“Who in the world has not yearned for a loved one, has never said, If only he or she could come back just once, just one more time…? Despite the fact that it can never happen, never ever. Surely this is the saddest thing about our mortal world, and its sadness will go on shrouding human life like a blanket of fog until its final extinction.”
— Ismail Kadare (The Ghost Rider)
The great Albanian writer Ismail Kadare (1936 – 2024) passed away this morning in Tirana. What a loss for literature. His notable works include The General of the Dead Army and The Fall of the Stone City among many others. Kadare was the recipient of several accolades, including the inaugural International Booker Prize in 2005 and the Prince of Asturias Award in 2009.
TRADUKI has supported several translations, most recently that of Koncert në fund të stinës into Romanian: Concert la sfârșit de iarnă was translated by Marius Dobrescu and published by Humanitas Fiction (2024).
RIP, Ismail Kadare, we will miss you dearly.