Mrs Pollifax on China

by Ismail Kadare

Book Overview

From the Albanian writer who has been short-listed for the Nobel Prize comes a hypnotic narrative of ancient Egypt, a work that is at once a historical novel and an exploration of the horror of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449204170
• ISBN13: 9780449204177
• Release Date: August 1984
• Publisher: Fawcett Books
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Fascinating Perspective on the Egyptian Pyramids as Symbols of Despotism

The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote of two great legs of stones, standing stranded and in ruin in the lonely desert sands: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings, Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" When most of us bother to think about the pyramids of Egypt at all, we see them through tourist's eyes, or perhaps as Ozymandian exemplars of human vanity or imperial excess. With his short, parable-like novel THE PYRAMID, Ismail Kadare presents those great Egyptian monuments in entirely new lights, sometimes bitingly sardonic, other times morbidly humorous or harrowing in the fear they inspired and the violence they engendered. The great pharaoh Cheops announces one day to his ministers that he has decided not to follow in his father's footsteps, not to build a pyramid. Panicked at this abandonment of tradition, the Pharaoh's ministers convene among themselves, then present their case, a triumph of political and economic irony that speaks to modern governments (totalitarian and otherwise) as well. To wit, that the pyramids were conceived as a solution to the vexing problem of societal success and wealth. As Egyptians became more prosperous, they became more independent, with freer minds that were more resistant to the Pharaoh's authority. Hence, the pyramids were intended to weigh down the populace, drain away its wealth and vitality with a public works project that would render the people more submissive and manageable. Cheops relents before this impeccable logic, and thus begins the design of Egypt's most magnificent pyramid. At first, all is planning, and rumors run rampant. Finally, construction begins, and each numbered stone that arrives from Egypt's various quarries is recorded as to its source, its difficulty of transport and final positioning, and the number of workers killed or maimed in its handling. Rumors of subversive plots arise at regular intervals, each resulting in purges, horrible tortures, and more deaths. Superstition runs rampant as well, so that certain stones are identified as bloodied or cursed well after their placement in the structure. Cheops complicates the project still further during an imperial inspection by announcing that he wishes to be buried above ground, in the middle of the pyramid rather than below ground as already long since planned. Along the way, delegations from other nations visit the site. Some, like the laughably backwards Greeks, view the structure with awe, while others like the Sumerians study it for its political ramifications and render their analyses in reports so lengthy two horse-drawn carts are necessary to transport the numerous cuneiform tablets required for such voluminous writings. As Cheops's great pyramid nears its completion, the pharaoh grows increasingly anxious, feeling his tomb's inexorable pull calling him to occupy his eternal resting place. Even before the Pharaoh's demise, his son Didoufri is already planning his own Sphinx-shaped monument, going so far as to cut his

The pyramid as a character

The passages which evoke the actual building of Cheops' pyramid are extraordinarily powerful and impossible to forget; still, it is less the 'physical pyramid' than all it represents that Kadare seeks to illustrate - the shape it takes in the minds of many men, from the builders to the pharaoh, from the pillagers to the dignitaries. Among the pyramid's various symbolic connotations, he is especially fascinated by the power linked to it, by the hubristic ambition emanating from each of its individual pieces as well as from its finished form. Despite his deeply non-obscurantist approach, Kadare does not desacralize the pyramid: its religious/esoteric dimension is included in, rather than evacuated from, its overall significations. As the title indicates, the pyramid is indeed the book's central character - all the humans are affected by its mysterious, ineffable and frightening presence. So is the reader of this book...

Cheops, alias Enver Hoxha

The pharaoh Cheops decides to construct his own pyramid in order to suck all the wealth out of his country and prevent a higher living standard for his empire's population.Indeed, as his counsellors whispered in his ears, when the living standard of a population rises, people become freer and more critical and endanger the dominance of the almighty powerful.The construction of the edifice turns into a mass slaughtering. The pyramid becomes a symbol for endless human suffering and death under a despotic regime.Of course, this book is a reflection on the political situation in Albania under the communist tyrant Enver Hoxha, but it is also a magisterial general evocation of a totalitarian ghost state, with only hidden agendas, invented complots, infighting, creation of incidents and rumours, and all that only in function of the mood and hallucinations of the tyrant.The interrogations, tortures and executions for 'who ever knows' what reasons, create an atmosphere of terror in the whole country. The entire population becomes the plaything of the cynical and deadly machinations of the tyrant and his subservient clique.This formidable novel is written in an unstoppable, passionate, fanatic flood of dashing prose.A masterpiece.

An Eery Novel: Haunting & Suspenseful

Ismail Kadare takes a historical event of 2,600 years ago, the building of the Pyrmaid of Cheops, and creates an eery and suspense filled novel. There are intrigues and plots, and political purifications. Clearly, the monument is a testament to the human beings who built it, their spirit, creativity, their blood, sweat, and tears. However, is there some grand design, some master plan, something more, might it not represent the infinite, something eternal? Read the book and decide ... It all starts out innocently enough, the High Priest recommends a project, building a pyramid to the Pharoah who at first is opposed to the idea. Then, like any good monarch or president, he appoints a committee to study the matter. The research falls short of expectations. To the disappointment of all, or perhaps, just to this reader, it is discovered, the past pharoahs did not build the pyramids for any grand and glorious reason. They did it just because they were rich, had an overabundance of wealth, which they used up, that's all. At first the public is appalled, another pyramid is to be built, everyone ... everywhere is a buzz with, how much time, effort, and resources will it take? The plans, the building materials, the workmen, the supervisors, even diplomats of foreign countries, all are intrigued with this grand scheme. Eventually the psyche of the country is totally obsessed with nothing but this project. Many years go by, decades go by, as the project continues, and nears completion ... Kadare weaves his plot masterfully, capturing how this huge event affects the people of Egypt from all walks of life, from the peasant, to the merchant, to the highly educated scribes and aristocracy ... the parallels to modern life are astonishing. The building of the pyramid becomes the ruling force in the lives of the people. The novel is highly complex and has great depth. It becomes a psychological thriller that the reader can not put down. Although a short novel, it is packed with unsettling moments that remain with the reader, long after one finishes reading the book. Based on this novel alone, any reader can understand why Ismail Kadare is recommended for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

One of the best parables on dictatorships available

The exhaustion of energies of a populace remains one of the main ways rulers or societies use to feel secure. Why do we need punishment with forced labour after all? If we are tired of hard labour we cannot think. If we cannot think we can be manipulated. The book is an outstanding metaphor that stands even in this glorified age of consummerism.