{"title":"Ismail Kadare","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsmail Kadare\u003c\/strong\u003e weaves compelling narratives that blend \u003cem\u003ehistorical fiction\u003c\/em\u003e with profound explorations of human nature and society. His works often delve into the complex history and culture of the Balkans, illuminating themes of power, memory, and identity with striking clarity and poetic insight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect evocative storytelling that challenges perspectives on dictatorship, conflict, and tradition. Kadare’s novels offer richly layered atmospheres, where the past resonates in the present, creating an immersive experience for those drawn to thoughtful, literary fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-siege-by-ismail-kadare-9781921351631","title":"The Siege","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Ottoman Army—the most powerful the world had known at that time—lays siege to a Christian fortress in the mountains of Albania. Above the colourful host looms the great dark wall of the citadel that must be overcome.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTold partly through the personal narrative of one of the defenders, and partly through the eyes of the Ottoman chronicler Mevla Celebi, Ismail Kadare's \u003cem\u003eThe Siege\u003c\/em\u003e is a gripping narrative of a bloody, complex struggle that ends in defeat and desolation for both sides.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIts story of blood, gore, and boiling pitch provides Ismail Kadare with another vehicle for his long meditation on human relations, human folly, the ambiguities of power, and the meaning of history. The thoughts and sufferings of his fifteenth-century warriors are barely distinguishable from those that afflict us in the modern world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46533983207660,"sku":"9781921351631","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1927433482872.jpg?v=1749398075"},{"product_id":"a-dictator-calls-by-ismail-kadare-9781529920574","title":"A Dictator Calls","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe new novel from the first winner of the International Man Booker\u003c\/em\u003e, inspired by three minutes in June 1934 when Joseph Stalin allegedly called Boris Pasternak. A fascinating meditation on Soviet Russia, authoritarianism, power structures, and a period of great writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2024\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Comrade Stalin wishes to speak with you.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA fascinating exploration of the relationship between writers and tyranny, from the winner of the first Man Booker International Prize.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn June 1934, Joseph Stalin allegedly telephoned the famous novelist and poet Boris Pasternak to discuss the arrest of fellow Soviet poet Osip Mandelstam. In a fascinating combination of dreams and dossier facts, Ismail Kadare reconstructs the three minutes they spoke and the aftershocks of this tense, mysterious moment in modern history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWeaving together the accounts of witnesses, reporters, and writers such as Isaiah Berlin and Anna Akhmatova, Kadare tells a gripping story of power and political structures, of the relationship between writers and tyranny. The telling brings to light uncanny parallels with Kadare's experience writing under dictatorship, when he received an unexpected phone call of his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTranslated from the Albanian by John Hodgson\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'One of Europe's most decorated authors... Seasoned fans of Kadare will be enthralled' \u003cem\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46541634371820,"sku":"9781529920574","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781529920574.jpg?v=1749699422"},{"product_id":"the-accident-by-ismail-kadare-9781921656613","title":"The Accident","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the autobahn in Vienna, a taxi leaves the carriageway and strikes the crash barrier, flinging its male and female passengers out of its back doors as it spins through the air. The driver cannot explain why he lost control; only saying that the mysterious couple in the back seat seemed to be about to kiss...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSet against the tumultuous backdrop and aftermath of the war in the Balkans, \u003cem\u003eThe Accident\u003c\/em\u003e intimately documents an affair between two people caught in each other's webs. The investigation into their deaths uncovers a mutually destructive obsession that mirrors the conflicts of the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSomewhere between vivid hallucination and cold reality, Ismail Kadare's new novel is a bold departure and an intense exploration of the contours of a union that moves inexorably towards its own demise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46552319918316,"sku":"9781921656613","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/4977253482872.jpg?v=1750037403"},{"product_id":"the-doll-by-ismail-kadare-9781784709327","title":"The Doll","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom \u003cem\u003e'a novelist of dazzling mastery'\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cem\u003eIndependent\u003c\/em\u003e) and the winner of the first ever Man Booker International Prize, \u003cem\u003eThe Doll\u003c\/em\u003e is a novel about creative origin and aspiration, inspired by the author's own mother and his childhood in Albania.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYoung Ismail's world centres around his mother. Naive and fragile as a paper doll, she is an unlikely presence in her husband's imposing house, with its hidden rooms and infamous dungeon. Yet despite her youthful nature, she is not without her own enigmas. Most of all, she fears that her intellectual, radical son will exchange her for a superior mother when he becomes a famous writer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the winner of the first ever Man Booker International Prize, this is a disarming story of home and creative ambition, of personal and political freedom. Rooted in the author's own childhood in Albania, it is dedicated to the memory of his mother.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A master storyteller'\u003c\/em\u003e John Carey\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Laconic, sinister and drily funny'\u003c\/em\u003e Spectator\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46553141903596,"sku":"9781784709327","price":22.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11708103482823.jpg?v=1750063390"},{"product_id":"the-fall-of-the-stone-city-by-ismail-kadare-9781922079282","title":"The Fall of the Stone City","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn September 1943, German soldiers advance on the ancient gates of Gjirokaster, Albania. It is the first step in a carefully planned invasion. But once at the mouth of the city, the troops are taken aback by a surprising act of rebellion that leaves the citizens fearful of a bloody counter-attack.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSoon rumours circulate, in cafes, houses and alleyways, that the Nazi Colonel in command of the German Army was once a school acquaintance of a local dignitary, Doctor Gurameto. In the town square, Colonel von Schwabe greets his former classmate warmly; in return, Doctor Gurameto invites him to dinner. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe very next day, the Colonel and his army disappear from the city. The dinner at Gurameto's house changes the course of events in twentieth-century Europe. But as the citizens celebrate their hero, a conspiracy surfaces which leads some to place Gurameto—and the stone city—at the heart of a plot to undermine Socialism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEnigmatic and compelling, \u003cem\u003eThe Fall of the Stone City\u003c\/em\u003e displays Ismail Kadare at the height of his considerable powers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46553384452332,"sku":"9781922079282","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9203943482872.jpg?v=1750068891"},{"product_id":"the-successor-by-ismail-kadare-9781921145063","title":"The Successor","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe man who is next in line to be the leader of Albania is found shot dead in his bed. Was it suicide or was it murder?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIsmail Kadare, one of Europe's finest writers, reshapes recent Balkan history in this wry and witty political parable, his first English offering in some years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Successor\u003c\/em\u003e is translated from the French of Tedi Papavrami by David Bellos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46555983675628,"sku":"9781921145063","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/27947543482871.jpg?v=1750129328"},{"product_id":"the-three-arched-bridge-by-ismail-kadare-9780099560883","title":"The Three-Arched Bridge","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Three-Arched Bridge\u003c\/em\u003e is a hard-hitting parable about the conflicts that have ravaged the Balkan states, by Albania's most influential novelist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen the construction of a bridge built to link the Balkans to Europe is repeatedly and mysteriously sabotaged, an old ballad starts making the rounds at local taverns. The bards sing of a legend - a woman immured in a castle wall to prevent it from falling. Some say the bridge is being damaged by local ferrymen, others blame the vengeful water spirits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut this is a town where terror and superstition reign and a solution must be reached. So it is decreed - a willing person must be plastered into the bridge...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA vivid, macabre and wise novel\u003c\/em\u003e - New York Times\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47403796300012,"sku":"9780099560883","price":37.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/71zp81TusyL._SL1500.jpg?v=1773866335"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/ismail-kadare.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}