War as Disaster in the Novels of Ismail Kadare
The term “disaster” has, over recent years become associated with war, especially the Second World War and the massive global devastation it caused. This devastation was not only human and material, but also cultural. War is a common theme in Albanian writer Ismail Kadare’s oeuvre. As a young boy, K...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Bucharest University Press
2022-10-01
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Series: | University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mukherjee-and-Roy.pdf |
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author | Soham Mukherjee Madhumita Roy |
author_facet | Soham Mukherjee Madhumita Roy |
author_sort | Soham Mukherjee |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The term “disaster” has, over recent years become associated with war, especially the Second World War and the massive global devastation it caused. This devastation was not only human and material, but also cultural. War is a common theme in Albanian writer Ismail Kadare’s oeuvre. As a young boy, Kadare lived through the Second World War in his home town of Gjirokaster, which was alternately occupied by Italy, Greece and Germany. He writes about life in wartime Gjirokaster in the semi-autobiographical novel Chronicle in Stone (originally published in 1971) and the much more politically charged The Fall of the Stone City (originally published in 2008). The war ended with Enver Hoxha’s Albania pledging loyalty to Stalin’s USSR. This, for Kadare, at least, was akin to vassalage to the Ottomans which began with the defeat of the united Balkan army in the first Battle of Kosovo in 1389. This battle is represented in Three Elegies for Kosovo (originally published in 1998). Each of the three novels deals with two moments of disaster for the nation – the beginning of Hoxha’s Soviet supported Stalinist dictatorship at the end of World War II and Ottoman occupation after the first Battle of Kosovo. Both of these moments brought about drastic changes in Albanian life and culture which haunt the nation to this day. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:51:59Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-2f26f55e3d4844b48dc883d1b7589d49 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2069-8658 2734-5963 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:51:59Z |
publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
publisher | Bucharest University Press |
record_format | Article |
series | University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series |
spelling | doaj.art-2f26f55e3d4844b48dc883d1b7589d492023-11-02T08:28:26ZengBucharest University PressUniversity of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series2069-86582734-59632022-10-01121120134War as Disaster in the Novels of Ismail KadareSoham Mukherjee0Madhumita Roy1Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur; India.Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur; India.The term “disaster” has, over recent years become associated with war, especially the Second World War and the massive global devastation it caused. This devastation was not only human and material, but also cultural. War is a common theme in Albanian writer Ismail Kadare’s oeuvre. As a young boy, Kadare lived through the Second World War in his home town of Gjirokaster, which was alternately occupied by Italy, Greece and Germany. He writes about life in wartime Gjirokaster in the semi-autobiographical novel Chronicle in Stone (originally published in 1971) and the much more politically charged The Fall of the Stone City (originally published in 2008). The war ended with Enver Hoxha’s Albania pledging loyalty to Stalin’s USSR. This, for Kadare, at least, was akin to vassalage to the Ottomans which began with the defeat of the united Balkan army in the first Battle of Kosovo in 1389. This battle is represented in Three Elegies for Kosovo (originally published in 1998). Each of the three novels deals with two moments of disaster for the nation – the beginning of Hoxha’s Soviet supported Stalinist dictatorship at the end of World War II and Ottoman occupation after the first Battle of Kosovo. Both of these moments brought about drastic changes in Albanian life and culture which haunt the nation to this day.https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mukherjee-and-Roy.pdfdisasterwarismail kadarealbaniacultural identity |
spellingShingle | Soham Mukherjee Madhumita Roy War as Disaster in the Novels of Ismail Kadare University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series disaster war ismail kadare albania cultural identity |
title | War as Disaster in the Novels of Ismail Kadare |
title_full | War as Disaster in the Novels of Ismail Kadare |
title_fullStr | War as Disaster in the Novels of Ismail Kadare |
title_full_unstemmed | War as Disaster in the Novels of Ismail Kadare |
title_short | War as Disaster in the Novels of Ismail Kadare |
title_sort | war as disaster in the novels of ismail kadare |
topic | disaster war ismail kadare albania cultural identity |
url | https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mukherjee-and-Roy.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv | AT sohammukherjee warasdisasterinthenovelsofismailkadare AT madhumitaroy warasdisasterinthenovelsofismailkadare |