Small Talk: Ismail Kadare

Born in Gjirokastra, Albania, in 1936, Ismail Kadare was originally known for his poems, the first of which was published when he was 12 years old. In 1963, his debut novel, The General of The Dead Army, was published. The Palace of Dreams (1981), a thinly veiled critique of the communist regime, was immediately banned upon its release. Kadare later claimed political asylum in France (1990) after issuing statements in favour of democratisation. His books have been translated into over 30 languages. He divides his time between France and Albania.

Who is your perfect reader?

A reader who likes Dante Alighieri but who doesn’t let that get in the way of enjoying Don Quixote – just as reading Shakespeare doesn’t prevent one from reading Kafka.

What do you snack on when you write?

I only start writing after breakfast, around 10am. As I don’t work for more than two hours a day, I have coffee, but nothing else.

What are you most proud of writing?

The Palace of Dreams. It was written in 1980 and published a year later, during the blackest period of Albanian tyranny. It was a book opposed to that tyranny.

What are you scared of?

I have created a body of literary work during the time of two diametrically opposed political systems: a tyranny that lasted for 35 years (1955-1990), and 20 years of liberty. In both cases, the thing that could destroy literature is the same: self-censorship.

What books are on your bedside table?

Books that I don’t actually open, but whose presence alone radiates something. Often this feeling is quite different from the experience of reading them, which I may do some other time. But it is the feeling that I need.

Do you have a writing routine?

Between 10am and noon, every day. In Paris, I always work at the same café. In Tirana this is impossible, because of people’s curiosity.

What book changed your life?

Macbeth. I read it when I was 11. Although I couldn’t understand everything, I loved it enough that I began to copy it by hand. A year later, I wanted to do the same with Hamlet, which, however, was even more incomprehensible to me.

How do you relax?

I walk. In Paris, I walk in the Luxembourg Gardens, which are just opposite my home. In Albania, in summer, at the seashore.

Who are your literary influences?

The three peninsulas of Europe: the Apennines, with Dante; the Balkans, with Greek tragedies and medieval Albanian ballads; and the Iberian Peninsula, with Don Quixote. The British Isles (Shakespeare). Russian and central European literature (Kafka).

When did you know you were going to be a writer?

When I was 12. Since what I wrote was without value, it was easy to think of oneself as an important writer. Later, it was the other way around.

Ismail Kadare’s latest novel is ‘The Accident’ (Canongate)