A Review of Ismail's Kadare's The Siege

Collins, Will. " The Siege by Ismail Kadare." PopMatters 18 June 2009. 18 June 2009 <http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/95065-the-siege-by-ismail-kadare/>.

A review for Ismail Kadare’s The Siege, Collins summarizes some of the main points of the book while questioning the relevancy of Kadare’s work. The Siege tells the story of the Ottoman Empire’s attack on Albania and the Albanians’ decision to defend their land despite the appealing terms offered by the Turks. It goes into great lengths describing the military superiority of the Turks and the futility of the Albanians’ resistance. Collins pulls specific examples from the book, such as a particularly poignant part where a mining tunnel collapses, trapping several people there. Most of the book centers on the Turks’ camp and their military precision. The few offshoots of Albanian discourse only accentuate the dire situation. Collins critiques the book, saying that his characters’ meandering digressions” require patience.

The book was written in the 1970s and implies a comparison between the events in the 15th century and the USSR’s attempts to incorporate Albania into their red countries. Collins spends most of the article talking about the events in the story, which lead up to his question about the author’s success in creating a lasting comparison with the conflict between the USSR and Albania. He offers a suggestion that perhaps at the time the book came out originally, that it seemed “fresh and vital” but now seems “anachronistic.”