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Siege
The Siege by Ismail Kadare, winner of the Man Booker International Prize (2005)
In the early fifteenth century, as winter falls away, the people of Albania know that their fate is sealed. They have refused to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire, and war is now inevitable. Soon enough dust kicked up by Turkish horses is spotted from a citadel. Brightly coloured banners, hastily constructed minarets and tens of thousands of men fill the plain below. From this moment on, the world is waiting to hear that the fortress has fallen. The Siege tells the enthralling story of the weeks and months that follow – of the exhilaration and despair of the battlefield, the constantly shifting strategies of war, and those whose lives are held in balance, from the Pasha himself to the technicians, artillerymen, astrologer, blind poet and harem of women that accompany him. Brilliantly vivid, as insightful as it is compelling, The Siege>/I> is an unforgettable account of the clash of two great civilisations. As a portrait of war, it resonates across the centuries and confirms Ismail Kadare as one of our most significant writers.
In the early fifteenth century, as winter falls away, the people of Albania know that their fate is sealed. They have refused to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire, and war is now inevitable. Soon enough dust kicked up by Turkish horses is spotted from a citadel. Brightly coloured banners, hastily constructed minarets and tens of thousands of men fill the plain below. From this moment on, the world is waiting to hear that the fortress has fallen. The Siege tells the enthralling story of the weeks and months that follow – of the exhilaration and despair of the battlefield, the constantly shifting strategies of war, and those whose lives are held in balance, from the Pasha himself to the technicians, artillerymen, astrologer, blind poet and harem of women that accompany him. Brilliantly vivid, as insightful as it is compelling, The Siege>/I> is an unforgettable account of the clash of two great civilisations. As a portrait of war, it resonates across the centuries and confirms Ismail Kadare as one of our most significant writers.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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About the author
Ismail Kadare
273 books1,742 followersIsmail Kadare (also spelled Kadaré) was an Albanian novelist and poet. He has been a leading literary figure in Albania since the 1960s. He focused on short stories until the publication of his first novel, The General of the Dead Army. In 1996 he became a lifetime member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of France. In 1992, he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca; in 2005, he won the inaugural Man Booker International Prize, in 2009 the Prince of Asturias Award of Arts, and in 2015 the Jerusalem Prize. He has divided his time between Albania and France since 1990. Kadare has been mentioned as a possible recipient for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. His works have been published in about 30 languages.
Ismail Kadare was born in 1936 in Gjirokastër, in the south of Albania. His education included studies at the University of Tirana and then the Gorky Institute for World Literature in Moscow, a training school for writers and critics.
In 1960 Kadare returned to Albania after the country broke ties with the Soviet Union, and he became a journalist and published his first poems.
His first novel, The General of the Dead Army, sprang from a short story, and its success established his name in Albania and enabled Kadare to become a full-time writer.
Kadare's novels draw on Balkan history and legends. They are obliquely ironic as a result of trying to withstand political scrutiny. Among his best known books are Chronicle in Stone (1977), Broken April (1978), and The Concert (1988), considered the best novel of the year 1991 by the French literary magazine Lire.
In 1990, Kadare claimed political asylum in France, issuing statements in favour of democratisation. During the ordeal, he stated that "dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible. The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship."
Ismail Kadare was born in 1936 in Gjirokastër, in the south of Albania. His education included studies at the University of Tirana and then the Gorky Institute for World Literature in Moscow, a training school for writers and critics.
In 1960 Kadare returned to Albania after the country broke ties with the Soviet Union, and he became a journalist and published his first poems.
His first novel, The General of the Dead Army, sprang from a short story, and its success established his name in Albania and enabled Kadare to become a full-time writer.
Kadare's novels draw on Balkan history and legends. They are obliquely ironic as a result of trying to withstand political scrutiny. Among his best known books are Chronicle in Stone (1977), Broken April (1978), and The Concert (1988), considered the best novel of the year 1991 by the French literary magazine Lire.
In 1990, Kadare claimed political asylum in France, issuing statements in favour of democratisation. During the ordeal, he stated that "dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible. The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship."
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February 8, 2020
A Distant Mirror*
Ismail Kadare left Albania in 1990, just before the final days of the “Communist” tyranny that had held the country in its fist since 1944. He had survived while continuing to write throughout. He had become expert in couching his ideas in the past or in mythology. When you read his novels, you have one foot in Albanian history, the other in disguised portrayals of the ugly dictatorship that ruled Albania. This took considerable genius. He produced a series of brilliant, many-layered novels, so you have to wonder why the Nobel Prize committee has consistently ignored this great writer. Perhaps they were always too involved in their own little hi-jinks. Did they blame him for not condemning his old neighbor, Enver Hoxha? You don’t taunt crocodiles and live.
Never mind. This is another tour de force from Kadare. In the same vein as “Palace of Dreams”, he has mainly Turkish actors instead of Albanians, a vast Ottoman army attacking a fictitious Albanian fortress in the 1400s. While some details are historical, slowly you realize that various metaphors seep in, revealing his veiled references to events and political behavior in Albania in the early 1970s. There are show trials, there are executions, there is a kind of “gulag”, and spies, counter-spies, and “Security” agents show up---not likely to have existed in a 15th century Ottoman army. As Albania was an isolated Chinese ally in Europe, constantly in fear of invasion by either the West or by the USSR, the government (or shall we say Hoxha?) felt under perpetual siege. The Christian Albanian point of view rests lightly on sets of two pages distributed between chapters. Perhaps it is a priest who writes it, Kadare never says. The Albanian eagle (nationalism) above the fortress gets equal billing with the cross (religion). It had to. Albania at the time was the world’s only officially atheist country. Skanderbeg, the real Albanian hero who held off the Turks for many years, never appears, but is only alluded to. The main story provides straight battle descriptions, some of it very bloody, and the ruminations and rivalries of various leaders, technical experts, astrologers, old warriors, and a historian. As in several other of his novels, rain plays a major role. So, you can read “The Siege” on two levels—a war in a period of history little known in the West (the Ottoman expansion into and conquest of the Balkans) or a veiled exposé of the methods and machinations of tyranny in modern Albania. You should try to do both.
*with apologies to Barbara Tuchman
Ismail Kadare left Albania in 1990, just before the final days of the “Communist” tyranny that had held the country in its fist since 1944. He had survived while continuing to write throughout. He had become expert in couching his ideas in the past or in mythology. When you read his novels, you have one foot in Albanian history, the other in disguised portrayals of the ugly dictatorship that ruled Albania. This took considerable genius. He produced a series of brilliant, many-layered novels, so you have to wonder why the Nobel Prize committee has consistently ignored this great writer. Perhaps they were always too involved in their own little hi-jinks. Did they blame him for not condemning his old neighbor, Enver Hoxha? You don’t taunt crocodiles and live.
Never mind. This is another tour de force from Kadare. In the same vein as “Palace of Dreams”, he has mainly Turkish actors instead of Albanians, a vast Ottoman army attacking a fictitious Albanian fortress in the 1400s. While some details are historical, slowly you realize that various metaphors seep in, revealing his veiled references to events and political behavior in Albania in the early 1970s. There are show trials, there are executions, there is a kind of “gulag”, and spies, counter-spies, and “Security” agents show up---not likely to have existed in a 15th century Ottoman army. As Albania was an isolated Chinese ally in Europe, constantly in fear of invasion by either the West or by the USSR, the government (or shall we say Hoxha?) felt under perpetual siege. The Christian Albanian point of view rests lightly on sets of two pages distributed between chapters. Perhaps it is a priest who writes it, Kadare never says. The Albanian eagle (nationalism) above the fortress gets equal billing with the cross (religion). It had to. Albania at the time was the world’s only officially atheist country. Skanderbeg, the real Albanian hero who held off the Turks for many years, never appears, but is only alluded to. The main story provides straight battle descriptions, some of it very bloody, and the ruminations and rivalries of various leaders, technical experts, astrologers, old warriors, and a historian. As in several other of his novels, rain plays a major role. So, you can read “The Siege” on two levels—a war in a period of history little known in the West (the Ottoman expansion into and conquest of the Balkans) or a veiled exposé of the methods and machinations of tyranny in modern Albania. You should try to do both.
*with apologies to Barbara Tuchman
June 5, 2015
أنا لم أسمع بالكاتب قبل ذلك . ولم أكن أعرف حتى جنسيته. كل ما لفت نظرى انه حائز على جائزة البوكر الدوليه . وتجاربى مع هذه الجائزة مبشرة جدا. فأخذت الكتاب لأجد ان المؤلف ألبانى ولم يسبق لى الاطلاع على أدب هذه المنطقه بالذات .
ليكون لى الحظ فى قراءة عمل من أعظم ما يكون على الاطلاق
دائما العمل الروائى الممزوج بتاريخ مرحله معينه يكون امام احتمالين لا ثالث لهما: اما ان يكون العمل عظيم او يكون عمل سئ ولا وسط بينهما
وهذا العمل عظيم بكل ما تحمله الكلمة من معنى.
تحكى عن فترة الفتح العثمانى لألبانيا .
ترجمه جامده (ناشفه) لا حرارة فيها ولا أدرى اهى وجهة نظر المترجم ام النص الاصلى ؟
تفاصيل كثيرة (جدا) لا ملل فيها . يضعك فى قلب المعركه
من قرأ (دروز بلغراد) وانبهر بها سيجد هذا العمل مبهر
September 15, 2010
The author claims that this is not a historical novel, and yet the story is set in the mid 15th century and is a primer on the methods of warfare used at the time. It is also a metaphor for Albania during its Communist rule in the 20th century, for although the invading Ottoman empire circa 1474 is portrayed as the bad guy, the implication and insinuation is that this totalitarian empire is a reflection of later day Albania itself.
In a nutshell, an Albanian fortress is besieged by an invading Ottoman army, but prevails despite everything that is thrown at it – from ladders, to death squads, to tunnelling, to cannon, to shutting off aquifers, to cutting off food supplies, to throwing poisoned vermin over its walls. There are spies on both sides; the reward for failure is imprisonment or death (even cannon that don’t fire straight are ‘fustigated,’ life is cheap, and God help any female Albanians taken prisoner – they don’t last even an evening in the hands of their sex hungry enemy obsessed with blond women’s pubic hair.
In the end, the Ottomans retreat, and Albania is safe until the next invasion...and the next... for victory is finally achieved only when the minds of the opponents are vanquished.
I was intrigued by the vast support network that buffets an army of this size: mufti, dervishes, astrologers, spell casters, architects, chroniclers, poets, hoxas (professional prayers), dream interpreters, keepers of the seals, knife grinders, dwarfs, harem wives, eunuchs, and water carriers, to name a few.
Even though the story is primarily told via the lowly chronicler, Mevla Celebi, the point of view pans the various players in the invading camp, including the commander-in-chief, who is most at risk for a failed campaign. We also begin each chapter with a page or two from the diary of an unknown soldier on the Albanian side, which sums up the reaction to the previous chapter’s events from those under siege. The style mixes humour with terror to bring out a chilling effect on the reader.
On reflection, I realized how reminiscent the Ottoman Empire’s practices are of present life, not only during Communism in the 20th century, but in our modern public or private sector corporations today. For even though superstition has been replaced by rationality and the human casualty rate may not be so high today, the following still applies: win at all costs, scapegoat and sideline those who fail, spy on one’s competitors, some people are more equal than others in the human bureaucracy, pick your battles, the chief solicits feedback but makes his own decision in the end, human resources are disposable etc., etc. Certainly a book worth reading and reflecting on whether much has changed since the 15th century, especially in our attitudes towards conquest and acquisition.
In a nutshell, an Albanian fortress is besieged by an invading Ottoman army, but prevails despite everything that is thrown at it – from ladders, to death squads, to tunnelling, to cannon, to shutting off aquifers, to cutting off food supplies, to throwing poisoned vermin over its walls. There are spies on both sides; the reward for failure is imprisonment or death (even cannon that don’t fire straight are ‘fustigated,’ life is cheap, and God help any female Albanians taken prisoner – they don’t last even an evening in the hands of their sex hungry enemy obsessed with blond women’s pubic hair.
In the end, the Ottomans retreat, and Albania is safe until the next invasion...and the next... for victory is finally achieved only when the minds of the opponents are vanquished.
I was intrigued by the vast support network that buffets an army of this size: mufti, dervishes, astrologers, spell casters, architects, chroniclers, poets, hoxas (professional prayers), dream interpreters, keepers of the seals, knife grinders, dwarfs, harem wives, eunuchs, and water carriers, to name a few.
Even though the story is primarily told via the lowly chronicler, Mevla Celebi, the point of view pans the various players in the invading camp, including the commander-in-chief, who is most at risk for a failed campaign. We also begin each chapter with a page or two from the diary of an unknown soldier on the Albanian side, which sums up the reaction to the previous chapter’s events from those under siege. The style mixes humour with terror to bring out a chilling effect on the reader.
On reflection, I realized how reminiscent the Ottoman Empire’s practices are of present life, not only during Communism in the 20th century, but in our modern public or private sector corporations today. For even though superstition has been replaced by rationality and the human casualty rate may not be so high today, the following still applies: win at all costs, scapegoat and sideline those who fail, spy on one’s competitors, some people are more equal than others in the human bureaucracy, pick your battles, the chief solicits feedback but makes his own decision in the end, human resources are disposable etc., etc. Certainly a book worth reading and reflecting on whether much has changed since the 15th century, especially in our attitudes towards conquest and acquisition.
December 9, 2012
الحصار
في كل مرة تقرأ فيها كتاباً تاريخياً يجب أن تنتبه إلى أن المؤلف إذ يلاحق الأحداث والدول والقادة والمعارك ينسى الإنسان، وليس هذا خطئه، فدوره هو في أن يدون المعلومة التاريخية، أو يحققها، أو يحاول استخلاص مغزى أو معنى منها، أما عن الإنسان الذي عاش ومات، عانى، ضحك وبكى، حلم ثم مات فدفن ودفنت أحلامه، بل ربما دفنت مدينته ذاتها من بعده، وصارت أطلالاً موحشة، هذا الإنسان لن يستعيده لنا إلا الروائي، وحده هو من سينقض على ما كتبه المؤرخ، ينبشه، يفككه، يعيد بعثه، ليجعل أبطاله يعيشون هناك، كأنما بعثت تلك المدينة المهجورة ليوم، بعثت لتكتب وتخلد أدباً.
ولكن أينه الروائي العبقري؟ الذي تخرج من بين يديه هذه التحفة !! كاداريه – أو قاداريه إن شئنا إعادة الأشياء إلى أصلها – أحد هؤلاء العباقرة، لأنك تأتي لديه، وقد قرأت كلمة حصار مئات المرات في كتب التاريخ، وشاهدت الحصار في أفلام هوليودية عظمى من وزن (Troy) و(Kingdom of Heaven) و(The Lord of the Rings) حيث تمطر المدن المحصنة بالصخور الضخمة، وحيث تخاض معارك عنيفة على ثغرات الأسوار، وحيث يتعاضد الصوت بالصورة ليسلبا لبك، ويجعلاك في قلب الحدث، ولكنك مع هذا كله تدرك وأنت تقرأ كاداريه أنك ما شهدت حصاراً.
إن الحصار ليس تلك المعارك السريعة التي تستمر ليوم أو يومين كما تنقل لنا الأفلام، إن الحصار الذي نعيشه مع كاداريه هو آلاف من الجنود الذين يحاولون العيش في العراء، إنه القادة العسكريون الذي يجتمعون بشكل متواصل على مرأى القلعة الكئيبة حالمين بلحظة الفتح، إنها المحاولات الفاشلة، والموتى الذين يتكدسون تحت الأسوار، إنها المقاومة الشرسة والعنيفة، وإنها وهو الأهم المعسكر بل على الأصح المدينة المصغرة التي تقام مؤقتاً بجانب القلعة، هناك حيث تسبك المدافع الضخمة، وحيث يطعم آلاف الجنود المتضورين، وحيث فرق الهندسة العسكرية تحاول صناعة آلات الحصار، وقطع قنوات الماء التي تروي المحاصرين.
تفتتح هذه الرواية في ألبانيا القرن الخامس عشر، حيث جيش تركي ضخم بقيادة (أوغورلو طرسن باشا) - القائد العسكري المغضوب عليه والذي أعطي هذه المهمة الصعبة كاختبار أخير – يحاصر قلعة ألبانية، منذ هذه البداية وحتى 375 صفحة تليها وتكوِن متن الرواية، سنكون في معسكر طرسن باشا ورجاله، لن نتخطى الأسوار أبداً لنعيش مع الألبان المحاصرين، لن نعرف أحداً منهم، سيمنح المؤلف في بداية كل فصل صفحتين فقط للمحاصرين تروى بضمير المتكلم، ثم سنمضي بقية الفصل مع أهم شخصية أو لنقل الشخصية التي تجعلها وظيفتها تتنقل في جميع أنحاء المعسكر، إنه موثق الحملة (مولى جلبي)، هناك سنلتقي بكبار الضباط والقادة، سنطلع على الاجتماعات الحربية، والخطط التي توضع ومن ثم تنفذ، كل المخاوف والخسائر والآلام، كل التعساء الضائعين، والقلعة صامدة لا يقتحمها الفرسان، ولا حملة السيوف، ولا الانكشارية أو الاستشهاديين، وكل أقسام الجيش التركي التي يبرع كاداريه في استخدامها في روايته.
هل هذه الرواية عن الصمود كما حاول البعض تفسيرها؟ هل هي تتحدث عن صمود الألبان أمام القوة العثمانية العظمى، وهو ما يفخرون به في تاريخهم، وخاصة وقت (إسكندر بك) الذي يحوم في هذه الرواية كشبح فوق رؤوس الأتراك، ولكن الألبان غير حاضرين في الرواية، إذن هل هي عن (حالة الحصار) التي تصيب المحاصِر، خوفه من الفشل، خوفه من الشتاء القادم الذي سيجعله يفك الحصار ويرحل، وحساباته التي تدخل فيها الخسائر والعوائد المتوقعة من الفتح، كل هذا يجعله أمام حسابات لا نهاية لها، بينما ليس لدى المحاصرين إلا خيار الصمود والصمود فقط.
رواية عظيمة، والوصف فيها وخلق الظروف ومحاولات الاقتحام مكتوبة بنفس عالٍ وقلب شجاع.
أخيراً اكتشفت وأنا اقلب كتب كاداريه في مكتبتي أنني امتلك نسخة من هذه الرواية بترجمة أخرى لمحمد غضيمة صادرة من دار الآداب، ولكن بعنوان مخترع (طبول المطر)، وهو عنوان لا علاقة له بالعنوان الألباني ولا الفرنسي أو حتى الإنجليزي !! وبعدد صفحات يقل مئة صفحة عن النسخة التي لدي !! كما أن المترجم للأسف دمج النص الصغير الذي يخص القلعة الألبانية والذي يوضع كمقدمة لكل فصل ببقية الفصل، فصار لا يسهل تمييزه عن بقية الفصل التركي، ما يحسب لهذه الترجمة فقط هو الاحتفاظ باسم الفرق العسكرية التركية كما وردت في النص من دون ترجمتها، ولكن أفسد هذا حقيقة أن المؤلف لم يشرح للقارئ معنى كل اسم، فلذا لن يفهم قارئ هذه النسخة دور كل فرقة !! من أراد أن يقرأ هذه الرواية فعليه بنسخة (الدار العربية للعلوم ناشرون) والتي ترجمها (محمد درويش) وهي متوفرة الكترونياً، رغم أن هذه الرواية مما يقتنى.
في كل مرة تقرأ فيها كتاباً تاريخياً يجب أن تنتبه إلى أن المؤلف إذ يلاحق الأحداث والدول والقادة والمعارك ينسى الإنسان، وليس هذا خطئه، فدوره هو في أن يدون المعلومة التاريخية، أو يحققها، أو يحاول استخلاص مغزى أو معنى منها، أما عن الإنسان الذي عاش ومات، عانى، ضحك وبكى، حلم ثم مات فدفن ودفنت أحلامه، بل ربما دفنت مدينته ذاتها من بعده، وصارت أطلالاً موحشة، هذا الإنسان لن يستعيده لنا إلا الروائي، وحده هو من سينقض على ما كتبه المؤرخ، ينبشه، يفككه، يعيد بعثه، ليجعل أبطاله يعيشون هناك، كأنما بعثت تلك المدينة المهجورة ليوم، بعثت لتكتب وتخلد أدباً.
ولكن أينه الروائي العبقري؟ الذي تخرج من بين يديه هذه التحفة !! كاداريه – أو قاداريه إن شئنا إعادة الأشياء إلى أصلها – أحد هؤلاء العباقرة، لأنك تأتي لديه، وقد قرأت كلمة حصار مئات المرات في كتب التاريخ، وشاهدت الحصار في أفلام هوليودية عظمى من وزن (Troy) و(Kingdom of Heaven) و(The Lord of the Rings) حيث تمطر المدن المحصنة بالصخور الضخمة، وحيث تخاض معارك عنيفة على ثغرات الأسوار، وحيث يتعاضد الصوت بالصورة ليسلبا لبك، ويجعلاك في قلب الحدث، ولكنك مع هذا كله تدرك وأنت تقرأ كاداريه أنك ما شهدت حصاراً.
إن الحصار ليس تلك المعارك السريعة التي تستمر ليوم أو يومين كما تنقل لنا الأفلام، إن الحصار الذي نعيشه مع كاداريه هو آلاف من الجنود الذين يحاولون العيش في العراء، إنه القادة العسكريون الذي يجتمعون بشكل متواصل على مرأى القلعة الكئيبة حالمين بلحظة الفتح، إنها المحاولات الفاشلة، والموتى الذين يتكدسون تحت الأسوار، إنها المقاومة الشرسة والعنيفة، وإنها وهو الأهم المعسكر بل على الأصح المدينة المصغرة التي تقام مؤقتاً بجانب القلعة، هناك حيث تسبك المدافع الضخمة، وحيث يطعم آلاف الجنود المتضورين، وحيث فرق الهندسة العسكرية تحاول صناعة آلات الحصار، وقطع قنوات الماء التي تروي المحاصرين.
تفتتح هذه الرواية في ألبانيا القرن الخامس عشر، حيث جيش تركي ضخم بقيادة (أوغورلو طرسن باشا) - القائد العسكري المغضوب عليه والذي أعطي هذه المهمة الصعبة كاختبار أخير – يحاصر قلعة ألبانية، منذ هذه البداية وحتى 375 صفحة تليها وتكوِن متن الرواية، سنكون في معسكر طرسن باشا ورجاله، لن نتخطى الأسوار أبداً لنعيش مع الألبان المحاصرين، لن نعرف أحداً منهم، سيمنح المؤلف في بداية كل فصل صفحتين فقط للمحاصرين تروى بضمير المتكلم، ثم سنمضي بقية الفصل مع أهم شخصية أو لنقل الشخصية التي تجعلها وظيفتها تتنقل في جميع أنحاء المعسكر، إنه موثق الحملة (مولى جلبي)، هناك سنلتقي بكبار الضباط والقادة، سنطلع على الاجتماعات الحربية، والخطط التي توضع ومن ثم تنفذ، كل المخاوف والخسائر والآلام، كل التعساء الضائعين، والقلعة صامدة لا يقتحمها الفرسان، ولا حملة السيوف، ولا الانكشارية أو الاستشهاديين، وكل أقسام الجيش التركي التي يبرع كاداريه في استخدامها في روايته.
هل هذه الرواية عن الصمود كما حاول البعض تفسيرها؟ هل هي تتحدث عن صمود الألبان أمام القوة العثمانية العظمى، وهو ما يفخرون به في تاريخهم، وخاصة وقت (إسكندر بك) الذي يحوم في هذه الرواية كشبح فوق رؤوس الأتراك، ولكن الألبان غير حاضرين في الرواية، إذن هل هي عن (حالة الحصار) التي تصيب المحاصِر، خوفه من الفشل، خوفه من الشتاء القادم الذي سيجعله يفك الحصار ويرحل، وحساباته التي تدخل فيها الخسائر والعوائد المتوقعة من الفتح، كل هذا يجعله أمام حسابات لا نهاية لها، بينما ليس لدى المحاصرين إلا خيار الصمود والصمود فقط.
رواية عظيمة، والوصف فيها وخلق الظروف ومحاولات الاقتحام مكتوبة بنفس عالٍ وقلب شجاع.
أخيراً اكتشفت وأنا اقلب كتب كاداريه في مكتبتي أنني امتلك نسخة من هذه الرواية بترجمة أخرى لمحمد غضيمة صادرة من دار الآداب، ولكن بعنوان مخترع (طبول المطر)، وهو عنوان لا علاقة له بالعنوان الألباني ولا الفرنسي أو حتى الإنجليزي !! وبعدد صفحات يقل مئة صفحة عن النسخة التي لدي !! كما أن المترجم للأسف دمج النص الصغير الذي يخص القلعة الألبانية والذي يوضع كمقدمة لكل فصل ببقية الفصل، فصار لا يسهل تمييزه عن بقية الفصل التركي، ما يحسب لهذه الترجمة فقط هو الاحتفاظ باسم الفرق العسكرية التركية كما وردت في النص من دون ترجمتها، ولكن أفسد هذا حقيقة أن المؤلف لم يشرح للقارئ معنى كل اسم، فلذا لن يفهم قارئ هذه النسخة دور كل فرقة !! من أراد أن يقرأ هذه الرواية فعليه بنسخة (الدار العربية للعلوم ناشرون) والتي ترجمها (محمد درويش) وهي متوفرة الكترونياً، رغم أن هذه الرواية مما يقتنى.
August 28, 2011
هذه رواية عظيمة.. ليس كرواية تاريخية وحسب وليس لأنها تبدع في وصف محض "حصار".. لكن إسماعيل كاداريه وخلال الحملة العثمانية التي اختلقها على قلعة ما في القلب الألباني قد نجح أن ينقل لنا روح ذاك العصر بأسره، متجسدة في فلسفة الامبراطورية، فلسفة التوسع، فلسفة الحصار والإبادة وفلسفة المقاومة. إن�� قد نجح في أن يجعلنا نفهم جوهر هويته الألبانية المتنازعة بين استحقاقات ماضيها المسيحي البعيد، والعثماني الأقرب منه، ونجح في أن ينقل لنا كل مبررات اللبس والارتباك والتشتت التي تعتري تلك الهوية خلال فصول روايته. والعبقرية تتجلى تماماً في أنه قد فعل ذلك متعمداً اختيار أبطال روايته من قلب المعسكر الغازي. إنه لم يستخدم ضمير المتكلم الألباني إلا نادراً. لم يختلق إلا شخصية واحدة محورية ألبانية. لكنه ومن خلال وصف المعسكر الآخر.. المعسكر التركي القادم لمحو الكيان الألباني، قد نجح باقتدار في إيصال صوت شعبه وقضيته بكل موضوعية كما يظهر لي.
تتميز الرواية بنفس سردي بديع، وبإحاطة بالتفاصيل التاريخية، وبتصوير بليغ جداً لأهوال الحرب ولنفسيات الشخصيات التي تم اختيارها بحرفنة لتصلح للتمدد عبر الزمان والمكان. النص يجيد وصف تلك المرحلة من طور العروج العثماني بكل اندفاعه المحموم للسيطرة على العالم وكل ملابساته وتعقيداته حد الاقتدار.
هذه الترجمةالعربية عانت من بعض الركاكة هنا وهناك، إلا أنها تظل مقبولة جداً بل ومطلوبة بإلحاح لا سيما وقد تأخرت ثلاثة عقود عن هذه الرائعة الأدبية العالمية.
تتميز الرواية بنفس سردي بديع، وبإحاطة بالتفاصيل التاريخية، وبتصوير بليغ جداً لأهوال الحرب ولنفسيات الشخصيات التي تم اختيارها بحرفنة لتصلح للتمدد عبر الزمان والمكان. النص يجيد وصف تلك المرحلة من طور العروج العثماني بكل اندفاعه المحموم للسيطرة على العالم وكل ملابساته وتعقيداته حد الاقتدار.
هذه الترجمةالعربية عانت من بعض الركاكة هنا وهناك، إلا أنها تظل مقبولة جداً بل ومطلوبة بإلحاح لا سيما وقد تأخرت ثلاثة عقود عن هذه الرائعة الأدبية العالمية.
July 2, 2019
"The Siege" is an historical novel by the great Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare involving the defeat of the Ottoman army to capture a rebel city, with many details taken from the attack on Krujë in 1450. Krujë was part of a larger rebellion led by George Castriot, who used the mountainous terrain to harass the besiegers and deprive them of local supplies. That predatory nature of invading armies is part of Kadare's point; the novel was written in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia (although the Maoism of Albana's dictator, Enver Hoxha, was no great bargain either). Although Kadare spends time with both the besiegers and the defenders, and his sympathies are clearly with the latter, many more pages are devoted to the Ottomans and their hierarchy, from the commander of the invasion, leaders of various types of troops, the quartermaster, the architect who advises the artillery, even the astrologist charged with recommending a favorable time for assault and the chronicler who supposed to record the expeditions success for posterity. Some parts of this work better than others: some of the conversations are clearly designed to provide information, and the pages spent with the commander's harem seem a little off. But Kadare is not primarily interested in historical war, except where it suits his purpose of criticizing war. There is no glory here, and precious little slaughter; most of the multitude of troops sacrificed in the attacks and all of the women captured by Ottoman raiders die off-stage. After all the boasting and jockeying for position in their war council, the Ottomans are reduced to using infected vermin to weaken the defenders from inside. In the end, war is reduced to who dies from lack of supplies first. And, for all the talk, no one can offer a reason for it.
October 26, 2019
Ez az albán Egri csillagok, Ali és Ahmed basák szemszögéből bemutatva, amihez Dobó, Mekcsey és Bornemissza fűznek rövid lábjegyzeteket. És ne tévedjünk: ehhez a regényhez képest Gárdonyi munkája tréfa, móka, kacagás.
A háború minden kegyetlenségét és mocskát ránk zúdítja. Tömörsége és pontossága imponáló. Ha Hemingway így írja meg a Búcsú a fegyverektőlt, talán hamarabb kapja meg a Nobel-díjat.
Aki manapság mecsetet ígérget a törököknek Kőbányán, és szalafita iskolát támogat Budapesten, előbb el kéne, hogy olvassa ezt (ha még tud olvasni...)
Örülök, hogy az író gyatra disztópiája, Az Álmok Palotája után ezt még sorra vettem. Van, akinek meg kell adni a második esélyt!
A háború minden kegyetlenségét és mocskát ránk zúdítja. Tömörsége és pontossága imponáló. Ha Hemingway így írja meg a Búcsú a fegyverektőlt, talán hamarabb kapja meg a Nobel-díjat.
Aki manapság mecsetet ígérget a törököknek Kőbányán, és szalafita iskolát támogat Budapesten, előbb el kéne, hogy olvassa ezt (ha még tud olvasni...)
Örülök, hogy az író gyatra disztópiája, Az Álmok Palotája után ezt még sorra vettem. Van, akinek meg kell adni a második esélyt!
June 29, 2018
L’Albania del XV secolo, l’Arbëria al tempo dell’invasione ottomana e dell’eroica resistenza degli arbërorët guidati dal valoroso Skanderbeg, il “Comandante Alessandro” Giorgio Castriota. È l’epopea del popolo albanese, che sarà cantata e ricordata nei secoli anche quando il paese sarà islamizzato e ridotto a provincia ottomana. Ma è anche, in Kadare, la resistenza dell’Albania socialista prima all’Orso russo e poi all’Orsetto jugoslavo di Tito. L’epopea di Skanderbeg e dei suoi arbërorët resta e resterà, cantata, nei secoli. L’epopea del tirannello stalinista Enver Hoxha è già finita nel dimenticatoio. O nella pattumiera della Storia.
April 12, 2017
تدور الرواية حول حصار القوات العثمانية لأحد القلاع الألبانية المتخيلة. و لئن أمعن الكاتب في وصف أطوار الحرب الدائرة فانه لم يهمل الجانب الانساني من
... خلال عدة شخصيات من ذلك المؤرخ , الشاعر, الفلكي, الباشا, حريم الباشا و غيرهم
عادة لا أستسيغ الروايات التاريخية التي تسرد وقائع الحروب لكن البناء القصصي هنا كان جيدا و كذلك الأمر بالنسبة الى تركيب الشخصيات و الترجمة التي استطاع من خلالها محمد درويش نقل هذا العمل الأدبي الى القارىء العربي كأحسن ما يكون...
September 29, 2018
A real treat, an Albanian authors account of a Turkish siege has it all. Good history, great writing, dread, historical detail wrapped into a subtle political scream of anger.
October 31, 2021
I'm part of an online forum where we all share book recommendations, talk about authors and novels that we have liked and that we feel have wasted our time, and where we have started, in the middle of a pandemic, playing this game of selecting who we think should be the recipient of the Nobel Prize. We collectively select 3 to 4 authors that we would like to review in our considerations, and then engage in deliberations and voting, and the winner is "announced" the week before the Nobel is revealed.
To be honest, it is both satisfying and far from it. The online deliberation process just isn't all that thoughtful usually, and the voting process means that we don't have to engage in any commitement to consensus building. Thankfully, most of the authors who make it through the first round of screening really are quite strong. Ismail Kadare was one of them, though he didn't win the prize.
I had hoped to read a couple of his books this year to help with the deliberations, but I didn't even get through this one before we had to make our decisions, and so I didn't vote in the final considerations. He wouldn't have been my top choice, but I can see why he is a strong candidate for some.
A few quick things of note:
1. His writing is consistently good, even in a translation to English from a translation to French from the original Albanian text. He was particularly good at giving me, somebody who knows nothing about warfare unless it has been taught in one of the Lord of the Rings movies, a way to understand and visualize what was happening. He also had moments where he wrote with beautiful poetry and insight. But he is not an exceptional prose stylist, and his writing can oftentimes feel like it is flat, round, pleasant, and nothing more.
2. He seems to understand well the workings of political power well, and he writes about it's invasive creeping daily tendrils into social interactions really well. This is largely due to his characters, but also the intrigue that he builds into their interactions and webs and influence. I quite enjoyed the shifting pools of influence, and the desperate need for success at the cost of others.
3. He knows how to tell a story well by using conceits that feed into the themes really well. One of the primary voices here is the Chronicler/Historian, whose task is to recount what is happening on the field so that it can be shared for generations to come. Another is his friend and constant point of intrigue, the Quartermaster, whose insights and knowledge about the politics and shifts in the game of warfare led me to wonder where his loyalties were settling in any given moment. No technique, though, is quite as exceptional as the voice of besieged fortress, recorded as though in a diary, with its entries placed at the end of each chapter. As a storyteller I never thought he put his foot in the wrong direction.
4. He knows his stuff so well that even a made-up historical battle, and all of the battles that are waged in an effort to keep the battle going, can feel true and grand but also personal and human. That's no small feat. I feel like I learned a great deal by reading this book because it felt authentic to a time, place, culture, and conflict.
And so, what to make of it all.
First and foremost, this is a good book, and that counts. I would recommend it to anybody curious to get into Kadare (like me), or who enjoys a strong piece of historical fiction (sometimes like me), or who likes a thoughtful and insightful storyteller (always like me). I would not recommend it to somebody who is most attracted to a writer by their prose stylings (sometimes like me), or by the relatability of the content (sometimes like me), or who is looking for something that is really pressing against the limitations of what literature can say or how it says it (sometimes like me).
Second, what makes the book more than just good and really actually great is the way the he humanizes people who are forced to make difficult decisions, and the reasons for which they must be made. It is some mixture of ambition and survival, entrapment and choice, paranoia and trust. And the hopelessness of winning a conflict that feels endless; clouds can appear on the horizon and with them they bring failure or revelatory joy, depending on which side you're on. I appreciated the Quartermaster's recognition that failure was never an option for the Ottoman's, but a temporary setback - while fatal to countless soldiers, officers, and a few leaders - was ultimately something that could be worked into a plan for domination.
I also appreciated the Quartermaster's realization that domination would not work; the resistance was there, it was stowing itself away, it was building itself up in stories of success and solidarity, and it would outlast an endless empire through nothing more than mere human nature. Rebellion, once it has a moment of success, even if it is a success that gets wiped out by the next spring's onslaught of warriors, will find its heroes and its stories and, with these, stow away until it can ultimately win back what was originally its own.
Comparing Kadare to the other candidates for the forum's inaugural prize, I would not have voted for him as my top choice. But, comparing this book to the only other one by him that I have read, The Pyramid, I can really start to see why people admire him. I will certainly be looking for more of his literature at the library and at bookstores in town, because I will certainly enjoy his review of the human political condition again.
To be honest, it is both satisfying and far from it. The online deliberation process just isn't all that thoughtful usually, and the voting process means that we don't have to engage in any commitement to consensus building. Thankfully, most of the authors who make it through the first round of screening really are quite strong. Ismail Kadare was one of them, though he didn't win the prize.
I had hoped to read a couple of his books this year to help with the deliberations, but I didn't even get through this one before we had to make our decisions, and so I didn't vote in the final considerations. He wouldn't have been my top choice, but I can see why he is a strong candidate for some.
A few quick things of note:
1. His writing is consistently good, even in a translation to English from a translation to French from the original Albanian text. He was particularly good at giving me, somebody who knows nothing about warfare unless it has been taught in one of the Lord of the Rings movies, a way to understand and visualize what was happening. He also had moments where he wrote with beautiful poetry and insight. But he is not an exceptional prose stylist, and his writing can oftentimes feel like it is flat, round, pleasant, and nothing more.
2. He seems to understand well the workings of political power well, and he writes about it's invasive creeping daily tendrils into social interactions really well. This is largely due to his characters, but also the intrigue that he builds into their interactions and webs and influence. I quite enjoyed the shifting pools of influence, and the desperate need for success at the cost of others.
3. He knows how to tell a story well by using conceits that feed into the themes really well. One of the primary voices here is the Chronicler/Historian, whose task is to recount what is happening on the field so that it can be shared for generations to come. Another is his friend and constant point of intrigue, the Quartermaster, whose insights and knowledge about the politics and shifts in the game of warfare led me to wonder where his loyalties were settling in any given moment. No technique, though, is quite as exceptional as the voice of besieged fortress, recorded as though in a diary, with its entries placed at the end of each chapter. As a storyteller I never thought he put his foot in the wrong direction.
4. He knows his stuff so well that even a made-up historical battle, and all of the battles that are waged in an effort to keep the battle going, can feel true and grand but also personal and human. That's no small feat. I feel like I learned a great deal by reading this book because it felt authentic to a time, place, culture, and conflict.
And so, what to make of it all.
First and foremost, this is a good book, and that counts. I would recommend it to anybody curious to get into Kadare (like me), or who enjoys a strong piece of historical fiction (sometimes like me), or who likes a thoughtful and insightful storyteller (always like me). I would not recommend it to somebody who is most attracted to a writer by their prose stylings (sometimes like me), or by the relatability of the content (sometimes like me), or who is looking for something that is really pressing against the limitations of what literature can say or how it says it (sometimes like me).
Second, what makes the book more than just good and really actually great is the way the he humanizes people who are forced to make difficult decisions, and the reasons for which they must be made. It is some mixture of ambition and survival, entrapment and choice, paranoia and trust. And the hopelessness of winning a conflict that feels endless; clouds can appear on the horizon and with them they bring failure or revelatory joy, depending on which side you're on. I appreciated the Quartermaster's recognition that failure was never an option for the Ottoman's, but a temporary setback - while fatal to countless soldiers, officers, and a few leaders - was ultimately something that could be worked into a plan for domination.
I also appreciated the Quartermaster's realization that domination would not work; the resistance was there, it was stowing itself away, it was building itself up in stories of success and solidarity, and it would outlast an endless empire through nothing more than mere human nature. Rebellion, once it has a moment of success, even if it is a success that gets wiped out by the next spring's onslaught of warriors, will find its heroes and its stories and, with these, stow away until it can ultimately win back what was originally its own.
Comparing Kadare to the other candidates for the forum's inaugural prize, I would not have voted for him as my top choice. But, comparing this book to the only other one by him that I have read, The Pyramid, I can really start to see why people admire him. I will certainly be looking for more of his literature at the library and at bookstores in town, because I will certainly enjoy his review of the human political condition again.
May 3, 2009
In The Siege, Ismail Kadare succeeds in telling a story that is at once a fictionalized piece of history, a believable what-if about the Ottoman invasion of 15th-century Albania, and a subtle commentary on modern politics and war.
As with other armies throughout history, the Turks led military campaigns from late spring to early fall. The Siege begins as the Catholic Albanians, having sent the Ottomon envoys packing, prepare for the coming of the invading force. The tale is told in two perspectives, alternating with very brief comments from an unknown Albanian, perhaps a monk or priest writing a journal of the siege, and longer chapters told from the viewpoint of a few key Turkish players, including the Pasha, or commander-in-chief, the camp historian, and a doomed astrologer.
It is the contrast between the ordinary Turk with the views of the war council that highlights the medieval-modern aspects of Kadare's tale.
On the one hand, fervent Turkish soldiers fear and disdain the "symbol of torture" -- the Cross -- that looms above the castle's walls; they listen to the mullahs and work themselves into a passionate fury on the eve of battle. The naive camp historian frets and worries over worthy verses glorifying the Ottoman cause. He fears that he isn't up to the task of writing an epic and finds himself with writer's block. There is the astrologer who wrongly predicts success and the confident poet who is blinded. There are the thousands who die trying to scale the walls.
On the other hand, the Quartermaster, a world-weary and pragmatic man, worries about supplying the troops and discusses the Albanians and how to defeat them with the nuance of a seasoned diplomat. The doctor debates the pros and cons of bioweapons such as plague-ridden rats over other pestilent diseases and other animal vectors -- all of which must be approved from on high. The Pasha suspects that he's been chosen by his enemies in the Padishah's court to lead the campaign, whose failure is his life. The engineers build bigger and better cannons with no concern for human life, only whether the massive destruction can be predicted and controlled, and the enigmatic architect, a figure who moves in and out of Turkish prisons, is a renegade Christian selling out the architectural secrets of his fellow Christians. There is even a war cry chosen and sent down from on high.
Written with a light hand, The Siege manages to leaves the reader disturbed and not a little sad.
As with other armies throughout history, the Turks led military campaigns from late spring to early fall. The Siege begins as the Catholic Albanians, having sent the Ottomon envoys packing, prepare for the coming of the invading force. The tale is told in two perspectives, alternating with very brief comments from an unknown Albanian, perhaps a monk or priest writing a journal of the siege, and longer chapters told from the viewpoint of a few key Turkish players, including the Pasha, or commander-in-chief, the camp historian, and a doomed astrologer.
It is the contrast between the ordinary Turk with the views of the war council that highlights the medieval-modern aspects of Kadare's tale.
On the one hand, fervent Turkish soldiers fear and disdain the "symbol of torture" -- the Cross -- that looms above the castle's walls; they listen to the mullahs and work themselves into a passionate fury on the eve of battle. The naive camp historian frets and worries over worthy verses glorifying the Ottoman cause. He fears that he isn't up to the task of writing an epic and finds himself with writer's block. There is the astrologer who wrongly predicts success and the confident poet who is blinded. There are the thousands who die trying to scale the walls.
On the other hand, the Quartermaster, a world-weary and pragmatic man, worries about supplying the troops and discusses the Albanians and how to defeat them with the nuance of a seasoned diplomat. The doctor debates the pros and cons of bioweapons such as plague-ridden rats over other pestilent diseases and other animal vectors -- all of which must be approved from on high. The Pasha suspects that he's been chosen by his enemies in the Padishah's court to lead the campaign, whose failure is his life. The engineers build bigger and better cannons with no concern for human life, only whether the massive destruction can be predicted and controlled, and the enigmatic architect, a figure who moves in and out of Turkish prisons, is a renegade Christian selling out the architectural secrets of his fellow Christians. There is even a war cry chosen and sent down from on high.
Written with a light hand, The Siege manages to leaves the reader disturbed and not a little sad.
April 26, 2020
Realizing that 3 stars for Ismail Kadare’s The Siege is counted as a negative, the short version is that it is not a bad book, it is not that great. This is a 320+ page book about how siege warfare was conducted by the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s. By coincidence the siege is against a Christian citadel in Albania. Some describe this as a Muslim versus Christian thing but there is virtually no discussion of either religion in anything close to a comparative way. The religion of the beseiged and the location of the siege are incidental.
The location is generally important in that this is not about desert warfare and so the novel has to be located in a climate than not generally found in North Africa. It could just as easily been set in Spain or large parts of the swath from the edges of the Levantine to the low lands of India.
After that we get a decent lesson plan for siege warfare in the time when gunpowder and cannon are still new. The assault is by the numbers with the important plot reveals being the addition of new (to the reader) techniques for taking a walled city. A few external constraints are added in to limit how low the attackers have to complete their assignment.
A lot of humans are wasted, but warfare then as now tends to be rather heedless of humans. The Ottomans do not intend to be wasteful, this army does not get reinforcements, but too many are pre-pledged to death and too many are intended to die or get burned or mangled just by being first in.
What is best in the book are the observations and insights into the leaders of this Ottoman Army. Some of this is politics. Mostly personal politics. We have for example the unintended freedom given to Tursom Pasha, the Army’s commander. He has that much more power to make decisions, because failure means his death. On him is all the responsibility and he has everything to lose and therefore is free to risk everything. The interplay between the technicians, The Architect and The Quartermaster and the religious and magical arts -the practitioners of predictions and spell casting gives us more understanding of both the leadership dynamics and realities of war and warriors.
There is much good in The Siege. It is well paced and much of the writing is good. Credit to translators Jusuf Vrion
i and David Bedloe. It might be said that having a Muslim, or more exactly Ottoman point of view is something new, but mostly this is a how to, by the numbers and not much of an addition to the library of war related fiction. I will be looking for other books by this author, but without urgency.
The location is generally important in that this is not about desert warfare and so the novel has to be located in a climate than not generally found in North Africa. It could just as easily been set in Spain or large parts of the swath from the edges of the Levantine to the low lands of India.
After that we get a decent lesson plan for siege warfare in the time when gunpowder and cannon are still new. The assault is by the numbers with the important plot reveals being the addition of new (to the reader) techniques for taking a walled city. A few external constraints are added in to limit how low the attackers have to complete their assignment.
A lot of humans are wasted, but warfare then as now tends to be rather heedless of humans. The Ottomans do not intend to be wasteful, this army does not get reinforcements, but too many are pre-pledged to death and too many are intended to die or get burned or mangled just by being first in.
What is best in the book are the observations and insights into the leaders of this Ottoman Army. Some of this is politics. Mostly personal politics. We have for example the unintended freedom given to Tursom Pasha, the Army’s commander. He has that much more power to make decisions, because failure means his death. On him is all the responsibility and he has everything to lose and therefore is free to risk everything. The interplay between the technicians, The Architect and The Quartermaster and the religious and magical arts -the practitioners of predictions and spell casting gives us more understanding of both the leadership dynamics and realities of war and warriors.
There is much good in The Siege. It is well paced and much of the writing is good. Credit to translators Jusuf Vrion
i and David Bedloe. It might be said that having a Muslim, or more exactly Ottoman point of view is something new, but mostly this is a how to, by the numbers and not much of an addition to the library of war related fiction. I will be looking for other books by this author, but without urgency.
September 25, 2014
لو سألتنى عن أهم ما يميز كتابة كاداريه، سأجيبك بإيجاز السلاسة والعذوبة، البساطة والعمق، السهل الممتنع إجمالا...ف سرده لقصة حصار جيش اﻹمبراطورية العثمانية ﻹحدى القلاع اﻷلبانية، المدخل إلى منطقة البلقان، اتسم كاداريه بأهم مايميز كبار المبدعين، الدقة، الشمول، الحس الجمالى، القيمة اﻹنسانية...جاء تركيز كاداريه على جانب الجيش العثمانى، وصفا، وهو ما أبدع فيه، وتحليلا، وحصرا، وتفسيرا، مع إشارات ضمنية موجزة للجانب اﻷلبانى، وهو ماقد يعد قصورا ف المعالجة من وجهة نظر، وذكاء وإيجازا من وجهة نظر أخرى... رسم الشخصيات، مع تعددها، جاء جيدا وإن شابه إهمال لشخصيات على حساب أخرى، الحدث هو السيد ف هذا العمل بإمتياز، والبقية ظلال تدور حوله وتمهد له...قراءة أولى ممتعة لهذا المبدع الكبير المجهول لكثير من قراء العربية، تشجع على المضى قدما ف إستكشاف باقى أعماله، التى جعلته فى نظر الكثيرين جديرا بحيازة جائزة نوبل، وإن تأخرت عنه كثيرا فيم يبدو...تجدر اﻹشارة إلى حصول هذه الرواية على جائزة مان بوكر اﻹنجليزية عام 2005، وسأرفق هنا مشهد الرواية الختامى، لا لشىء إلا لأننى رأيته موحيا، وهو ماسينجلى مغزاه لمن يقرأ العمل كاملت، دمتم بخير :)
July 20, 2012
My favorite book by this author. He seems to be able to recreate the mentality and the perspective people may have had in those times. He makes me "feel" with them regardless of the fact that I am submerged in my zeitgeist, and in principle a bad neutral observer. This combined with a compelling writing style.
July 27, 2014
تسحرك دقة التفاصيل وجمالها في هذه الرواية، نصوص فاخرة واتقان المترجم في ترجمة نصوصها جعلتها رواية تاريخية ممتعة لاتمل منها، تنقلك أحداث الحصار بين ضباط الجيشين المتحاربين لتظهر لك بسالة المدافعين الألبان في صد الهجوم والدفاع عن أرضهم وبين شدة عزم الأتراك والرغبة في إحتلال القلعة المحاصرة.
March 12, 2020
Ignore the afterword and the author's comments on this. Yes there are obvious parallels to living in a paranoid authoritarian state, but what makes this book great is the part that's clearly well thought out historical fiction. You're here to think about the Ottomans, not Enver Hoxha.
June 3, 2021
لا أستطيع أن اقول عنها سوى أنها ملحمة حقيقية ، رواية أبرزت الجانب العميق والداخلي للحروب ولحالة الحصار، بل هي من أفضل ما قرأت في أدب الحرب، مسودة تاريخية متكاملة بمعنى الكلمة ، سطور مكتوبة بعناية وسخرية وقوة وصلابة ووحشية، تشبه ساحة المعركة بكل دماءها وقتلاها وصخبها وعنفها ..
تخرج من الرواية منهكاً وكأنك قد خرجت من المعركة فعلاً، من حالة الحصار، لاهث الأنفاس، مرتقب المشاعر، تتمنى في داخلك أن يحدث شيء يغير مجرى المعركة، بين الكر والفر ، القلعة الحصينة والجيش الذي يفعل كل شيء لأقتحام ذلك الوكر الغدار ، حالة من النفير العام والصراخ والعويل والخوف والطبول التي تشعر بها من خلال الورق تدق على طبلة أذنك، الرياح والأمطار والوحل وضربات السيوف واهازيج الجنود ومحاولة صعود الأسوار والسهام التي تشبه الأمطار في سقوطها، حالة من الخوف والترقب تدهس على مخيلتك طوال الرواية، من سيكون المنتصر ومن المهزوم الذي سيجر أذيال العار، تتعاطف وتتمنى وتدهش لهذه الملحمة البشرية التي تجري على تلك البقعة النائية في عالم يضج بالحروب والصراعات ولكنك هنا مترقب بكل ما فيك من ألم وتوقع ومصائر ترسم بلا رأفة من كاتب يعج قلمه بحصار السيوف والدماء والمدافع والحطام والجثث والحروق والخوف الذي يحصد الأرواح قبل أن تحصدها أسنة الرماح ولهيب المدافع واجتياح العدو ..
أن تكتب عن الحرب فهو أمر صعب ومدهش ولكن أن تكتب عن الحصار فهو الأمر الأكثر دهشة ومتعة، لأن هناك طرفان، طرف مهاجم يفعل كل ما يستطيع عليه كي يتفادى خسائر جنوده والسيطرة على القلعة، والطرف المدافع الذي يشحن كل طاقته وصبره لمنع سقوط قلعته، وكلا الطرفين عدوهما الوقت، وينزف الوقت كل شيء المؤن والطاقة والعزيمة والصبر لدى الطرفين، ترى من خلالهما تبدل الحالة النفسية للمعسكرين، الخوف من المجهول، السعي إلى إنهاء الحرب بأي ثمن ..
لقد أبدع الكاتب حقيقة في وضع كل سيناريوهات حملات الحصار الممكنة، تلك التي تتوقعها والتي لا تتوقعها، كل الخطط العسكرية للاستيلاء على أي حصن، أولاً بضرب جدران الحصن وتدميره ثم محاولة الهجوم وكسر باب الحصن و تجفيف مصادر المياه الداخلة للقلعة والخداع العسكري ومحاولة نقل الامراض داخل الحصن وأخيرا الهجوم الاخير والمحاولة الأخيرة الانتحارية، كل شيء يجري هنا عبارة عن معركة حقيقية، تتخيلها وتتفاعل معها، شخصيات مكتوبة بعناية فائقة، بل هذا الرجل مدرسة في رسم الشخصيات وما بداخلها من خوف ومشاعر ولؤم وشجاعة وضعف وقوة، جيد في الوصف ومغرق في تفاصيل التي تنقل المعركة إلى خيالك ، هذه الروايات التي لا يمكنك أن تنساها بسهولة، لأنها منقوشة بالدم والصراع والحماسة التي تأخذ القارئ إلى مدى بعيد ..
تتحدث الرواية عن حملة عسكرية عثمانية للاستيلاء على أحد الحصون الألبانية في القرن الخامس عشر، أي قبل فتح القسطنطينية على يد محمد الفاتح رحمه الله ، يضرب الجيش العثماني الحصار حول أسوار القلعة ولكن المهمة لا تسير بالشكل الذي كان يتخيله الجيش، فيقف أمام شعب صامد عنيد صلب، يصطدم بجدار لا نهاية له من المقاومة والعناد والتحدي الذي يبدو للجميع وكأن الشياطين هي من تسكن القلعة وليسوا بشراً من لحم ودم ، يكتب لنا الراوي عن نفسية الجيش وكيف أنها تنحدر وتهبط ترتفع، وكيف يتعاون قادة الحرب فيما بينهم وكيف يتشاكسون ويتعاركون، الخيانات والموت والأخطاء والضعف البشري والنقص أحيانا في أدق التفاصيل قد يؤدي إلى نتائج كارثية، إنك هنا في حرب تقود ثلاثين ألف مقاتل، أي خطأ بسيط قد يؤدي قتل الآلاف دفعة واحدة أو فشل الحصار نهائياً ..
لحظات تشويق ورهبة لا نهائية مع هذه الرواية التي تأخذ الأنفاس وتروع القارئ وتبث نار التحدي والترقب وتزيح ستار الواقع لتشهد معركة حقيقة من عين قائد وجندي وقليلاً بعين المُدافع، تقف في ساحة معركة شديدة المراس ، تتلطخ بالدم والقار .. وبعد كل هجمة تسأل نفسك ، متى سينتهي كل هذا ؟؟
رواية عظيمة وقوية ومتكاملة، مدهشة في تفاصيلها وحواراتها وعالمها وشخصياتها، إسماعيل كاداريه ينسج ملحمة حقيقية ويبتكر عالما من المجهول والموت والانتظار ..
تخرج من الرواية منهكاً وكأنك قد خرجت من المعركة فعلاً، من حالة الحصار، لاهث الأنفاس، مرتقب المشاعر، تتمنى في داخلك أن يحدث شيء يغير مجرى المعركة، بين الكر والفر ، القلعة الحصينة والجيش الذي يفعل كل شيء لأقتحام ذلك الوكر الغدار ، حالة من النفير العام والصراخ والعويل والخوف والطبول التي تشعر بها من خلال الورق تدق على طبلة أذنك، الرياح والأمطار والوحل وضربات السيوف واهازيج الجنود ومحاولة صعود الأسوار والسهام التي تشبه الأمطار في سقوطها، حالة من الخوف والترقب تدهس على مخيلتك طوال الرواية، من سيكون المنتصر ومن المهزوم الذي سيجر أذيال العار، تتعاطف وتتمنى وتدهش لهذه الملحمة البشرية التي تجري على تلك البقعة النائية في عالم يضج بالحروب والصراعات ولكنك هنا مترقب بكل ما فيك من ألم وتوقع ومصائر ترسم بلا رأفة من كاتب يعج قلمه بحصار السيوف والدماء والمدافع والحطام والجثث والحروق والخوف الذي يحصد الأرواح قبل أن تحصدها أسنة الرماح ولهيب المدافع واجتياح العدو ..
أن تكتب عن الحرب فهو أمر صعب ومدهش ولكن أن تكتب عن الحصار فهو الأمر الأكثر دهشة ومتعة، لأن هناك طرفان، طرف مهاجم يفعل كل ما يستطيع عليه كي يتفادى خسائر جنوده والسيطرة على القلعة، والطرف المدافع الذي يشحن كل طاقته وصبره لمنع سقوط قلعته، وكلا الطرفين عدوهما الوقت، وينزف الوقت كل شيء المؤن والطاقة والعزيمة والصبر لدى الطرفين، ترى من خلالهما تبدل الحالة النفسية للمعسكرين، الخوف من المجهول، السعي إلى إنهاء الحرب بأي ثمن ..
لقد أبدع الكاتب حقيقة في وضع كل سيناريوهات حملات الحصار الممكنة، تلك التي تتوقعها والتي لا تتوقعها، كل الخطط العسكرية للاستيلاء على أي حصن، أولاً بضرب جدران الحصن وتدميره ثم محاولة الهجوم وكسر باب الحصن و تجفيف مصادر المياه الداخلة للقلعة والخداع العسكري ومحاولة نقل الامراض داخل الحصن وأخيرا الهجوم الاخير والمحاولة الأخيرة الانتحارية، كل شيء يجري هنا عبارة عن معركة حقيقية، تتخيلها وتتفاعل معها، شخصيات مكتوبة بعناية فائقة، بل هذا الرجل مدرسة في رسم الشخصيات وما بداخلها من خوف ومشاعر ولؤم وشجاعة وضعف وقوة، جيد في الوصف ومغرق في تفاصيل التي تنقل المعركة إلى خيالك ، هذه الروايات التي لا يمكنك أن تنساها بسهولة، لأنها منقوشة بالدم والصراع والحماسة التي تأخذ القارئ إلى مدى بعيد ..
تتحدث الرواية عن حملة عسكرية عثمانية للاستيلاء على أحد الحصون الألبانية في القرن الخامس عشر، أي قبل فتح القسطنطينية على يد محمد الفاتح رحمه الله ، يضرب الجيش العثماني الحصار حول أسوار القلعة ولكن المهمة لا تسير بالشكل الذي كان يتخيله الجيش، فيقف أمام شعب صامد عنيد صلب، يصطدم بجدار لا نهاية له من المقاومة والعناد والتحدي الذي يبدو للجميع وكأن الشياطين هي من تسكن القلعة وليسوا بشراً من لحم ودم ، يكتب لنا الراوي عن نفسية الجيش وكيف أنها تنحدر وتهبط ترتفع، وكيف يتعاون قادة الحرب فيما بينهم وكيف يتشاكسون ويتعاركون، الخيانات والموت والأخطاء والضعف البشري والنقص أحيانا في أدق التفاصيل قد يؤدي إلى نتائج كارثية، إنك هنا في حرب تقود ثلاثين ألف مقاتل، أي خطأ بسيط قد يؤدي قتل الآلاف دفعة واحدة أو فشل الحصار نهائياً ..
لحظات تشويق ورهبة لا نهائية مع هذه الرواية التي تأخذ الأنفاس وتروع القارئ وتبث نار التحدي والترقب وتزيح ستار الواقع لتشهد معركة حقيقة من عين قائد وجندي وقليلاً بعين المُدافع، تقف في ساحة معركة شديدة المراس ، تتلطخ بالدم والقار .. وبعد كل هجمة تسأل نفسك ، متى سينتهي كل هذا ؟؟
رواية عظيمة وقوية ومتكاملة، مدهشة في تفاصيلها وحواراتها وعالمها وشخصياتها، إسماعيل كاداريه ينسج ملحمة حقيقية ويبتكر عالما من المجهول والموت والانتظار ..
December 24, 2014
I came to feel like visiting Albania :)
According to the Afterword by the translator, Ismail Kadare's one of the main themes in his novels is the intricate relationships between the obvious other (the influences of the Ottoman Empire) for the Albanians and who the Albanians are. Since Albania was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, people there were affected by its culture, politics, and other social institutions. The Albanian are, however, still Albanians, who are supposed to have rather actively adapted themselves to those which were more powerful than individual Albanian people. Probably, similar experiences may be shared by many people in other parts of this world. This novel actually evoked imagination about how people establish, enjoy and suffer their respective lives.
As the author clarifies, this novel is not about history. By so clarifying, it seems to me that it enables us to re-think what history is (should be) in relation to our banal reality. I re-confirm that novels have power to help us renew our understandings of what humanity is reminding us of the importance to learn human race's precious skills and knowledge painfully developed and being practiced all through its history.
According to the Afterword by the translator, Ismail Kadare's one of the main themes in his novels is the intricate relationships between the obvious other (the influences of the Ottoman Empire) for the Albanians and who the Albanians are. Since Albania was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, people there were affected by its culture, politics, and other social institutions. The Albanian are, however, still Albanians, who are supposed to have rather actively adapted themselves to those which were more powerful than individual Albanian people. Probably, similar experiences may be shared by many people in other parts of this world. This novel actually evoked imagination about how people establish, enjoy and suffer their respective lives.
As the author clarifies, this novel is not about history. By so clarifying, it seems to me that it enables us to re-think what history is (should be) in relation to our banal reality. I re-confirm that novels have power to help us renew our understandings of what humanity is reminding us of the importance to learn human race's precious skills and knowledge painfully developed and being practiced all through its history.
December 17, 2014
Ismail Kadaré often used Albanian history and legends as the setting for his novels. This one is about attempts to withstand a siege by Ottoman forces and shows the inhabitants of the beleaguered town. It may be an allegory of modern times, but it is not clear exactly what it might be an allegory of. Albania was a Maoist communist country caught between the powerful Soviet powers and their allies and the capitalist force of Europe and US global trade. Who did Ismail Kadaré see as the aggressive invading power?
It is very good as a historical novel, but perhaps too oblique to work as satire. I really enjoyed it and would rate it highly, but felt I must be missing some of the hidden inner meaning.
It is very good as a historical novel, but perhaps too oblique to work as satire. I really enjoyed it and would rate it highly, but felt I must be missing some of the hidden inner meaning.
February 19, 2023
A pleasure to read.
September 9, 2018
Romani ndjek luftën tremujore te kampit osman në trojet shqiptare, në përpjekje për ta marrur në pushtim Kështjellën e lavdishme të Kadaresë. Historia fillon mes daulleve dhe muzikës por përfundon mes humbjes, heshtjes dhe baltës. Subjekti i romanit vë në pah qëndresën e paepur shqiptare, që edhe në trajtimet më të ashpra të luftës, nuk dorëzohen. E gjithë kjo bën që romani t'i përngjajë stilit të famshëm e të veçantë të autorit. Me një kënaqësi të madhe, vendimi për t'i lënë këtij romani të pavdekshëm historik 5 yje, është diçka që po e bëj me një bindshmëri të plotë ( duke marrë parasysh sa nuk më ka qejfi t'i lexoj librat që i kemi për detyrë t'i raportojmë në shkollë).
Pra, edhe pas mundimeve të stërmëdha të shkaktuara, kështjellarët ngrihen si hije të pakapshme kundrejt një ushtrie, që paraqitej si ushtria e lavdishme dhe e përbindëshme e Lindjes së Afërt...
Pra, edhe pas mundimeve të stërmëdha të shkaktuara, kështjellarët ngrihen si hije të pakapshme kundrejt një ushtrie, që paraqitej si ushtria e lavdishme dhe e përbindëshme e Lindjes së Afërt...
October 9, 2009
Originally published in Albania in 1970, and then translated into French in the mid-90s, this excellent novel has finally made it into English. It tells the story of a fictional 15th-century siege of an Albanian castle by an Ottoman army. The details of this appear to be largely drawn from accounts of the 1474 siege of Shkoder, as well as the exploits of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg (aka The Dragon of Albania), who led the resistance to the Ottomans for about twenty years, until his death in 1468.
The siege is mainly told from the Ottoman perspective, as we are taken into the Pasha's tent for discussions of strategy, wander around the camp with the hapless scribe/historian sent to chronicle the impending great victory, and listen to the monologues of the quartermaster who has to keep the siege logistically afloat. There are also occasional brief interludes written from the perspective of the Christian defenders trying to conserve their water until the arrival of the rainy season that would effectively save them.
The mechanics and psychology of the siege are wonderfully brought to life, as the Ottomans struggle to bring their superior manpower and technology to bear in an effective manner. In that sense, it's a gripping, effective, and often bloody, work of historical fiction which will appeal to fans of that genre. At the same time, the story appears to function as allegory for the plight of Soviet-dominated Albania during the Cold War. The Ottoman army -- cowering under an absolute ruler abetted by a pervasive secret police, riven by internal factions (warlords, mystics, technocrats, etc.), and subject to show-trials and cruel and unusual punishments -- bears striking similarities to Albania under the rule of Enver Hoxha. Meanwhile, the castle's desperate defenders take on the role of freedom-loving intelligentsia within that same society. The symbolism is stark, since history tells us that the Ottoman Empire does eventually conquer Albania, and the castle does fall.
The translation is very good, as the camp comes alive on every page, and the battle scenes resound off the page. But it's to Kadare's immense credit that the story remains gripping while conveying its densely layered message. Well worth reading if you have any interest in the Ottoman Empire, Albania, military history, or simply excellent world literature.
The siege is mainly told from the Ottoman perspective, as we are taken into the Pasha's tent for discussions of strategy, wander around the camp with the hapless scribe/historian sent to chronicle the impending great victory, and listen to the monologues of the quartermaster who has to keep the siege logistically afloat. There are also occasional brief interludes written from the perspective of the Christian defenders trying to conserve their water until the arrival of the rainy season that would effectively save them.
The mechanics and psychology of the siege are wonderfully brought to life, as the Ottomans struggle to bring their superior manpower and technology to bear in an effective manner. In that sense, it's a gripping, effective, and often bloody, work of historical fiction which will appeal to fans of that genre. At the same time, the story appears to function as allegory for the plight of Soviet-dominated Albania during the Cold War. The Ottoman army -- cowering under an absolute ruler abetted by a pervasive secret police, riven by internal factions (warlords, mystics, technocrats, etc.), and subject to show-trials and cruel and unusual punishments -- bears striking similarities to Albania under the rule of Enver Hoxha. Meanwhile, the castle's desperate defenders take on the role of freedom-loving intelligentsia within that same society. The symbolism is stark, since history tells us that the Ottoman Empire does eventually conquer Albania, and the castle does fall.
The translation is very good, as the camp comes alive on every page, and the battle scenes resound off the page. But it's to Kadare's immense credit that the story remains gripping while conveying its densely layered message. Well worth reading if you have any interest in the Ottoman Empire, Albania, military history, or simply excellent world literature.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2014
I read Kadare’s The Palace of Dreams in 2005, and thought it was an excellent book, but this is even better. At face value, it’s the rivetting story of a C15th siege – the Christian Albanians in the besieged citadel and the Ottomans camped outside. The chapters alternate between these two POV but the Ottomans tell most of the story in what appears to be a straightforward 3rd person narrative. However, there are deliberate anachronisms such as show trials and biological warfare which jolt the reader into recognition that this is an allegory. The colour and the splendour of Ottoman army ceremonials evoke those impressive Soviet military spectacles that we have all seen, and we are reminded of the abuse of power under various Soviet dictatorships by the Pasha’s power to arbitrarily order torture and execution, not to mention irrational military manoevres. (Subtle as this is, Kadare did not escape the attention of the Albanian regime and he had to seek asylum in France in 1990).
To read the rest of my review please visit
http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/200...
To read the rest of my review please visit
http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/200...
March 19, 2017
Story of the siege by the Ottoman army of the first castle they encounter on invading Albania – the story which describes the horrors of siege warfare in detail is written mainly from an Ottoman viewpoint with a variety of characters mainly non-directly military but seen from the view point of the confused official Chronicler. There are interim shorter chapters written more as a chronicle by the defending Christians and which provide good summaries of what has actually happened.
Main characters include: the ladies of the Harem; the architect, stargazer and engineer; the Quartermaster (whose stand back musings on conquest of such a fierce people, on the desirability and practicality of destroying a nation and on the fact that the legendary Albanian leader is effectively sacrificing his people to build a longer lasting myth of the nation) give the novel historical resonance.
Very well written and enjoyable even if some of the historical resonance on what is meant to be at one level a picture of the Hoxha’s siege like mentality is not really visible to a UK reader.
Main characters include: the ladies of the Harem; the architect, stargazer and engineer; the Quartermaster (whose stand back musings on conquest of such a fierce people, on the desirability and practicality of destroying a nation and on the fact that the legendary Albanian leader is effectively sacrificing his people to build a longer lasting myth of the nation) give the novel historical resonance.
Very well written and enjoyable even if some of the historical resonance on what is meant to be at one level a picture of the Hoxha’s siege like mentality is not really visible to a UK reader.
May 16, 2010
I imagine it is difficult to write about sieges since they are mostly boredom sometimes alternating with brief periods of horrific violence. Kadare manages to make the story compelling perhaps because of the feeling of anxiety and uncertainty that hangs over each character but all for differing reasons--you want to see how events proceed for them. Kadare shows his unsurprising bias in favor of the Albanians yet manages to show great pity for the Muslim soldiers who die at their leaders' whim. He also shows how no one's power was secure--everyone, no matter how powerful, feels the wolves bay.
June 30, 2014
http://www.mytwostotinki.com/?p=434
Albania in the middle of the 15th century. Gjergj Kastrioti, called Skanderbeg, is resisting the advance of the Ottoman armies and is fighting a kind of hit-and-run guerrilla war from his fortresses in the Accursed Mountains. This is the historical backdrop of the novel The Siege by the Albanian author Ismail Kadare, a permanent candidate for the Novel Prize and Winner of the Man Booker International Prize.
A huge force of the Ottoman army is advancing to this remote and not yet completely subdued province with the task to conquer one of the biggest fortresses that is still resisting the at that time most powerful army in the world.
The Pasha that is leading the expedition force knows what is at stake for him: a failure to seize the fortress in summer would be considered as a complete failure of his by the Sultan. Not only would it be necessary to abort the siege at the begin of the rainy season, for the Pasha it would mean also personal disgrace and drastic consequences - in the best case early retirement, but more probably a death sentence after his return to the capital.
Kadare tells us the story from two different perspectives. The main narrator is a young chronicler whose task it is to write the official account of the expedition and siege. The chronicler, an intelligent but inexperienced person has therefore (almost) always access to any meetings of the war council, where the military leaders discuss with the Pasha the right strategy and next steps of the siege.
Important for the chronicler is especially his growing friendship with the Quartermaster, a kind of Chief Logistics Officer, who is very friendly and frank with him and is opening his eyes for the difficult task that such a mission including so many people is imposing on the logistics. Basic things about which we rarely read in the history books that tell only of the deeds of "great men", are of crucial importance. Without a proper system of latrines, no triumph in any battle. We also understand, as the story advances, that the Quartermaster has an agenda too. He wants to be depicted in a positive light for posterity, and he is doubting also (like many others) the abilities of the Pasha as a leader, though he is voicing his reservations in the most indirect way.
A siege of a fortress on that scale was an extraordinary undertaking in the 15th century. It required already a very high level of organization, specialization and division of labor. We have the simple soldiers and the medics, experts for artillery, the janissaries, elite soldiers of the Sultan, the raiders (akinzhis), the infantry (azabs), the cavalry, and other specialized and rivaling groups, the "volunteers" (people who join in the hope to get a part of the booty), but also exorcists, soothsayers, spell casters, dream interpreters, and many other important crafts.
Each chapter that is written by the young Ottoman chronicler is mirrored by a short chapter that is told by an unnamed Albanian chronicler who is inside the fortress. The Albanians pray for an early begin of the rainy season, which seems to be the only possible rescue. (Or an attack of the myth Skanderbeg, who is hiding somewhere in the mountains.) So, "the drums of rain" - also the planned original title of the book, and also the name under which The Siege is published in French - are dreaded by the Pasha, but longed-for by the Albanians.
Since the fortress is well-protected by a sophisticated system of walls, and since there is also enough food and water inside the fortress, it proves more difficult as anticipated by the invaders to take it. Several attempts to storm the fortress in a frontal assault, supported by the newly cast cannon, fail and cause many casualties. A success at all costs must be achieved, and so the Pasha decides to follow a cunning plan: secretly he lets his soldiers build a tunnel that should lead directly to the middle of the fortress and should enable a surprise attack and the opening of the gates from the inside for a huge wave of attackers...
Regarding the technical details of the siege, Kadare has made extensive use of Marin Barleti's chronicle about the siege of Shkodra. But The Siege is more than a historical novel: it was written shortly after the invasion of Prague 1968 by the Warsaw Pact states. It is therefore obvious that the book contains also some very interesting comments on the situation after the invasion of Prague.
One message that Kadare wanted to send out is possibly: Albania will resist any attempt to invade the country (the paranoid dictator Enver Hoxha built therefore hundreds of thousands of small bunkers - fortresses en miniature).
On the other hand, and this is also fairly obvious, the victory of the besieged (the invaders have to withdraw at the beginning of the rainy season and after the death of the Pasha) in the novel is only a temporary one. We can easily assume that a new, bigger army with even more frightful weapons will come back again next year - and from the history books we know the outcome of this process. Therefore Kadare's message in this novel is - like in most of his books - very ambiguous.
What is additionally interesting about the novel are the countless calculated and intentional anachronisms it contains. To name just a few: There are show trials, the victims are sentenced to slave labor in the tunnel. And the only possible friend and ally in the outside world (in the book it is the Republic of Venice) plays a double game, because it is trading with and equipping the enemy of their (Christian) brothers, just for the profit.
"Great massacres always give birth to great books",
says the Quartermaster to the chronicler quite at the beginning of The Siege. That may indeed be true. The Siege is a brilliant historical novel.
Albania in the middle of the 15th century. Gjergj Kastrioti, called Skanderbeg, is resisting the advance of the Ottoman armies and is fighting a kind of hit-and-run guerrilla war from his fortresses in the Accursed Mountains. This is the historical backdrop of the novel The Siege by the Albanian author Ismail Kadare, a permanent candidate for the Novel Prize and Winner of the Man Booker International Prize.
A huge force of the Ottoman army is advancing to this remote and not yet completely subdued province with the task to conquer one of the biggest fortresses that is still resisting the at that time most powerful army in the world.
The Pasha that is leading the expedition force knows what is at stake for him: a failure to seize the fortress in summer would be considered as a complete failure of his by the Sultan. Not only would it be necessary to abort the siege at the begin of the rainy season, for the Pasha it would mean also personal disgrace and drastic consequences - in the best case early retirement, but more probably a death sentence after his return to the capital.
Kadare tells us the story from two different perspectives. The main narrator is a young chronicler whose task it is to write the official account of the expedition and siege. The chronicler, an intelligent but inexperienced person has therefore (almost) always access to any meetings of the war council, where the military leaders discuss with the Pasha the right strategy and next steps of the siege.
Important for the chronicler is especially his growing friendship with the Quartermaster, a kind of Chief Logistics Officer, who is very friendly and frank with him and is opening his eyes for the difficult task that such a mission including so many people is imposing on the logistics. Basic things about which we rarely read in the history books that tell only of the deeds of "great men", are of crucial importance. Without a proper system of latrines, no triumph in any battle. We also understand, as the story advances, that the Quartermaster has an agenda too. He wants to be depicted in a positive light for posterity, and he is doubting also (like many others) the abilities of the Pasha as a leader, though he is voicing his reservations in the most indirect way.
A siege of a fortress on that scale was an extraordinary undertaking in the 15th century. It required already a very high level of organization, specialization and division of labor. We have the simple soldiers and the medics, experts for artillery, the janissaries, elite soldiers of the Sultan, the raiders (akinzhis), the infantry (azabs), the cavalry, and other specialized and rivaling groups, the "volunteers" (people who join in the hope to get a part of the booty), but also exorcists, soothsayers, spell casters, dream interpreters, and many other important crafts.
Each chapter that is written by the young Ottoman chronicler is mirrored by a short chapter that is told by an unnamed Albanian chronicler who is inside the fortress. The Albanians pray for an early begin of the rainy season, which seems to be the only possible rescue. (Or an attack of the myth Skanderbeg, who is hiding somewhere in the mountains.) So, "the drums of rain" - also the planned original title of the book, and also the name under which The Siege is published in French - are dreaded by the Pasha, but longed-for by the Albanians.
Since the fortress is well-protected by a sophisticated system of walls, and since there is also enough food and water inside the fortress, it proves more difficult as anticipated by the invaders to take it. Several attempts to storm the fortress in a frontal assault, supported by the newly cast cannon, fail and cause many casualties. A success at all costs must be achieved, and so the Pasha decides to follow a cunning plan: secretly he lets his soldiers build a tunnel that should lead directly to the middle of the fortress and should enable a surprise attack and the opening of the gates from the inside for a huge wave of attackers...
Regarding the technical details of the siege, Kadare has made extensive use of Marin Barleti's chronicle about the siege of Shkodra. But The Siege is more than a historical novel: it was written shortly after the invasion of Prague 1968 by the Warsaw Pact states. It is therefore obvious that the book contains also some very interesting comments on the situation after the invasion of Prague.
One message that Kadare wanted to send out is possibly: Albania will resist any attempt to invade the country (the paranoid dictator Enver Hoxha built therefore hundreds of thousands of small bunkers - fortresses en miniature).
On the other hand, and this is also fairly obvious, the victory of the besieged (the invaders have to withdraw at the beginning of the rainy season and after the death of the Pasha) in the novel is only a temporary one. We can easily assume that a new, bigger army with even more frightful weapons will come back again next year - and from the history books we know the outcome of this process. Therefore Kadare's message in this novel is - like in most of his books - very ambiguous.
What is additionally interesting about the novel are the countless calculated and intentional anachronisms it contains. To name just a few: There are show trials, the victims are sentenced to slave labor in the tunnel. And the only possible friend and ally in the outside world (in the book it is the Republic of Venice) plays a double game, because it is trading with and equipping the enemy of their (Christian) brothers, just for the profit.
"Great massacres always give birth to great books",
says the Quartermaster to the chronicler quite at the beginning of The Siege. That may indeed be true. The Siege is a brilliant historical novel.
July 12, 2024
3.5/5⭐
An incredible historical fiction tale about the horrors of war which explains perfectly that no one wins and everyone, in fact, loses.
Gives an insight into the Ottoman military campaigns, what goes behind them, who participates etc. etc. For somebody like me, who's a history nerd, most, if not all, information won't be new, but Kadare has an immaterial style of storytelling.
It's also very interesting for military strategy points. Paired up with ON WAR by Carl von Clausewitz (or any books about military strategies) this can become quite an experience!
An incredible historical fiction tale about the horrors of war which explains perfectly that no one wins and everyone, in fact, loses.
Gives an insight into the Ottoman military campaigns, what goes behind them, who participates etc. etc. For somebody like me, who's a history nerd, most, if not all, information won't be new, but Kadare has an immaterial style of storytelling.
It's also very interesting for military strategy points. Paired up with ON WAR by Carl von Clausewitz (or any books about military strategies) this can become quite an experience!
June 1, 2020
Am citit Călărețul cu șoim de Ismail Kadare și recunosc că m-a impresionat mult stilul autorului. În afară de faptul că stăpânește foarte bine tehnica de scriere, modul în care reuseste simultan să argumenteze, să trezească emoții și să determine cititorul să chibzuiască la cele scrise este de-a dreptul impresionant.
Am ales Mesagerii ploii fiindcă are inspirație istorică, descriind asaltul asupra cetății Kruje din 1450. Recunosc că, în afară de multele bătălii purtate de otomani cu ai noștri în secolul al XV-lea, nu am mai citit despre alte campanii din același secol, duse de ei în alte locuri, cum ar fi pe acest tărâm al Albaniei, atât de încercat și el.
Cartea este scrisă, surprinzător, din perspectiva dublă, atât a atacatorilor cât și a asediaților, cu accent pe tabăra otomană. Secvențele unde este descris punctul de vedere din cetate apar înaintea fiecărui capitol, relatate la persoana I de către un narator anonim.
Mai multe detalii, aici: https://adropofinspiration.wordpress....
Am ales Mesagerii ploii fiindcă are inspirație istorică, descriind asaltul asupra cetății Kruje din 1450. Recunosc că, în afară de multele bătălii purtate de otomani cu ai noștri în secolul al XV-lea, nu am mai citit despre alte campanii din același secol, duse de ei în alte locuri, cum ar fi pe acest tărâm al Albaniei, atât de încercat și el.
Cartea este scrisă, surprinzător, din perspectiva dublă, atât a atacatorilor cât și a asediaților, cu accent pe tabăra otomană. Secvențele unde este descris punctul de vedere din cetate apar înaintea fiecărui capitol, relatate la persoana I de către un narator anonim.
Mai multe detalii, aici: https://adropofinspiration.wordpress....
October 8, 2020
رواية تاريخية. قصة معركة متخيلة بين العثمانيين والألبان، في حصار قلعة على حدود البلقان.
لكن الخط العريض للرواية، التوسع العثماني، ليس متخيلا.
رغم أنها رواية حرب، لكن شعرت ان الحرب مش الحدث الرئيسي، لكن الانسان هو الحدث، من قائد الحملة التي تحاصر قلعة ألبانية إلى الحفارين، ووسط كل الدم والقتل والمعارك، كان اسماعيل كاداريه قادر يلقط تفاصيل انسانية جميلة، بذكاء عظيم.
كل أبطال العمل من الجانب العثماني، رغم ان الكاتب جنسيته ألبانية، وفي نهاية كل فصل، صوت صغير لبطل ألباني يكلمنا عن الحصار داخل أسوار القلعة.
لغة ممتعة وشاعرية في احيان كتير، نقل لروح عصر كامل انقضى منذ قرون، وصف اكثر من عظيم لمعارك دموية.
القراءة الأولى لإسماعيل كاداريه واكيد مش الأخيرة.
لكن الخط العريض للرواية، التوسع العثماني، ليس متخيلا.
رغم أنها رواية حرب، لكن شعرت ان الحرب مش الحدث الرئيسي، لكن الانسان هو الحدث، من قائد الحملة التي تحاصر قلعة ألبانية إلى الحفارين، ووسط كل الدم والقتل والمعارك، كان اسماعيل كاداريه قادر يلقط تفاصيل انسانية جميلة، بذكاء عظيم.
كل أبطال العمل من الجانب العثماني، رغم ان الكاتب جنسيته ألبانية، وفي نهاية كل فصل، صوت صغير لبطل ألباني يكلمنا عن الحصار داخل أسوار القلعة.
لغة ممتعة وشاعرية في احيان كتير، نقل لروح عصر كامل انقضى منذ قرون، وصف اكثر من عظيم لمعارك دموية.
القراءة الأولى لإسماعيل كاداريه واكيد مش الأخيرة.
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