''The General of the Dead Army'' ( sq, Gjenerali i ushtrisë së vdekur) is a 1963 novel by the Albanian writer

Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; spelled Ismaïl Kadaré in French; born on 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the pu ...

. It is the author's most critically acclaimed novel. Kadare was encouraged to write the book by

Drago Siliqi Drago Siliqi (9 June 1930–13 July 1963) was an Albanian poet, literary critic, and publisher. At the age of 14 he became a scout and then a partisan of the National Liberation Movement. He published his first collection of poetry, and then pu ...

, literary critic and director of the state-owned publishing house ''Naim Frashëri''. The English translation by Derek Coltman, first published by W. H. Allen, was made not directly from the Albanian, but from the 1970 French edition published by

Albin Michel Albin may refer to: Places * Albin, Wyoming, US * Albin Township, Brown County, Minnesota, US * Albin, Virginia, US People * Albin (given name), origin of the name and people with the first name "Albin" * Albin (surname) ;Mononyms * Albin of ...

. A revised English edition was published by

The Harvill Press Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

in 2000, in light of the revised French edition published by

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayard ...

in 1998, and was reprinted by

Vintage Press Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Hou ...

in 2008.

History

In 1963, at 26 years of age

published the novel.

Plot

In the early 1960s, nearly 20 years after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, an Italian general, accompanied by a priest who is also an Italian army colonel, is sent to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

to locate and collect the remains of his countrymen who had died during the war and return them for burial in Italy. As they organise digs and disinterment, they wonder at the scale of their task. The general talks to the priest about the futility of war and the meaninglessness of the enterprise. As they go deeper into the Albanian countryside they find they are being followed by another general who is looking for the bodies of German soldiers killed in World War II. Like his Italian counterpart, the German struggles with a thankless job looking for remains to take back home for burial, and questions the value of such gestures of national face value.

Reception

The novel was initially criticized by Albanian official literary critics and then ignored as if it did not exist. Reason for that was that Kadare had avoided the realist socialist style while the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

had also been intentionally ignored. Kadare's novel was in stark contrast to other writers of that time who glorified the communist revolution. Apart from that, while the poets and novelists of that time used to write about the ideological sun that warmed all communists, in this novel, Kadare, as in his other novels, removed neither the clouds nor the rain from the Albanian countryside. The novel has received many positive reviews.

Richard Eder Richard Gray Eder (August 16, 1932 – November 21, 2014) was an American film reviewer and a drama critic. Life and career For 20 years, he was variously a foreign correspondent, a film reviewer and the drama critic for ''The New York Times''. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' stated that "Kadare advances wryly and dryly into the darkness... edoesn't do messages; he brings them to lethal life". ''The Boston Globe'' called it "a powerful and poignant Albanian novel".

Alan Brownjohn Alan Charles Brownjohn (born 28 July 1931) is an English poet and novelist. He has also worked as a teacher, lecturer, critic and broadcaster. Life and work Alan Brownjohn was born in London and educated at Merton College, Oxford. He taught in ...

of ''The Times Literary Supplement'' praised the novel, calling it "a profoundly moving novel... rich in poignant details". The novel inspired three films:

Luciano Tovoli Luciano Tovoli, (born 30 October 1936) is an Italian cinematographer and filmmaker. With a career spanning over five decades, he is considered one of Italy's premier cinematographers, collaborating with numerous acclaimed filmmakers such as Mic ...

's '' The General of the Dead Army'' starring

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

and

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (28 September 1924 – 19 December 1996) was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of his country's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. He played leading roles for many of Italy's top di ...

as the Italian General,

Dhimitër Anagnosti Dhimitër Anagnosti (born 23 January 1936) is an Albanian film director of the 20th century. He was a member of the Parliament of Albania in the 1990s and a Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports. For his contribution in film, he received the Peo ...

's '' The Return of the Dead Army'' (Albanian: ''Kthimi i Ushtrise se Vdekur'') - a 1989 Albanian film starring

Bujar Lako Bujar Lako (1 June 1926 – 15 December 1996) was an Albanian actor. Filmography References External links * People from Korçë 20th-century Albanian male actors 21st-century Albanian male actors Albanian male film actors Albani ...

, and

Bertrand Tavernier Bertrand Tavernier (25 April 1941 – 25 March 2021) was a French director, screenwriter, actor and producer. Life and career Tavernier was born in Lyon, France, the son of Geneviève (née Dumond) and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, s ...

’s ''

Life and Nothing But ''Life and Nothing But'' (french: La vie et rien d'autre) is a 1989 French film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It was inspired by the novel by Albanian writer Ismail Kadare titled '' The General of the Dead Army''. Synopsis Set in October 1920, i ...

'' (''La Vie et rien d’autre'') starring

Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student and ...

. Though it is his best-known novel, and he views it as good as literature, he does not view it as his best work. It was listed on ''Le Mondes 100 Books of the Century.

Translations

It was first translated in Bulgarian by Marina Marinova, published in 1966. After that, it was translated in Serbo-Croatian by

Esad Mekuli Esad Mekuli ( sr-cyrl, Есад Мекули; 17 December 1916, – 6 August 1993) was an Albanian poet, critic and translator. He was the first president of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo. Robert Elsie considered him the father o ...

and published in 1968. Then it was translated in Turkish by Attila Tokatlı and Necdet Sander and published in 1970 from ''Sander editions'' in Istanbul.

Adaptations

Films

*'' The General of the Dead Army'' (Italian: ''Il generale dell'armata morta'') is a 1983 Italian film starring

, based on the novel, directed by

. *'' The Return of the Dead Army'' (Albanian: ''Kthimi i Ushtrise se Vdekur'') is a 1989 Albanian film starring

, based on the novel, directed by

. *''

'' (''La Vie et rien d’autre'') is a 1989 French film starring

, based on the novel, directed by

. "General of the dead army" a 1975 Albanian film starring Sander Prosi, Violeta Manushi.

Theatrical

The book has been adapted for the stage and is a commonly performed play in Albanian theaters and in some neighboring countries.The General of the Dead Army in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
/ref>

History

Plot

Reception

Translations

Adaptations

Films

Theatrical

References

See also