Ismail Kadare, born in 1936 in the mountain town of Gjirokaster, near the Greek border, is Albania's best-known poet and novelist. Since the appearance of The General of the Dead Army in 1965, Kadare has published scores of stories and novels that make up a panorama of Albanian history linked by a constant meditation on the nature and human consequences of dictatorship. Kadare's works brought him into frequent conflict with the authorities from 1945 to 1985. In 1990 he sought political asylum in France, and now divides his time between Paris and Tirana. He is the winner of the inaugural Man Booker Prize.

"Witty and touching. It consolidates Kadare's reputation as one of the finest writers to emerge from communist Europe" Sunday Times "Eloquent, engaging and poignant" Irish Times "A wicked and amusing satire of provincial life...it is also an elegiac celebration of the power of poetry" Times Literary Supplement "Funny, strange, and melancholy" Guardian "Knife-sharp satire...originality shines through" The Times