Product Description

An English translation of the second work by this well respected author. A story of Albania's struggle against the Ottoman Turks, involving the siege of a medieval Albanian fortress by the Turks in the 15th century, and the defeat of the Turks by Skenderbeg.

Born and raised in southern Albania, Kadare grew up during the years of World War II, witnessing the occupation of his home country by fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union. He studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of the University of Tirana, Albania, and at the Gorky Institute of World Literature in Moscow. Famous as a writer in Albania, he has grown to become well known in the world as well - published in up to forty languages. In the last few years he has been frequently mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1045831 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

Customer Reviews

A beautifully written and haunting story of a siege
I could not put this book down and when I finished it I kept going back to read passages again for weeks afterwards. The story tells of one of many sieges against the Kruja fortress by the Ottoman army during the 25 years of the Albanian rebellion. To me the power of the narrative comes out in the different way Kadere tells the story from the Ottoman besiegers side on one hand, and the Albanian defenders side on the other. For the former he develops a rich cast of characters among the huge army on the plain before the castle, from the Pasha leading the army, through his harem and simple soldiers, to the army's chronicler; vividly recounting their fears, joys and eventual fates. In stark contrast the Albanian defenders are only represented by a short 'diary', written by an unnamed senior soldier defending the castle, and covering the Albanian view of the events and their context.This 'diary' appears as a short text at the beginning of each chapter. The author of the diary remains unnamed, distant, reflective and mysterious. It is a powerful technique that gives a haunting, forbidding air to the castle and the story in general. It is a great book that I will read again and again in the future.