The book
"Believe me," the general said, "I've taken part in many sieges, but this," he waved towards the castle walls, "is where the most fearful carnage of our times will take place. And you surely know as well as I do that great massacres always give birth to great books."
It is the early fifteenth century and as winter falls away, the people of Albania know that their fate is sealed. They have refused to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire, and war is now inevitable.
Sure enough, dust kicked up by Turkish horses is soon spotted from a citadel. Brightly coloured banners, hastily constructed minarets and tens of thousands of men begin to fill the plain below. From this moment on, the world is waiting to hear that the fortress has fallen.
The Siege tells the enthralling story of the weeks and months that follow -- of the exhilaration and despair of the battlefield, the constantly shifting strategies of war, and those whose lives are held in the balance. For those trapped inside the citadel, and for the Pasha, technicians, artillerymen, astrologer, blind poet and his harem of women outside, the siege is inescapable and increasingly oppressive.
From this dramatic setting Kadare has created one of his masterpieces, a profound novel that is as moving as it is compelling. It is an unforgettable account of the clash of two civilisations and a timeless depiction of individual pain, uncertainty and fear that resonates today. Kadare is one of our most significant writers and The Siege is certain to enhance his growing reputation throughout the English-speaking world.
£16.99
The Reviews
One of the great writers of our time.
ScotsmanThere are very few writers alive today with the depth, power and resonance of this remarkable novelist, regularly cited as a Nobel Prize contender . . . On no account must this be missed.
Herald
Ismail Kadare is one of Europeâs most consistently interesting and powerful contemporary novelists, a writer whose stark, memorable prose imprints itself on the readerâs consciousness.
Los Angeles TimesKadareâs political courage made him a hero; his sense of irony and his powerful command of narrative are what make him a writer
Boston GlobeHis fiction offers invaluable insights into life under tyranny - his historical allegories point both to the grand themes and the small details that make up daily life in a restrictive environment. But his books are more than just political statement - at his best he is a great writer, by any nation's standards.
Ben Naparstek, FTOne of the most important voices in literature today . . . A gritty, meaty look at what happens when two tribes go to war . .
Alan Chadwick, MetroComposed with grace and economy throughout, it is as relevant now as it was nearly four decades ago . . . Kadare's attention to detail is remarkable - he describes the tiniest detail . . as if it is a symbol of timeless beauty.
Rodge Glass, HeraldExtraordinary: an epic with the force of myth and the delicacy of a miniature . . . You could read <I>The Siege</I> every year for a lifetime and find something new each time. There seems no reason to refrain from calling this ideal collaboration between author and translator a masterpiece.
Jane Shilling, Sunday TelegraphKadare operates by packing a slender plot with dread and uncertainty . . . [he] is always skilled at conjuring the fearfulness of people and surroundings that cannot be known. The atmospherics are insistent and fateful, like film noir.
IndependentAn impressively decorative novel in which war in at once horrible and beautiful, in which we see vividly the smashing of bodies to pulp and shattered bone and the waving of a thousand jewel-embroidered banners.
Roz Kaveney, Time OutIt is Kadare's greatest achievement to create individuals who are at the same time archetypes. The background is powerfully atmospheric: the bustle of the camp . . . is vividly rendered [and] technical details of of undermining and siege engines are fascinating, marvels of hideously misdirected ingenuity.
Jane Jakeman, Times Literary SupplementComposed with grace and economy throughout, it is as relevant now as it was nearly four decades ago . . . Kadare's attention to detail is remarkable - he describes the tiniest detail . . . as if it is a symbol of timeless beauty.
Rodge Glass, HeraldKadare's poker-faced sense of humour and eye for the characters' secret absurdities, tragic as well as comic, make the book more than a coded protest from a cold war backwater. The urgent gestures towards something that's not quite said somehow make the story linger in the mind long after the regime in which <I>The Siege</I> was written went the way of the empire it dreams back to life.
Christopher Taylor, Guardian"one of the most important voices in literature today…a gritty meaty look at what happens when two tribes go to war…but the fact that Kadare wrote the novel in 1969-70…lends the piece extra depth as a political allegory on Soviet dominance"
Alan Chadwick, Metro
