The Traitor's Niche

The Traitor's Niche (Albanian: Kamarja e turpit) is a historical novel by the Albanian author Ismail Kadare. It was first published in Tirana, Albania in 1978. The English translation by John Hodgson was published in 2017.[1] It is part of a loose trilogy that includes The Three-Arched Bridge and The Palace of Dreams.[2][3]

The Traitor's Niche
AuthorIsmail Kadare
Original titleKamarja e turpit
TranslatorJohn Hodgson
CountryAlbania
LanguageAlbanian
PublisherNaim Frashëri Publishing House, Harvill Secker
Publication date
1978
Published in English
2017
ISBN9781784873202

Contents

The story is told from a number of perspectives, opening in the Ottoman imperial capital Istanbul where a newly married soldier stands guard over the niche in which the head of a traitor is put on display. The narrative moves back and forth between Istanbul and Albania, following the route of Tundj Hata, the imperial courier whose job it is to transport the severed heads of traitors for display in the capital.[4] The narrative takes place against the failure of Ali Pasha of Ioannina's 1820–22 rebellion against the sultan, detailing repressive measures intended to prevent future rebellion.[5]

It has been suggested that Ali Pasha's rebellion against the Ottomans is in some way intended as a parallel to Enver Hoxha's break with the Soviet Union.[2]

Reception

The English translation was longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2017.[6]

References
  1. Judith Vidal-Hall, Heading for Disaster? The Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare, Literary Review, Feb. 2017.
  2. M Lynx Qualey (21 Dec 2016). "Ismail Kadare's The Traitor's Niche – a Balkan master at work". The National.
  3. Alev Adil, Archive of whispers, TLS, 1 March 2017.
  4. Houman Barekat (4 Feb 2017). "The Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare review: severed heads, living and dead". The Irish Times.
  5. Mark Damazer (3 Feb 2017). "The Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare — monstrous supremacy". Financial Times.
  6. The Traitor’s Niche, Man Booker website.



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