'Don't Tell Mama' by Nikolay Yordanov is an LGBTQ novel that spans the globe. The story opens with Ugandan Luke, who takes a stand against a local misogynistic priest. From Bulgaria is the cynical
Alexander who is made to face the consequences of his promiscuous life. Hakim, from Iraq, after seeing his cousin exiled from home because of his sexual preference, suppresses his feelings for a neighbor. The Iranian Imam, on the other hand, undergoes a sex change operation against his will and his life is
never the same again. Tamika, a singer based in the US, is on the brink of stardom. From Spain, the bellboy Matias has to choose between life or love. And finally, there's the school girl Name-il, the
lone survivor of her family's flight from the repressive North Korean government.
Nikolay Yordanov's 'Don't Tell Mama' is a psychologically stimulating novel about the plight of various personalities from the LGBTQ community. It tells the stories of unrelated characters from Uganda, Bulgaria, Iraq, Iran, the USA, Spain, and North Korea. They all have one thing in common and that is having sexual preferences that are outside the norms of conventional society. Introspective and mesmerizing, Nikolay Yordanov's writing style is original. The characters come alive in the novel's chapters and all of their stories are intriguing. 'Don't Tell Mama' ends in a most unusual way as an unnamed presence, seemingly from a different world, unites all the tales of love, violence, and secrets into one cohesive literary masterpiece.
Maria Victoria Beltran, Reader's Favorite