Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare was an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter and playwright who began with poetry before his first novel, The General of the Dead Army, brought him wide attention abroad. Living under strict censorship in Albania, he wrote through parable, folk tale and allegory, and in 1990 he defected to Paris. His other novels included The Siege, Broken April and The Palace of Dreams. He died in 2024, and his works have been published in 45 languages.