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. Dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible, he wrote. The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship. His 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 first ever Man Booker International Prize.
He has been compared to Gogol, Kafka and Orwell. But Kadare's is an original voice, universal yet deeply rooted in his own soil * Independent on Sunday * A novelist of dazzling mastery -- Paul Binding * Independent * Astonishing...his finest work -- Azar Nafisi, Man Booker judge and author of 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' * Guardian * With its metonymic realism and fidelity to its characters, The General of the Dead Army reminds us why his work is so valued * New Statesman * Literary gold dust - haunting, bleakly comedic and ultimately horrific * The Times *