales are frequently comic, cruel and materially alert. Hunger, marriage, labour, money and social rank matter as much as enchantment. A man may become a stork, a wolf may negotiate, or a supernatural intervention may settle an argument, but the stories remain rooted in village life and its systems of obligation, gossip and survival. Their morality is rarely clean. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"683\" data-end=\"1176\"\u003eCepenkov’s enormous body of collected folklore helped preserve a Macedonian oral culture that might otherwise have survived only in fragments. Published as the first volume in Macquarie University’s series on Macedonian literature, this was the first substantial English-language presentation of his work. It is an unusual and valuable book for readers of Balkan folklore, oral history, mythology and the strange social machinery hidden inside apparently simple tales. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1711\" data-end=\"1857\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMacquarie University, 1991. First edition in English, translated by Fay Thomev. Paperback with light edge and corner wear; clean and firmly bound.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45860506599507,"sku":null,"price":24.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/Yourparagraphtext-2026-07-24T143056.900.png?v=1784867478","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/19th-century-macedonian-folktales-by-marko-cepenkov","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}