This review of Ismail Kadare’s The Siege is more compelling than the last one that i read, which brought up that bullshit issue of whether Kadare was a dissident writer or not. Because of that, i didn’t even bother to link it. Kadare’s novels are not all favorites of mine (especially the ones set in relatively contemporary times,) but that “dissident” game still raises my hackles. This review brings up something about “cosy patriotism,” which makes me wince. I dunno…. obviously I’ll read it for myself to figure out what’s going on, but that seems doubtful.
In another review from back in May, a reviewer references Bellos’ afterword, which puts the story being told by the book into historical context. The “cozy patriotism” that the Indepdent review doesn’t seem quite so apt of a description.
Another article makes up for this, naming a handful of other Albanian authors.1
- Yep. Going to attempt to track down more information on all of these guys, but i’m on my way to a job interview. [↩]
Tags: Albania, books, Ismail Kadare