Ismail Kadare books: five top reads by Albanian author

Ismail Kadare, the prominent Albanian author renowned for his poetic and fictional exploration of Balkan history and culture over six decades, has passed away at the age of 88, according to his publisher.

Bujar Hudhri, Kadare’s editor at the Tirana-based Onufri publishing house, announced that Kadare passed away on Monday following an emergency hospitalisation. Reuters has reported that the cause was a cardiac arrest.

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The publisher stated: “[On] the first morning of this July, unfortunately, while we were rushing to the hospital in an ambulance, I really felt that something irreversible had happened in his apartment, on Ibrahim Rugova Street. The torturing minutes at the emergency room, the staff in the room, around the bed, and then the silence of the doctors. It’s all finished. An employee in white approaches and asks for help to fill in the death tab: first, last name, paternity, maternity, date of birth, address…” He ended the note with “farewell master!”

Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, reflected on Ismail Kadare’s influential literary contributions and his unique translation history.

“When Ismail Kadare won the inaugural International Booker Prize in 2005, he shared it with his long-time translator, David Bellos,” she writes. 

Kadare, who had defected from Communist Albania and lived in Paris since 1990, had his work translated from Albanian into French by Jusuf Vrioni and then from French into English by Bellos. Initially hesitant, Bellos later realized Kadare was “a writer of the first importance,” despite fearing that translating from two languages could result in “pretty thin gruel.” 

Bellos, a professor of French and Comparative Literature at Princeton University, appreciated the translations by Vrioni so much that sometimes Kadare himself thought the French versions were superior and altered his originals. 

He describes this process as creating “something more than a book by Ismail Kadare. It was a book by Kadare co-produced by one of the strangest but most effective translation pairs of all time.” Wood concludes by expressing gratitude for being able to share Bellos’s “unique recollections.”

Who was Ismail Kadare?

Ismail Kadare, born on January 28, 1936, in Gjirokastër, Albania, was a prominent Albanian novelist and poet who delved deeply into his nation’s history and culture, garnering a global readership.

Kadare, the son of a postal worker, pursued his higher education at the University of Tirana and later studied at the Gorky Institute of World Literature in Moscow. He returned to Albania in 1960, first working as a journalist before committing fully to his literary talents. Throughout the authoritarian regime of Enver Hoxha, Kadare experienced both acclaim and criticism, at times praising and at other times censuring the government. In 1990, amid growing threats and fearing arrest, Kadare sought asylum in France.

Kadare first gained recognition in Albania as a poet, but it was his novels that catapulted him to international fame. His best-known work, "The General of the Dead Army" (1963), which was later adapted into a film in 1983, brought him an international audience. It narrates the sombre journey of an Italian general tasked with retrieving the bodies of fallen soldiers from Albania post-World War II. 

Other notable novels include "The Castle" or "The Siege" (1970), which recounts the Albanian resistance against Ottoman Turks in the 15th century, and "The Great Winter" (1977), portraying the split between Albania and the Soviet Union in 1961. "Chronicle in Stone" (1971) is an autobiographical novel as much about his childhood during the war as it is about his hometown of Gjirokastër.

Kadare's works, often reflecting his own experiences, explore themes such as Albanian politics, folklore, blood-feud traditions, and ethnicity, incorporating elements of romanticism, realism, and surrealism. 

He has been compared to Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko for his critique of state-controlled literature and to Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez for their shared fascination with the grotesque and surreal. In 1996, Kadare was inducted into the French Academy and later became an officer of the French Legion of Honour. He was the inaugural recipient of the Man Booker International Prize in 2005 and won the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2020.

Best books to read by Ismail Kadare

Here are some of the top books by Ismail Kadare, which have received critical acclaim and international recognition:

• The General of the Dead Army (Gjenerali i ushtrisë së vdekur). This novel focuses on an Italian general who returns to Albania years after World War II to recover the bodies of fallen soldiers. The book explores themes of war, memory, and the impact of the past on the present.
• Broken April (Prilli i thyer). Set in the Albanian highlands, this novel delves into the region’s blood feud traditions through the story of a young man caught in the cycle of vengeance. It’s a profound exploration of law, fate, and individual freedom.
• The Siege (Kështjella). This historical novel depicts an Ottoman siege of an Albanian fortress in the 15th century. Through this narrative, Kadare examines the machinery of empire and the complexities of resistance and power.
• Chronicle in Stone (Kronikë në gur). A semi-autobiographical novel, this story is set in Kadare’s hometown during World War II. It beautifully captures the experiences of childhood amid the absurdities and horrors of war.
• The Palace of Dreams (Nëpunësi i pallatit të ëndrrave). In this surreal novel, Kadare critiques totalitarianism through a narrative about a fictional bureau responsible for analysing the dreams of the empire’s citizens to prevent possible subversions.

These books offer a glimpse into Albanian culture and history, while also addressing universal themes through Kadare’s distinctive narrative style.

Image credit: Albanian State Archive