The Bulgarian Training Manual

By Ruth Bonapace

The Bulgarian Training Manual is the story of Tina and her working-class dreams. A struggling real estate agent and ex-roadie, she is on a quest to find her true parents, jeans that fit, and an escape from her basement apartment in Hoboken, NJ. With the help of a mysterious book, our heroine sets out on a hilarious, mind-bending journey of discovery and friendship.

A sly look at self-improvement and our obsession with branding, monetizing and fame, this novel reflects, we hope, Neil Gaiman’s wish for a life “filled with magic and dreams and good madness.” 

The Bulgarian Training Manual

  • “The Bulgarian Training Manual is inventive, surreal and powered by the unexpected.” — Meg Wolitzer author of The Interestings and The Wife

  • “Well-done and rare!” — Bob Holman, founder Bowery Poetry Club

  • “If it were a movie, it would be independent, washed in acid colors and have a cult fan base with their own secret bicep-curl handshake.” — Helen Simonson author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

  • … worthy of a Kurt Vonnegut novel. In fact, I think he would have loved this! — Kaylie Jones, author of A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries

  • “Crackles like a cheek full of cinnamon chewing gum.” — Mark Leyner author of Why Do Men Have Nipples

Meet Ruth Bonapace, a Brooklyn-born author with a BA and MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Stony Brook University. Ruth has been a journalist, essayist, mortgage banker, real estate agent, laundromat manager and, of course, waitress. Not in that order.

The Bulgarian Training Manual, published by Clash Books, is her debut novel. Ruth's fascination with the world of athletes began while covering professional sports for The Associated Press and continued through her own experiences at the gym. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including The Southampton Review, The Saturday Evening Post, Thin Air Magazine, Hippocampus Magazine, Newsday, The New York Times, and The Newark Star-Ledger. She was an American Writer's Review finalist for 2022 and 2023.

Ruth, a.k.a. Mom, has three children and lives in New Jersey. Do not ask how she finds time to write.