''Albania Defiant'' ( sv, Albansk utmaning) is a travel book by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

authors Gun Kessle and Jan Myrdal, originally published in 1970 and translated to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in 1976 by Paul Britten Austin. It was reprinted in 1986, with six additional new chapters. In Swedish it was published by PAN/Nordstedt, in English by Monthly Review Press. The book, which is deeply sympathetic to the

Party of Labour of Albania The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...

(PPSh), was written by Kessle and Myrdal – who were married until Kessle's death in 2007 – about their travels in the

People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

. It deals with a number of issues, including the country's economy, culture and history, as well as the political leadership of

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

Reception

The book was poorly received by several writers critical of Myrdal and the People's Republic of Albania. In ''Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Literature and Theater'' (2006), Professor Jan Sjåvik wrote that Myrdal's "inability to perceive the horrors of Enver Hoxha's regime attests to both his idealism and his penchant for viewing the world through ideological glasses". Writing for ''

Expressen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...

'' in 2007, the Swedish-Polish author and journalist Jackie Jakubowski described Myrdal as a "collaborator with all sorts of murderous regimes", citing for example a quote from ''Albania Defiant'' regarding Hoxha's many achievements. In 2008, the former

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament

Martin Andreasson Martin Andreasson (born 1 October 1970 in Malmö), is a Swedish Liberal People's Party politician, a member of the Riksdag 2002–2006. He is openly gay. He is also an active member of Swedish science fiction fandom Science fiction fan ...

wrote about the book, likewise expressing criticism towards its support for the PPSh and Hoxha.

References

{{Reflist 1970 non-fiction books Swedish non-fiction books Books about Albania Travel books Norstedts förlag books

Reception

See also

References