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Легенда на легендитe
Легендите са нашата мъгла. Мъглата, от която всички ние, жителите на тази планета, имаме толкова голяма нужда. Тирани и роби, добри и лоши, щастливи и угрижени, свободни или оковани и унижени, банкери и нехранимайковци, благородници, проститутки и убийци.
Тази мъгла ни е необходима, защото гледките и събитията в света са твърде ужасяващи за нашите очи и съзнание. Те се нуждаят от един воал, така че истината да достига до нас пречупена като през призма. В противен случай тя ще разруши крехкото скеле на нашите души и тела.
Тази мъгла ни е необходима, защото гледките и събитията в света са твърде ужасяващи за нашите очи и съзнание. Те се нуждаят от един воал, така че истината да достига до нас пречупена като през призма. В противен случай тя ще разруши крехкото скеле на нашите души и тела.
182 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
13 people want to read
About the author
Ismail Kadare
274 books1,755 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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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 14, 2020
Всеки подтиснически строй/ диктатура/ тоталитаризъм се нуждае от своя митология. Тя е често по-важна за съществуването му от оръжието (ако е имала време да се изгради и пусне корени).
Кадаре стъпва на опита си със социалистическия експеримент в Албания. Опитът е сходен с целия социалистически блок от това време.
Темата е интересна, стилът на Кадаре е напластен, но никак не ме грабна. Може би твърде много лично озлобление се усещаше като изкривяващ и разсейващ за мен фактор. Все пак това е есе, не роман, така че едва ли е показателно за автора като цяло.
Кадаре стъпва на опита си със социалистическия експеримент в Албания. Опитът е сходен с целия социалистически блок от това време.
Темата е интересна, стилът на Кадаре е напластен, но никак не ме грабна. Може би твърде много лично озлобление се усещаше като изкривяващ и разсейващ за мен фактор. Все пак това е есе, не роман, така че едва ли е показателно за автора като цяло.
June 4, 2025
Kadare begins this work with a question posed by the Guatemalan writer Miguel Asturias to the Albanian ambassador in Paris: Is Albania a foggy land? If so, he added, there must be many legends there. This moment sets the stage for Kadare’s exploration of myth, memory, and identity.
From there, he returns to his roots: the oral rhapsody and Homeric tradition of ancient Greece and the Balkans. He reflects on how legends shape nations and individuals, surviving across centuries—even when manipulated or repressed under authoritarian regimes.
In one of the book’s most striking parallels, Kadare recasts the Communist Politburo as a kind of Olympus—populated by leaders who surround themselves with myth and sacrifice. Stalin and Mao, for example, are likened to Agamemnon, offering up their sons for the cause of revolution, as if replaying ancient tragedies. The House of Atreus echoes in the purges orchestrated by these totalitarian despots, where bloodlines and betrayal shape power. At the same time, the regimes manufacture new myths: simple, obedient heroes like Pavlik Morozov in the USSR or Lei Feng in Mao’s China.
It’s always a pleasure to read Kadare, but Le Légende des Légendes is not an easy book. It’s dense essay and best appreciated with patience. Yet for those who dive in, it offers a powerful meditation on how myths travel through time and space, constantly reshaped but never erased.
From there, he returns to his roots: the oral rhapsody and Homeric tradition of ancient Greece and the Balkans. He reflects on how legends shape nations and individuals, surviving across centuries—even when manipulated or repressed under authoritarian regimes.
In one of the book’s most striking parallels, Kadare recasts the Communist Politburo as a kind of Olympus—populated by leaders who surround themselves with myth and sacrifice. Stalin and Mao, for example, are likened to Agamemnon, offering up their sons for the cause of revolution, as if replaying ancient tragedies. The House of Atreus echoes in the purges orchestrated by these totalitarian despots, where bloodlines and betrayal shape power. At the same time, the regimes manufacture new myths: simple, obedient heroes like Pavlik Morozov in the USSR or Lei Feng in Mao’s China.
It’s always a pleasure to read Kadare, but Le Légende des Légendes is not an easy book. It’s dense essay and best appreciated with patience. Yet for those who dive in, it offers a powerful meditation on how myths travel through time and space, constantly reshaped but never erased.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews