The Pyramid
First edition (Albanian)
AuthorIsmail Kadare
TranslatorJusuf Vrioni & David Bellos
CountryAlbania
LanguageAlbanian
GenreNovel, Fiction
Published1992
PublisherÇabej (Albania)
Arcade Publishing (USA)
Harvill Press (UK)
Published in English
1 February 1996
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages224 p. (hardback edition)
ISBN1-55970-314-8 (US hardback edition) & ISBN 1-86046-123-9 (UK hardback edition)
OCLC32429764
891/.9913 20
LC ClassPG9621.K3 P5813 1996

The Pyramid is a 1992 novel written by Ismail Kadare. It is considered to serve both literary and dissident purposes.[1] It is a political allegory of absolute political power.

Background

The first part of the novel was written in 1988-1990 but was rejected by the state publisher.[2] It was serialized in January 1991 in several issues of the new opposition newspaper Democratic Renaissance. [3] After the establishment of pluralism and democracy in Albania, it was completed and published in Tirana and Paris.[2]

Plot

The Pyramid is a political allegory set in ancient Egypt. It is the tale of the conception and construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza by Cheops, but also of absolute political power.[3]

Reception

The New York Times picked up on the significance of The Pyramid:

"For the pyramid, viewed by his subjects as an abiding symbol of his total and incontestable power, comes to be seen by him as a personal memento mori, a constant and paralyzing reminder that his brief life will give way to an eternal entombment in stone."[4]

In 1993, the novel was awarded the Prix Méditerranée Étranger in France.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Review 04/01/1996
  2. ^ a b Fayé, Eric (1993). Kadaré, Ismail (ed.). Oeuvres completes: tome 1. Editions Fayard. pp. 80–82.
  3. ^ a b Robert Elsie (2005). Albanian Literature: A Short History. IBTaurus. p. 178. ISBN 1-84511-031-5.
  4. ^ Bawer, Bruce (28 April 1996). "Land of the Pharaoh: New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2006.
  5. ^ Nicole Gaspon (14 April 1993). "ISMAÏL KADARÉ COURONNÉ POUR «LA PYRAMIDE»". L'humanity. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
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