Foreign criticism of our "General"

“The General of the Dead Army” and most of Kadare’s works are still insufficiently studied, even though the material this author offers should have long ago led to the establishment of a special science in Albanian studies, which would include the critical writings of all Albanian and foreign authors on the works of this author. Since his work is multifaceted and has an unusual publishing history, literary, psychological, philosophical, sociological, historical, political research can be conducted on it, etc. And all this could be done under the general name: Kadareology

Unlike Albanian criticism, which was sparing in relation to "The General of the Dead Army", foreign criticism was more generous. Robert Escarpit calls it a novel of world proportions (Escarpit 1970), Tristan Renaude evaluates it as a dramatic epic, Emanuel Lerohe concludes that "The General of the Dead Army" is one of the most powerful books against the war, Horst Köpke states that in this novel with a special theme, the attitude of the Albanians towards the invaders is correct and proud, Alain Bosquet considers the publication of this novel an unexpected event in France, while he places Kadare at the highest level in the European plan, Jean Freustie categorically states that this book is so beautiful that this is indisputable, Gilles Lapouge says that this novel does not sacrifice anything to socialist realism, and J. Pache also states that this novel has nothing to do with the doctrine of socialist realism.

Below we will see the criticisms from Escarpit, Renaud, Elsie, Wackwitz and Morgan.

The Trial of the "General"

The authoritative French critic, Robert Escarpit, is the first literary authority to speak about Kadare's novel. He begins by talking about real and legendary Albania, about the character and language of the Albanian, about Nik Martin as a representative figure of the Albanian people, then emphasizes the description of the weather: "From the rigorous and dramatic chronology of his story, Kadare has denied spring because he refuses to smile. Everything begins with rain and snow, everything ends with wind". Recognizing the character of the Albanian, he also makes a statement: "The cold-blooded smile of humor that makes the old enemy a curious animal, but does not overwhelm him, is also ready to become cordial on condition that the other makes the first move, a very human, courageous, loyal smile, of long memory and short patience". And, at the very end, he concludes that "Ismail Kadare gives the French reader a world-class novel, which means a lot, but, more than that, that novel is the voice of the millennium that speaks to the men of Albania about the century of its revival."

Escarpi's preface has no analytical value, but it remains the most important writing about "The General", because in it we have for the first time the superior axiological judgment: "Ismail Kadare gives the French reader a world-class novel."

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Tristan Renaud is the author of the first French review (April 1, 1970) of “The General”. The review, in which he also takes into account Escarpi’s preface, begins with two words that will constitute the evaluative phrase of subsequent criticisms abroad on this work: “brilliant novel”. A comparison with Buzzati follows in terms of the proceeding. It is then explained that the novel does not rise to symbol status due to its extremely strong connection with reality, that is, due to a strict and strange realism. It is praised that the narrative, although adhering to the unobtrusive style of narration, brings us a subjective story. What we see is not, for example, the author’s Albania, but that of the general. The subjectivist nature of the novel is emphasized, its dramatic escalation, which relies on inversion, is explained. The general, although coherent, makes two irrational actions: he goes to an Albanian wedding and throws the remains of Colonel Z into the river. The detail about the continuation of the war, through the death of Reis, who dies of poisoning during the exhumation of the fascist army, is considered a genius discovery. The humanist message of the novel against wars of conquest is also emphasized: “Ismail Kadare, beyond the Mussolini or Hitler armies, which burned and bled Albania, targets all types of armies”. And in the end, he concludes that this is a shocking book, a dramatic and stinging epic, where disregard is barely distinguishable from contempt.

Canadian scholar Robert Elsie, in his book "History of Albanian Literature" (2001), devotes two paragraphs to "The General", which he states is his first major work in prose, and even now perhaps one of his best and certainly his most well-known. Then he discusses the content and states what the author himself would later call “meteorological dissent”: “The rain that flows down the windowpane of the military vehicle at the disposal of the general is a common metaphor in Ismail Kadare’s prose. At the time of its first publication, these continuous rainfalls and many other details of the novel made it a significant step forward in Albanian literature. The gray clouds laden with rain, mud and the boring and monotonous reality of everyday life were in obvious opposition to the golden sun and the bright victories of socialist realism. This is also done by ‘The General’. Here too we find a device quite popular with the writer, who, more than anyone else, would bring the literature of his country out of its thematic and stylistic lethargy: thus, lonely and gray Albania is seen through the eyes of a harmless foreigner who does not know the situation. This perspective not only gave as a European country, which at that time was more isolated from the Western world than Tibet, but also helped the Albanians themselves to see their homeland as others could see it” (2001: 387).

Critic and writer Eric Faye, in his introduction to “The General” on the occasion of the preparation of Kadare’s complete works in an exclusive edition by Fayard, begins with the observation of the continuous change of this novel: “The General of the Dead Army” is undoubtedly the text of Ismail Kadare that has undergone the most changes since its birth. He further mentions the novel’s adaptations, translation and publication abroad, giving signs of receptionist criticism: “The book was published in 1970 in France, where it immediately became known by the press and by French writers such as Alain Bosquet and Alexandre Vialatte. With this surprising flower, the West discovers that the small Balkan country is capable of producing masterpieces, at a time when Albania was for many people nothing more than a synonym for dogma and work brigades” (1998: 141). Faye is the first to notice the model of Don Quixote not in the ideas, but in the structure of The General: “the diary of a soldier turned servant in a peasant’s house is an example that makes you think about the construction of Don Quixote: novels inserted into the novel” (1998: 142). Then, he establishes the ideo-thematic affinities with “The Persians” and “Dead Souls”. Although the preface is short, its results are solid, when it is understood that with a concise introduction very important elements of this novel have been touched upon (variants, model, genre, structure, theme, character, public epitext, intertext, translation, fame, etc.). Therefore, this preface is, in fact, a study in miniature.

The German scholar Stephan Wackwitz, in his review of “The General” (2011: 221), in addition to Kadare’s “magical realism”, also notes and defines the novel’s intentionally chaotic structure: “the book, with perfect artistic indiscipline, has poured into the suggestive, fantastic, frightening and erotic topos of a horror romance, as well as the interweaving of the funny with the terrible. In this novel, the terrifying moments are very sensitively mixed with the comic ones. The connection between the scary and the funny, a grotesque element in the original sense, defines it and reveals a striking similarity with its Latin American cousins. Ismail Kadare’s novel is perhaps the only legitimate cousin of books such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’”. Wackwitz also finds in this novel: elements of shamanism, the magical method of narration, the poetry of Fellini's films, and the archaism that comes as a reminder, or as a shield against media discourse.

The Australian scholar Peter Morgan, in his book “Ismail Kadare, the Writer and the Dictatorship” (2011), writes about 20 pages of study on “The General”, a study that applies the type of ideological interpretation of the novel. His analysis brings the following results: he establishes the presence of romantic elements in the evocation of the national past, investigates the strength of eros and thanatos in the narrative, finds political and mythical connections in the flow of ideas, venerates the dissident elements of the novel and finally concludes that the furore caused by the publication of this novel and the harsh criticisms that were made of it, influenced this writer, who had attracted the attention of the dictator, to realize that “the honeymoon with the regime was over” (Morgan 2011: 89).

However, Morgan's criticism contains several omissions: he considers the final version to be that of 1967, while one of the quotes is taken from the 1998 version, this because he refers to the English edition of this novel. Also, the misunderstanding of Albanian idiomatic discourse causes the Albanian old man, who says "when I was alive" (meaning: when I was still strong), to be taken for dead. Thus Morgan crosses the threshold of the Gothic that Kadare himself does not want to cross.

Of all the criticisms that have been made of "The General" up until the first decade of this century, Morgan's study is, in fact, the most comprehensive.

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However, “The General of the Dead Army” and most of Kadare’s works are still insufficiently studied, even though the material this author offers should have long ago led to the establishment of a special science in Albanian studies, which would include the critical writings of all Albanian and foreign authors on the works of this author. Since his work is multifaceted and has an unusual publication history, literary, psychological, philosophical, sociological, historical, political research can be conducted on it, etc. And all this could be done under the general name: Kadareology.

Kadare's masterpiece

Ismail Kadare, like all great writers who write several works, but whose name is usually associated with one work more than the others, wrote several high-level works, but his name is particularly associated with "The General of the Dead Army", which is his most translated, most staged, most screened, most appreciated and most read work. This work is unlike any previous Albanian work, therefore, it is a revolution in terms of reception. Kadare has held the record for reception from the 60s to the present day. And this great reception that the public has given him has undoubtedly been influenced by the international fame and prestigious literary awards, or decorations that have been given to the general of Albanian literature.

Through this novel, the fate of Albanian literature is understood. This fate is seen in the novelties of the narrative, in the world fame that this novel gave to the author and to Albanian literature. While as a heavy fate it is seen in the claws of censorship that tried to cut off the heads of a masterpiece, which for the first time opened the doors for Albanian literature to go out and become part of the world.

Despite the dictator's attempts to instrumentalize it, despite the threats of censorship to "improve" it, and despite the tendentious Albanian criticism to underestimate it, the novel "The General of the Dead Army" has managed, through artistic skill, to defy all odds and reap extraordinary success on the world stage.

So, today Ismail Kadare's "The General of the Dead Army" is the glory of Albanian literature in the world.

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Excerpt from “The Proteus Paradigm”, 2012

Published with permission from the author.