Describe Books Concering The Siege
| Original Title: | Kështjella |
| ISBN: | 184767030X (ISBN13: 9781847670304) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Albania |
| Literary Awards: | Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Nominee for Shortlist (2009) |
Ismail Kadare
Hardcover | Pages: 328 pages Rating: 3.96 | 1562 Users | 171 Reviews
Itemize Appertaining To Books The Siege
| Title | : | The Siege |
| Author | : | Ismail Kadare |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 328 pages |
| Published | : | May 15th 2008 by Canongate Books (first published 1970) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. Literature. Novels |
Commentary Supposing Books The Siege
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 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.Rating Appertaining To Books The Siege
Ratings: 3.96 From 1562 Users | 171 ReviewsWrite-Up Appertaining To Books The Siege
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 invadingThis book of Kadare's is pretty atypical, I would say, so don't give up the ship! Most of his work operates at several levels at once, but this one is
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.
In the summer of 1429 the greatest army ever seen, under command of Tirsun Pasha, attacks the citadel that is the first line of defense of Christian Albania, expecting to conquer it by rapid assault but every stratagem (repeated assaults, undermining, infestation with diseased rats, and finally discovering and cutting the citys aqueduct) fails, and when the rains come (saving the city from surrendering to thirst) the remains of the vast army withdraw in disorder from the now half-ruined town.
I read this one and The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell within a short time frame, and they complement each other well. There the focus is on the besieged, here the focus is on those besieging. There the subject is tackled focusing on the material experience, here more symbolic and historical/spiritual lenses are used. I highly recommend reading the two together to see how two authors tackle the same subject in vastly different ways.If you can only read one, though, this is the better of
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.
Realizing that 3 stars for Ismail Kadares 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
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