The Palace Of Dreams

Description

A novel which arose from the author's ambition to invent a hell of his own, Kadare's macabre vision of tyranny and oppression was banned immediately when it first appeared in Albania in 1981. Translated by Barbara Bray from the French version of the Albanian by Jusuf Vrioni At the heart of the Sultan's vast empire stands the mysterious Palace of Dreams. Inside, the dreams of every citizen are collected, sorted and interpreted in order to identify the 'master-dreams' that will provide the clues to the Empire's destiny and that of its Monarch. An entire nation's consciousness is thus meticulously laid bare and at the mercy of its government... The Palace of Dreams is Kadare's macabre vision of tyranny and oppression, and was banned upon publication in Albania in 1981.

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. 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.

Kadare's most daring novel, one of the most complete visions of totalitarianism ever committed to paper * Vanity Fair * If there is a book worth banning in a dictatorship, this is it * Guardian * Kadare's delicately misted view of another world (as much internal as totalitarian) lives up to the splendour of his title * Independent on Sunday * Inexorably takes your breath away * Herald *