Life is War: Surviving Dictatorship in Communist Albania

by Shannon Woodcock

Life is War: Surviving Dictatorship in Communist Albania is a collection of oral histories that guides readers through through the decades (1944-1992) in which everything was controlled by the Communist Party; what work one could do, what food was available, and even who one could marry. The reader accompanies Shannon, the author and historian, through intimate interviews with six Albanian men and women. We hear how everyday people survived shocking living conditions, political persecution and oppression dependent on ethnicity, political status, gender and sexuality. This is a thorough and vivid history of lived communism in Albania, charting political and ideological shifts through the experiences of those who survived. Life is War stands as remarkable and profound testimony to the resilience of humanity in the face of unrelenting political terror. An accurate and precise historical work, engagingly rendered from life narratives, it plunges the reader into the difficult emotional truths that are at the core of remembering Albania's communist past. Life is War is a valuable contribution to studies of everyday life under communism and dictatorship. Eloquently written and expertly researched, it will appeal to readers interested in life histories, war, communism, European history and trauma studies.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

238 pages, Paperback

Published May 30, 2016

Reviews

[Reza Amiri Praramadhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Communist Albania was a very strange place, it was Cold War equivalent of North Korea. First aligning itself with Yugoslavia, then with Soviet Union and finally with China, under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, it became isolated from the rest of europe and the world. The claim of building a society where everyone is equal was immediately dismissed by the existence of so-called ‘biographies’, that is, the track record of each of every Albanians, whether they had good biography or bad biography, which could stain the whole family’s biographies. Living in a highly militarised society, under the watchful eyes of Sigurimi, Albanian secret police, ordinary Albanian tried their best to survive. This book is a collection of stories of people living under the communist rule, subject to its every whims and abuses, bore witness to an abomination of a state, that is, the communist state.

[E Drejta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book- for everyone interested in the communist Albania. The writer has done a fascinating job to elicit the perceptions of the men and women she has interviewed regarding their life in the communist Albania. It is the first book that speaks about the need of Albanians to know, reflect and ask for forgiveness. It takes the experiences of different people and how they navigated in the communist Albania. There are other few books that refer to the communist Albania, however this is genuine because it speaks with the voice of the common people, as opposed to former owners or privileged or those who lost privileges because of the irrational decisions of the communist party. I love the style of the writer, her narrative in particular her final analysis- it is the time in Albania that some should ask for forgiveness. Beautiful book!

[Thilo Hamann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Albanian book based on real life stories during communism