Ismail Kadare

I denne korte romanen, Dukken, tar Kadare leseren med til sin barndoms by Gjirokastër. Her skildrer han forholdet mellom en mor og en sønn. Moren er sart og lett som en dukke av pappmasje, og føler seg helt bortkommen i et stort hus som det er forventet at hun skal ta styringen over. Da hun flytter inn til svigerfamilien som nygift 17-åring, beskrives det som en inntrengning i fiendens leir. Det gjør ikke saken bedre at svigermoren og hennes søstre følger hvert skritt den unge nye husfrua tar med teaterkikkert. Ei heller at svigermoren mot livets høst ilegger seg selv portforbud, i tråd med lokale skikker, slik at det blir enda vanskeligere for «dukken»å komme unna svigermorens bydende blikk.Med tiden forplanter morens usikkerhet seg også over til forholdet til sønnen: Står hun i veien for hans prosess for å realisere seg som kunstner? Vil han se seg omkring etter en annen og bedre mor når han er blitt en berømt forfatter?Dukkener en delikat utformet historie om hjem, familie, kreative aspirasjoner og personlig og politisk frihet. Ismail Kadare bruker kunsten – fra japansk masketeater til russisk lyrikk – som verktøy for å oppnå en bedre forståelse av «mysteriet mor». Samtidig svermer han for minnene fra barndommens verden, og for familiens tre hundre år gamle kråkeslott av et hus, med blinddører og eget fengsel.

The Man Booker International-winning author of Broken April and The Siege, Albania's most renowned novelist, and perennial Nobel Prize contender Ismail Kadare explores three giants of world literature - Aeschylus, Dante, and Shakespeare - through the lens of resisting totalitarianism.

L'Albanie du Nord, vers 1935. Deux Irlandais de New York, Max Roth et Willy Norton, arrivent dans la petite ville de N..., o ils comptent poursuivre des recherches sur la vieille pop e albanaise et peut- tre, gr ce l'enregistrement des derniers rhapsodes ambulants, lucider le myst re des po mes hom riques _ savoir: le po te aveugle est-il bien l'auteur de l'Iliade et de l'Odyss e ou, au contraire, un simple compilateur, voire une sorte de r dacteur en chef? Mais, tandis que la femme du sous-pr fet, en mal de mondanit s et d'aventures galantes, organise une soir e pour les accueillir, son mari, alert par le minist re, qui soup onne les chercheurs de folklore " d' tre des espions, ordonne son indicateur pr f r , Dul Lasoupente, de prendre le guet. Bient t, des combles de l'Os de buffle, l'auberge isol e situ e au pied des Cimes maudites o les deux Irlandais se sont install s, Dul envoie son chef des rapports au contenu aussi troublant que leur style est fleuri...Comme le Pont aux trois arches, comme Avril bris , comme Qui a ramen Doruntine? auxquels il s'apparente par l'atmosph re, le cadre, le myst re, le nouveau roman d'Isma l Kadar , qu'on pourrait qualifier de " thriller pique ", se pr sente sous la forme d'une enqu te: sur la naissance et le devenir des grandes pop es, sur l' ternel et l' ph m re en art, sur l' nigme insondable de la cr ation litt raire.Isma l Kadar , po te, romancier, nouvelliste, est n en 1936, Gjirokastra, dans le sud de l'Albanie. Citons, parmi ses autres oeuvres traduites en fran ais: Le G n ral de l'arm e morte, Les Tambours de la pluie, Le Grand Hiver, La Niche de la honte, Eschyle ou l' ternel perdant."

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2017 MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZEAt the heart of the Ottoman Empire, in the main square of Constantinople, a niche is carved into ancient stone. Tundj Hata, the imperial courier, is charged with transporting heads to the capital â?? a task he relishes and performs with fervour.

The first English translation of an eyewitness account of the Ottoman sieges of Shkodra (Albania) in 1474 and 1478-79, written by a besieged Shkodran citizen who fought in the battles and would later become a priest in ItalyThe book is considered both history and literature, written in classical Latin in 1504 for a Western audience concerned about the advance of the Ottomans into the heart of Europe. It is considered by scholars to be a seminal source of history providing significant details about the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Albanians, Sultan Mehmed II "The Conqueror," religious conflict, late-medieval siege tactics, and the development of weaponry. Though the account is history, it unfolds as a gripping story with all the human drama and pathos that accompanies warfare. Inside are rousing speeches, intense battle scenes, passionate prayers, and counsel for future generations.Barleti and his contemporaries considered Shkodra to be the shield of Europe (indeed this was the final great battle before the Ottomans attacked Otronto in 1480).Barleti's work comprises only 50% of the work, as this edition includes supplemental material such a brief foreword by Ismail Kadare, a historical preface by Prof. David Abulafia, the original introduction by Prof. Aleks Buda, "The War of Shkodra" ("Bellum Scodrense") by George Merula, a panegyric to the Venetian Senate by Marin Be ikemi, passages from Ottoman chroniclers about the siege (A. Pashazade, Tursun, Kivami, Idris-i Bidlisi, K. Pashazade), and new maps and historical commentary by translator-editor David Hosaflook.MINI-REVIEWS"If one were to search for a literary creation wholly worthy of the expression 'monumental work, ' it would be hard to find a better example than 'The Siege of Shkodra' by Marin Barleti ... It earned monumentality throughout the centuries ... This is what happens with the great books, the ones that enter the world as grand testimonies. The siege of Shkodra is the final act of a tragedy that would not only alter the face of Albania, but also of all the Balkans and a portion of the continent for nearly six hundred years.-ISMAIL KADARE, renown and revered Albanian author "David Hosaflook has brought vividly back to life an extraordinary chapter from the history of the fifteenth century--a gripping eyewitness account of the Albanian resistance to the advance of the Ottomans into the heart of Europe. Their defense of Shkodra was as heroic and thrilling as the better-known siege of Malta. Barleti's narrative does it full justice, and Hosaflook's translation is both scholarly and highly readable."-ROGER CROWLEY, best-selling author of Mediterranean narrative history such as Empires of the Sea and City of Fortune" "I felt like Howard Carter peering into the tomb of King Tut for the first time when I started reading Hosaflook's masterful new translation of the epic story recounted by Barleti. Beautifully crafted and painstakingly researched, the work fills an important gap and provides unique and compelling new scholarship in the field of Renaissance history."-KIRSTIN DOWNEY, former Washington Post reporter, historical biographer, and author of books such as "The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins" and "Isabella: The Warrior Queen." "The Ottoman Empire spread into southeastern Europe, with the banners of Islam looming on the horizon. One of the key moments of this expansion, and a turning point in Albanian history, was the siege of Shkodra in the late fifteenth century. We would know little of the dramatic events were it not for historian Marin Barleti. His account (1504) is a seminal source of Balkan history. The English-speaking reader can now finally savour this gripping tale, in the flowing rendition of David Hosaflook."-ROBERT ELSIE, author and specialist in Albanian studies

When a girl is found dead with a signed copy of Rudian Stefaâ??s latest book in her possession, the author finds himself summoned for an interview by the Party Committee.

1958. In a dorm room in Moscow, a young writer is woken by the sound of angry voices on the radio. Through the fog of a hangover he hears the news that a novel called Doctor Zhivago has earned its author the Nobel Prize. There is uproar. The author, Boris Pasternak, faces exile, the press hound him and demand that he refuse the award. A few days earlier the young writer found a copy of this book - could those simple pages really be so dangerous?Based on Ismail Kadare's own experience, Twilight of the Eastern Gods is a portrait of a city, a story of youthful disenchantment and a reminder of the incredible importance of the written word.

Vintern 1961 bryter det lilla kommunistiska Albanien alla diplomatiska förbindelser med jätten Sovjetunionen. Ingen i landet går opåverkad av de historiska omvälvningarna, skildrade i en symfoni av röster och visioner i Ismail Kadares lika poetiska som politiskt bistra romanepos Den hårda vintern [1978].I översättning av Marianne Eyre och med ett nyskrivet förord av författaren och kritikern Kajsa Ekis Ekman.ISMAIL KADARE [f. 1936] är en albansk författare med franskt medborgarskap. Han fick ett internationellt genombrott redan med debutromanen Den döda arméns general [1963] och hans romaner finns i dag översatta till fler än trettio språk. Till priser han erhållit hör Prix mondial Cino Del Duca 1992; Man Booker International Prize 2005 och Prinsen av Asturiens pris 2009. Modernista inleder nu sin utgivning av Kadares författarskap med de tre romanerna Krönika i sten [1971], Den hårda vintern [1977] och Drömmarnas palats [1981].

Människornas drömmar rymmer stor sanningspotential - och stor fara.Drömmarnas palats [1981] utspelar sig i en fiktiv version av Ottomanska riket, i närheten av Albanien, där människor övervakas av ett imperium på ständig jakt efter de drömmar som hotar rikets säkerhet. I det medieövervakningens tidevarv som många menar att vi bara sett morgonen av, ter sig Ismail Kadares roman knappast mindre aktuell än när den skrevs. I översättning av Agneta Rehder och med ett nyskrivet förord av kritikern Henrik C. Enbohm.ISMAIL KADARE [f. 1936] är en albansk författare med franskt medborgarskap. Han fick ett internationellt genombrott redan med debutromanen Den döda arméns general [1963] och hans romaner finns i dag översatta till fler än trettio språk. Till priser han erhållit hör Prix mondial Cino Del Duca 1992; Man Booker International Prize 2005 och Prinsen av Asturiens pris 2009. Modernista inleder nu sin utgivning av Kadares författarskap med de tre romanerna Krönika i sten [1971], Den hårda vintern [1977] och Drömmarnas palats [1981].

Ockuperad av italienare. Sedan av greker. Sedan av italienare igen. Sedan av greker igen. Sedan av tyskar.När Ismail Kadare betraktar sin barndoms hemstad, Gjirokastër i Albanien, vid tiden för andra världskriget, ter sig bara ett absurt perspektiv verkligt nog för att beskriva terrorn människor utsattes för. Samtidigt lever den kompakta, uråldriga stenstaden sitt eget liv, såsom en natur bara skenbart eller tillfälligt kan kontrolleras. En historia betraktad med en liten pojkes naiva, klara blick, med en krönika som tycks skriven i sten. Den synliga terrorn, kriget, och den osynliga, vars gamla vidskepelser resulterar i hedersmord, är yttringar av samma ondskans enfald. Som besegras av kärleken, fantasin och skaparkraften.Romanen Krönika i sten [1971] är ett tidigt mästerverk av den ofta Nobelprisomnämnde albanen, i översättning av Britt Arenander och med ett nyskrivet förord av kritikern Jenny Högström.ISMAIL KADARE [f. 1936] är en albansk författare med franskt medborgarskap. Han fick ett internationellt genombrott redan med debutromanen Den döda arméns general [1963] och hans romaner finns i dag översatta till fler än trettio språk. Till priser han erhållit hör Prix mondial Cino Del Duca 1992; Man Booker International Prize 2005 och Prinsen av Asturiens pris 2009. Modernista inleder nu sin utgivning av Kadares författarskap med de tre romanerna Krönika i sten [1971], Den hårda vintern [1977] och Drömmarnas palats [1981].

The mysterious palace of dreams stands at the heart of a vast empire. Inside, workers sift, sort, and interpret the dreams the empire's citizens. They search out Master-Dreams that will provide clues to the destiny of the empire and its Sultan. Mark-Alem, scion of a noble family that has provided viziers to the Sultan from time immemorial, and whose power the Sultan distrusts, is recruited into the palace of Creams at the humblest level. He immediately feels the terrible pressure that drives his coworkers, the dread of overlooking a crucial dream whose capture and interpretation might avert political disaster. But he rapidly rises through the hierarchy--only barely finding his bearings in one section of the Palace's labyrinthine passages that represent the entire empire's consciousness laid bare before he is promoted to another. And the pressure only increases as he becomes familiar with the fates of subversive dreamers and personally responsible for the sort of dreams that might ruin an entire family. A family like his own. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction--novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2013.In September 1943, Nazi troops advance on the ancient gates of Gjirokastër, Albania. The very next day, the Germans vanish without a trace. As the townsfolk wonder if they might have dreamt the events of the previous night, rumours circulate of a childhood friendship between a local dignitary and the invading Nazi Colonel, a reunion in the town square and a fateful dinner party that would transform twentieth-century Europe. A captivating novel of resistance in a dictatorship, and steeped in Albanian folklore, The Fall of the Stone City shows Kadare at the height of his powers.

China is somehow involved with the increasingly desperate situation in Albania, but no one knows the extent of its secret alliances, political levers, and economic control. Skender Bermema is sent to China on a fact-finding mission, and is confronted with the reality of Mao's China, a nation intent on crushing individuality, independence, and creativity. The intriguing promise of a mysterious gala concert is where the hand-picked foreign invitees expect to be able to decipher in the colors, figures, and gestures of the Chinese actors a message about China's intentions. And no matter what any of them may be expecting, the message is shocking beyond their wildest imaginations.

When the new Egyptian Pharaoh decrees that he does not want a pyramid built in his honour his advisers are aghast. So the Pharaoh agrees to the construction of a pyramid colossal beyond imagining, an edifice that crushes dozens of people as each block is added and which inexorably drains the lifeblood from the country.