Central and Eastern European Review

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CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN REVIEW Volume 12, 2018

SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE REVIEWS by Antonia Young University of Bradford And Colgate University

Mirela Bogdani and John Loughlin, Albania and the European Union: The Tumultuous Journey towards Integration and Accession, London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2007. 272 pp. ISBN: 978-1-84511-308-7. (Page 71)

Robert Elsie, ed., Tales from Old Shkodra: Early Albanian Short Stories. Albanian Studies, vol. 5, 2015, 174 pp. ISBN: 978-1509428224. (Page 78)

Cornelia Golna, Tainted Heroes, Go-Bos Press, Leiderdorp, 2017 411 pp. ISBN: 978- 9082 608922 . (Page 85)

Ismail Kadare, A Girl in Exile, Vintage, London, 2017, 186 pp. Translated by John Hodgson. ISBN: 978-0-099-58307-2. (Page 84)

Miruna Troncota, Post-conflict Europeanization and the War of Meanings: the challenges of EIU Conditionality in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Tritonic, Romania, 2016, 255 pp. ISBN: 978-606-749-087. (Page 71)

Tajar Zavalani, History of Albania, edited by Robert Elsie and Bejtullah Destani, Albanian Studies no. 1, Robert Elsie, 2015, 354 pp. ISBN: 9781507595671. (Page 80)

ISSN 1752–7503

10.2478/caeer-2019-0005

Central and Eastern European Review

Miruna Troncota, Post-conflict Europeanization and the War of Meanings: the challenges of EIU Conditionality in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Tritonic, Romania, 2016, 255 pp. ISBN: 978-606-749-087.

Mirela Bogdani and John Loughlin, Albania and the European Union: The Tumultuous Journey towards Integration and Accession, London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2007. 272 pp. ISBN: 978-1-84511-308-7.

Reviewed by Antonia Young.

The two books are concerned with the EU accession of three Balkan states, each of which have to fulfil several conditions in order to proceed towards membership. Although the book on Albania was written almost a decade earlier than that on Bosnia and Kosovo, and although the authors predicted 2014 as the possible year of accession for Albania, in fact the three countries might be seen still to be at roughly the same stage. Affecting all these countries are some developments such as the transformation of the European Community into the European Union as a single market in 1992. Bogdani and Loughlin point out that nineteenth century urbanization and nationalism gave some European countries experience of democracy, whereas those emerging from the Russian or Ottoman Empires before being ruled by extreme-right regimes between the two world wars or being annexed by the Soviet empire, gave them less preparation for democracy. These authors then discuss theories of European integration, including the ‘never-ending process of political, economic and security co-operation between nations, with the overall goal of the preservation of peace’. In this context they also note the flexibility of the Council of Europe, with 46 members, which is much more broadly-based. In their chapter on ‘Albania in 1990: at the Crossroads Between Communism and Democracy’, they use an article from The Independent to describe communist Albania (using such words as ‘batty’ and ‘loopy’). They look at the economic legacy, and the socio-cultural legacy, which they claim to be a ‘Muslim and semi-feudal society’ (disregarding the 30% Christian population). In analysing the post-1990 legacies, the authors relate that the political élites were all products of the communist regime and had all been party members. They make some interesting points: that ‘in England, the most regularly practiced religion is now Islam’; and that the first significant literary work written in the Albanian language was written by a Catholic bishop (Pjetër Bogdani, in the seventeenth century). They claim that the importance of the Muslim religion in Kosovo was emphasized when it became part of Yugoslavia;

Central and Eastern European Review however, the identity of these people as Albanians was of far greater importance than their religious affiliation. In Albania, they mention the communist attempts to abolish religion by banning and imprisoning priests and imams; however they fail to mention that hundreds were tortured and executed or died from forced labour and malnutrition. These authors delineate three phases of change from communism to democracy: euphoria, disillusionment and nostalgia. They claim that Romania is the only country to have suffered violence through the changes (apparently not heeding the arguably similar situation of former-Yugoslavia). They observe that Albania made the fastest change towards privatization; that in three years about 70% of the economy was privatized, and furthermore that by 2007 almost 98% of agricultural land had been distributed to smallholders (many might dispute these claims, especially considering that in 2017, there are still numerous ongoing bloodfeuds concerning land ownership). However, they also observe that policy- making is élitist, lacking participation by a broad range of actors. They note that in the transition period there has been a reproduction of the communist nomenklatura in the political-administrative realms. Many international organizations were quick to support Albania: (World Bank, IMF and EBRD), assistance from 1991–2004 totalled l.2 billion Euros—such funding never supported military assistance. EU funding was considerably curtailed from 1997, after the scandal of the approximately nine companies which failed. The pyramid schemes caused the eruption of violence and distribution of about a million Kalashnikovs into the hands of civilians, in 1997. Bogdani and Loughlin outline the three main phases of EU assistance to Albania. They note that a considerable portion of international aid went towards paying high salaries and generous benefits to foreign technical advisers and experts—some with no prior experience in Albania. They state that Albanian politicians have acquired massive wealth through having power to give or take favours to take charge of profitable tenders and procurements, all at the expense of Albania’s citizens. A chapter is devoted to the changing role of local government in respect of decentralization. But they conclude that ‘policy- making in Albania is mainly élitist, but the élites are not always capable of carrying through the reforms, which are fine on paper, but are not implemented sufficiently’ (p.239). Albania committed itself to the goal of EU accession from 2000. Politicians’ salaries are eight times those of an average worker, and they have additional perks, for example cars and drivers. Yet these are not people with the necessary professional expertise and knowledge. The speed of producing new legislation, they note, is not matched with the speed of implementing new laws. The authors give reasons why neither of the major Albanian

Central and Eastern European Review parties were able to create a truly democratic atmosphere: both parties inherited much of the organizational structures and traditions of the Communist Party of Labour, with many of their members having been active in that Party; there was also a lack of political experience other than the previous political system’s legacy. This relates to the lack of a civil society which is also a major handicap for Albania. The authors quote the IRI National Youth Survey, January-February 2003, concerning the dependence of NGOs on foreign donors as a dependency relationship that is very disturbing since there is a tendency on the part of civil society organizations to accommodate in their projects the objectives of the donors rather than the priorities and needs of the country. In her Introduction, Troncota notes the importance of the situation for the EU in 2014, both a politically engaging year as the centenary of the start of the First World War and the year of the appointment of a new EU leadership for the coming five years. However, nowhere does she mention the importance of the EU as a major peace project in itself (as the other authors do). Further they state that with the legacy of war, the CEE countries managed their transition to nation-statehood without the violence of civil war and ethnic cleansing that characterized other parts of the Balkans (with Albania as something of an exception). At the time of writing, the EU had just gained its 28th member state (Croatia). Troncota considers that these former-Yugoslav entities, even twenty years after the end of their wars, remain ‘the most problematic and dysfunctional countries in the region’. Her chapter on re-assessing Europeanization in the post-conflict setting, while granting that there has been some success in the arresting of war criminals, notes that there remain many other challenges. The author outlines specificities of EU conditionality in post- conflict countries. She explains the lengthy procedure demanded in order for states to be accepted into the EU: that EU members have at least 75 veto points on which they must agree unanimously in order for a country to advance to candidate status, starting negotiations, opening and closing each of the 35-plus chapters with formal conclusions of negotiations, the succession treaty and the date for joining. This involves basically three stages: political stabilization, swift transition to a market economy and promotion of regional cooperation. However, contested statehood, Troncota remarks, is one of the most often invoked factors that hinders EU conditionality in the Balkans. There have also been additional conditions, to address high security risks. She finds that in post-conflict states, the relations between main actors become more confrontational, rather than cooperative and that attempts at reconciliation have been much overlooked. In her research, divided into five phases (outlined in a table on p. 80) Troncota focuses on the way the EU dealt with the non-compliance of

Central and Eastern European Review potential candidate countries in the enlargement process from 2008 to 2015. She chose Bosnia and Kosovo, the two states of former-Yugoslavia which, after 20 years, remain the most problematic and dysfunctional. She attempts to provide ‘a more contextualized understanding of the “war of meanings”’. Common to both states, the author finds undemocratic politics and corruption flourishing with voter apathy turning to hostility towards the EU, something that did not happen in Albania, where enthusiasm to join the EU is almost unanimous for all Albanians;. Bogdani and Loughlin cite Ismail Kadare’s endorsement for joining the EU. They also quote Ardian Vehbiu’s claim that the orientation of the Albanian political élite toward Europe is purely to legitimize and prolong their own power. They also point out that the extension of the EU to additional countries has brought a tightening of controls at the external frontiers. They also discuss criminality in Albania, noting that Albania ranked first for human trafficking from South-Eastern Europe, and that in the decade to 2002, 100,000 Albanian women and girls had been victims of human trafficking. They also consider that Albania has the highest profile also in drug trafficking, smuggling, money laundering and the connection of mafia and politics. Troncota finds that the narratives become weapons in a war of meanings. Each of the two states under her scrutiny faces specific issues. For Bosnia, it is the Sejdić-Finci ruling of 2010 which concerns its state constitution as lacking certain democratic imperatives and as discriminatory against some applicants on the basis of their ethnic origin (the text of which she provides in Annex l); for Kosovo it is the Brussels Agreement. Bogdani and Loughlin point out that the US administration seemed determined to finalize Kosovo’s status. Each of these issues are understood entirely differently by the different parties within each of the states, leading to unending disagreements. As the Democratic Party (DP) in Albania under Sali Berisha began to abandon the programme of political pluralism, people feared a return to a kind of dictatorship; the US, formerly very supportive internationally, became Albania’s biggest critic. Over 35% of Albania’s labour force had emigrated by 2004. Chapters 2 and 3 of Troncota’s book, relate specifically to each of the countries under discussion. Where the previous text is rather long-winded and repetitive, the two specific chapters provide excellent explanations of the very complicated issues which have continuously contributed to the failure, so far, in bringing them into the EU. In contrast Albania and the European Union focuses on Albania’s progress towards EU membership; giving a history of that development up to 2007, especially noting that the 2000 Zagreb Summit was important, that by 2002 Romano Prodi (the President of the Commission)

Central and Eastern European Review warned that there must be political stability in Albania; and that this was followed by a severe internal crisis within the Socialist Party. From March, 2004, negotiation meetings were held every six weeks, and the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) was initialled finally in February 2006. This and Albania’s membership of NATO were very important pillars of Albania’s foreign policy. The authors’ prediction that maybe Albania would become a member of the EU in 2014, is still far from becoming reality. Troncota notes that in the case of Bosnia attention focused on establishing functioning institutions has been at the cost of disregarding human rights. In particular, the author questions the wisdom of giving central importance to the Sejdić-Finci ruling, which was introduced as the main element of EU conditionality in 2012, but despite years of struggles and tense negotiations, aimed at bringing consensus. The case ended in 2015 with no results. In 2004, 7,000 EUFOR troops were deployed in Bosnia. By 2011 the number was reduced to a force of 600, mainly focusing on capacity building and training. A major complicating factor lay in the issue that the electoral category ‘other’ (which included Jewish and Roma people) were not permitted to run for office. Further complications arose from demands of the Republika Srpska region of Bosnia, which wanted to leave Bosnia and become a part of Serbia. By 2016, Bosnia became a candidate for the EU. A useful chart showing the four main phases of the debates leading up to this is provided on p. 118. There is discussion of the Dayton agreements which actually excluded minority groups (and, left out mention of Kosovo). However, constitutional reform remains to be resolved. Troncota discusses the irony of the issues associated with the centennial year of Bosnia’s historic assassination in 2014 which initiated unwanted Serbian commemoration. Bogdani and Loughlin also discuss the issue of human and minority rights as well as the Accession Process and EU membership (the Copenhagen criteria), listing its seven processes, and also noting that for states joining later, the processes will be even more demanding. They give a table (p.114), showing the situation for each of the Western Balkan countries at the time of their writing. Troncota’s chapter on Kosovo relates to the Brussels Agreement of 2013, (whose 15 points are given in Annex 2) and its continuously re-interpreted forms by which the EU hoped to be able to make it agreeable to both sides, but which, at each stage, the two parties (Kosovo and Serbia) interpreted to their own advantage. She mentions the Serbs’ ‘Peace Park’ (erected in June, 2014) which supposedly defines the Ibar River border between Serbian Mitrovica and the rest of Kosovo, but which actually acts as a barrier in the place of most tension. Kosovo did not wait for universal acceptance (5 EU members did not accept it)

Central and Eastern European Review before declaring Independence in 2008, though in July 2010 the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion announced that ‘the declaration of independence of 17th February 2008 did not violate general international law’. Thereafter the term ‘normalization’ has become the most contested term. The status of the Brussels Agreement remains controversial; its legal versus political nature has created ambiguity. Troncota reports that all the relevant Serb leaders have publicly explained that they have no intention of formally recognizing Kosovo’s statehood, even though they accepted entering into the Brussels Agreement Dialogue. Bogdani and Loughlin quote another writer who calls this ‘Mission Impossible’. Furthermore the 40,000 Serbs living in Mitrovica as well as those living in three other Serbian municipalities in Kosovo, do not accept the authority of Prishtina, and continue to function through parallel institutions backed by Serbia. Troncota devotes two final sections of this chapter to ‘the final countdown—the delayed implementation and parallel realities’ and ‘Europeanization, still blocked in the power games of ethno-nationalism?’ Bogdani and Loughlin point out that the body of laws and regulations developed from the European Treaties is composed of and lists (p.59) 35 chapters (with around 8,000 clauses) each of which focuses on a specific sector or issue area. Troncota points out that the distorted meaning of EU conditionality has multiple causes and that the political role of élites in these two post-conflict countries remains a particularly sensitive subject. She sees the main challenge as posed by the fact that the narrative of progress is not matched by changes on the ground. Additionally veto points are regularly exploited to prevent decision-making and block state reform to implement EU requirements; for example by the discouragement of inter-ethnic co-operation. Such action leads to apathy and disillusionment with democracy. Troncota is critical of Albin Kurti and the Vetëvendosje self-determination movement/party. She claims that after the declaration of independence in 2008, Kosovo ‘passed from one crisis to the other’, such that the Transparency Corruption Perception Index in the years 20l4–l6 showed the highest level both of corruption and of youth unemployment in the region. Kosovo and Bosnia share serious issues of war legacy and state failure, but by being treated by the EU as ‘special cases’, they have allowed interpretations by local élites as a green light for further contestation and non-compliance. Post-war evidence in both countries is provided by the buildings in their capital cities bearing the scars of war and of divisive rhetoric between the former war combatants. Aside from this, other issues which call for compromise and co-operation, are the need for constitutional reform twenty years after the Dayton Agreement for Bosnia, and the

Central and Eastern European Review need for integration between Serbs and Albanians in northern Mitrovica, as intended by the Brussels Agreement in Kosovo. Policy provisions have not been implemented. Thus most of the efforts to find a solution for EU conditionality focus on justifying failure. Dejan Jović, writing in Balkan Insight, comments that paradoxically the prospect of joining the EU has strengthened the hand of nationalists in the Balkans. Troncota deduces that the EU finds the countries to be in a ‘sort of strategic limbo’. She concludes her study noting that the former Yugoslav countries remained tied up by their efforts to re-draw borders along ethnic lines, by strategically using EU conditionality (a leverage exercised in three ways: political conditionality, financial aid and sanctions) to further separation and political isolation instead of promoting more consensus-seeking behaviour. By postponing the problem with ambiguity, the countries are adding to geo- strategic uncertainty. However, she concludes optimistically that ‘there are reasons to be hopeful that state reform processes in Kosovo and Bosnia will also benefit from renewed EU engagement as a foreign and security actor in the Western Balkans’. Bogdani and Loughlin wrongly attribute the building of the tens of thousands of concrete bunkers in Albania to the 1960s. In fact they were built in the 1970s and 1980s. They give figures for the number of Albanians in Turkey (around a million) and for recent migrants to Greece (600,000), Italy (300,000), Germany (120,000), Switzerland (100,000). However, they give no figures for Canada and the US, and do not even mention migration to the UK. Troncota provides useful maps of each of the countries discussed, and besides supplying an ample bibliography, she also provides a précis of the two essential documents relating to negotiations between the EU and the two countries: the Sejdić-Finci ruling and the Brussels Agreement.

Central and Eastern European Review

Robert Elsie, ed., Tales from Old Shkodra: Early Albanian Short Stories. Albanian Studies, vol. 5, 2015, 174 pp. ISBN: 978-1509428224. Reviewed by Antonia Young.

The social commentary of two of Albania’s highly recognized twentieth century Shkodran writers has been very ably translated—some by Robert Elsie, some by Stuart Mann. Prefacing the book, Elsie observes that Albanian creative writing goes back to the 1600s. He gives the contrasting life histories of the Catholic, Ernest Koliqi (1903-75) and the Orthodox, Migjeni (l911–38). Migjeni’s name is an acronym of his real names: Milosh Gjergji Nikolla. Elsie explains that Shkodra was the centre of Albanian literature and culture in the first half of the twentieth century. Koliqi was forced to spend most of his life outside due to political pressures, much of it in Italy but he wrote and taught in Albanian. Taking advantage of the Italian occupation of Kosovo during the Second World War, Koliqi accepted the position of Minister of Education, and ensured that Albanian schools taught in the Albanian language (instead of Serbian as previously). After a theological training, Migjeni became a school teacher in the Serb village of Vraka (outside Shkodra), and later headmaster of the school in Puka. He did most of his powerfully socially aware writing in the five years before his early death from tuberculosis in 1938. Koliqi’s story, The Blood Feud, describes the challenges facing educated men whose illiterate parents burden them with the grim tradition of revenge. There are three other of Koliqi’s stories, The Dukagjini Dancer, The Garden and The Golden Cradle (a highly moral tale), all translated by the Albanologist Stuart Mann. There are 16 of Migjeni’s short prose pieces, all translated by Robert Elsie, focusing on the social ills of the day in Albania. Elsie has noted that these sketches were written with unprecedented cynicism and force, but cannot all be considered great works of art from a literary point of view. It was as a poet that Migjeni made his mark on Albanian literature and culture, though this was recognized posthumously. The first piece of Migjeni’s in this volume, Story of one of Those Women records the life of an attractive young prostitute who initiated young students, but in old age tolerated an uncongenial partner. The story, The Student back Home, highlights the dilemmas facing those who, through education, see the problems of ingrained patriarchy within their society. The other stories, all much shorter, present various aspects of the myriad of social ills with which Migjeni was very pre-occupied. His admiration for the West was one reason for his not being a writer whose work was retained under the harsh

Central and Eastern European Review communist rule which followed his death, but many continued to admire him in secret and he is still held in very high regard. Shkodra’s theatre is named after him, and the beauty of Shkodra’s architecture is being restored after half a century of neglect under the communist rule of the twentieth century.

Central and Eastern European Review

Tajar Zavalani, History of Albania, edited by Robert Elsie and Bejtullah Destani, Albanian Studies no. 1, Robert Elsie, 2015, 354 pp. ISBN: 9781507595671. Reviewed by Antonia Young.

The most gripping sections of Tajar Zavalani’s History are those which cover the times that he personally experienced events in the period from the beginning of the First World War through to the end of the Second World War. By that time he had been interned in Italy, though he managed to escape with his wife (former Lady-in-Waiting to Zog’s wife Queen Geraldine). This is claimed to be the first full length history of Albania to have been written in English: Zavalani wrote this when he had already lived in the UK for over 20 years. He headed the BBC Albanian language service in London from 1940 until his death in 1966. The first chapter covers Albania’s Illyrian pre-history and the next covers Albania under Roman administration, its economic prosperity, the development of Durres as the main port and the Via Egnatia linking Rome to Byzantium and Albania’s cultural progress with Apollonia as a centre of learning. Feudalism spread and with it the division of Albania into small principalities headed by local landowning families. In 1272, Charles of Anjou landed at Durres, and declared himself King of Albania, with Durres as the capital. Fifty years later, Stefan Dušan captured Kruja and thereafter the whole of Albania was subjected to Serbian rule. A short chapter covers the Ottoman Invasion: the conquest of Albania in the fifteenth century and the role of Venice and sporadic resistance by Albanian feudal princes. A 20-page chapter describes the life and work of Skanderbeg; and his remarkable leadership as he led armies to stave off Ottoman attacks. ‘The New Dark Ages’ heralded the fall of Kruja and Skanderbeg’s death, leading to the Ottoman administration and economic decline due to the devastation of their wars. It is also from this period that there is documentation left (in Rome), especially concerning the Christian resistance. In spite of some religious conflict, Zavalani notes: ‘Such clashes never became so widespread as to destroy the unity of the nation. As such, Albania constitutes a rare phenomenon where national unity has survived in spite of religious differences’. A discussion of the Crisis of the Ottoman Empire covers economic and political decline; Ali Pasha’s role, his struggle for power and his European allies (including Lord Byron), followed by the rise of the Bushati dynasty in Shkodra which lasted a whole century. There is an account of the new order, after the death of Ali Pasha of Tepelene and the destruction of the janissary corps under Sultan Mahmut II’s reforms early in the nineteenth

Central and Eastern European Review century. Following the French administrative system, pashaliks were replaced by villajets with a new hierarchy allowing for greater justice for the population. There is a description of the Albanian clan system and how it operated and the importance of the Kanun, and honour even above life. It was the Treaty of Berlin in 1878 which gave support to the Albanian League and the re-drawing of the map in South Eastern Europe. Bektashism became widespread in Albania from the beginning of the nineteenth century. The renowned poet Naim Frasheri studied Persian Bektashism and supported the credo to love all neighbours no matter what creed they followed. From the beginning of the twentieth century the Albanian diaspora in the US supported the new Albanian nationalism. Following the Peace Conference in Paris and the Ambassadors’ Conference in London in 1921, the lack of attention paid to Albania was somewhat redressed by an International Boundary Commission, which was faced by three serious points of controversy, all decided by the Commission in favour of Albania (to the North of Vermosh, East of Ohrid/Oher, and in Korça). At this time there were already over a hundred Albanian students on state scholarships at university in Italy, Austria and France. In introducing the revolution of 1924, which heralded the period under Zog (first as President, then as King, 1924–39), Zavalani notes: ‘As long as the struggle lasted, class antagonisms, social distinctions and material interests had melted in the pure flame of patriotic self-denial’. He also notes, however, that the conservative landowners and their political clientele, who consisted mainly of former Ottoman civil servants, were distressed by the new regime. Under this regime, large loans were taken out from Italy, much was used to create the grand streets and ministerial buildings which still command a central position in Tirana today, but Albania became more and more deeply indebted to Italy. Plans to modernize agriculture did not come to fruition. Grain even had to be imported. Kosovar refugees were housed in a newly built village named after Aubrey Herbert. A Rockerfeller Institute was founded to research and treat those afflicted by malaria from the swamps in the lowlands close to Albania’s coast. The instigation in 1934 of the nationalisation of schools was opposed by the Greek government which had supported schools for the Greek minority. An attempted anti-monarchist revolution in Fier in 1935 was crushed before having much effect. Zavalani’s chapter as eye-witness of the abrupt end to Zog’s reign in April 1939, planned by Mussolini’s son-in-law Count Galeazzo Ciano as early as l937, is of extreme interest. Prior to the Italian invasion, Zavalani was amongst the protesters fearing the worst

Central and Eastern European Review from the Italians, demanding arms to protect themselves and the country; they were calmed by promises that no capitulation to Italy was to happen. .However, the Italians did not wait for a response to the 17 demands they made, following it up two days later with a massive invasion of Albania by a force of 22,000 men, 600 airplanes, battleships, destroyers, torpedo ships, minelayers and transportation vessels simultaneously at the four ports: Saranda, Vlora, Durres and Shengjin. In Durres they were faced by strong resistance from ‘seventeen men in all, counting the dead, wounded and living’. Following this invasion, the Albanian Legation in London was closed. No country came to Albania’s aid. Italy claimed the merging of the Crown with its own under Victor Emmanuel III. Hence all Albanian Ministries and land and its minerals came under Italian Fascist jurisdiction, even the currency became dependent on the Italian Lira. All ongoing foreign projects were immediately terminated. Zavalani comments that despite the Italian efforts to disarm Albanians, every attempt precipitated pitched battles, with Albanians always emerging victorious. Midhat Frashèri, at age sixty, led the resistance to the Italian invasion. Five thousand Albanians had been sent to concentration camps in Italy by 1942. Abaz Kupi from Kruja led the royalist Legaliteti Party, after Zog had fled the country. Balli Kombètar was also fighting against the Partisans. The British Mission supported the communist partisans with SOE army leaders. Of these, Brigadier Davies was wounded by the Partisans, treated in Tirana and taken by the Germans and imprisoned. Zavalani suggests that Hoxha was testing Davies’s affiliation. Albania switched dramatically from Fascist to Communist in November 1944. During the first year of communism, 3,000 ‘enemies of the people’ were executed following mock-trials or disappeared without trace, and another 6,000 were under arrest awaiting either execution or removal to forced labour camps. For the period until 1948, Albania was preparing to become the seventh Republic of Yugoslavia., used the Yugoslav Dinar in place of the Albanian Lek, and had free borders between the two countries. Yugoslavia benefitted from stores of goods remaining after the Italians had imported a wide range of goods, anticipating that their nationals would be the benficiaries. Records show that 6,000 large landowners, and 10,000 smaller ones were dispossessed of their land, and from 1948 all landowners were forced to give a stipulated amount of grain. Zavalani discusses the Corfu Incident the hearing for which went on for two years, though the solution was not enacted until 1998. Despite Hoxha’s following of the Soviet lead, Albania was never allowed to join the Comminform pact, nor did any Red Army soldier ever set foot in Albania. In Albania, independent artisans were never supplied with materials. Between l947–49 youth brigades built two railway lines. Yugoslav youths assisted in this and, Zavalani claims, even one or

Central and Eastern European Review two from the UK. The marshlands of the Albanian coastal regions were initially drained by the Italians, but most of the work was continued by the forced labour of political prisoners. A suggestion by the Bulgarian, Todor Zhivkov to the UN General Assembly in 1960, proposed that Soviet dominated countries should be the first to implement, following the Soviet proposed plans, ‘a general and complete disarmament’ (p. 322). In the same year, at a conference in Moscow of representatives from 81 communist parties, Krushchev attempted to bring the parties together. This heralded the split with China, and Albania’s alignment with China. At the time, Albania was already facing a shortage of grain, greatly increased by the halting of this sustenance from the USSR. Zavalani’s account of Albania’s history ends at this point. He suffered a fatal accident in 1966. The book is enhanced by several contemporary photographs. Although there is no index, the editors have supplied an ample bibliography, with publication dates extending long after the author’s death. They also supply a bibliography of Zavalani’s work both published and unpublished.

Central and Eastern European Review

Ismail Kadare, A Girl in Exile, Vintage, London, 2017, 186 pp. Translated by John Hodgson. ISBN: 978-0-099-58307-2. Reviewed by Antonia Young.

Albania’s best known, and world famous author, Ismail Kadare, wrote this book almost twenty years after the fall of Communism in his country, but the text reflects the nuanced atmosphere (which the English speaking reader may feel has lost nothing in John Hodgson’s perceptive translation) that still prevailed, while describing life during Communism. As with his many other highly acclaimed works, this somewhat disturbing Kafkaeque story also uses many classical references by alluding to Homer, Orpheus and Caligula as well as Skanderbeg. He relates them to Albania’s strict form of Communism after 1945 and its continuing effects. His writing of multiple tales reflects the tortuous history of what is now Albania, from the time of the ancient Greeks, the 500 years under the Otttomans, the half- century of claimed independence, but mounting Italian influence then the 40 years of Communism and then three decades since its fall. Heather MacRobie, interviewing Kadare for The Guardian (6th March, 2009) noted that he admitted ‘that he had never considered himself a dissident. Dissidence was an identity later imposed upon him by foreign journalists, he says, which he was then criticized for failing to live up to’. Despite this, the late Robert Elsie (world expert on Albanian literature) called him a ‘profoundly dissident writer’. Like many of Kadare’s stories, A Girl in Exile takes the reader seamlessly between past and present, consciousness and dreams. There is something of a parallel between Kadare himself and the fictional playwright who was on the verge of being considered a threat to the Communist state. Likewise the fictional playwright, Rudian Stefa, is never confronted with any charges of political deviation, although much of the text insinuates accusations and fears of such accusations, which is interwoven with the story of the Girl (Linda B) who had been living as an ostracized internee in an undefined remote area of the isolated country, but a great fan of Rudian, whose book she managed to obtain through her friend, Migena. The link between these Migena and the playwright, though they never meet, other than in imagination, is Linda’s schoolfriend/Rudian’s lover, Migena—seen by Rudian as her name’s anagram: an enigma. This is another brilliant page-turner from the prolific Kadare.

Central and Eastern European Review

Cornelia Golna, Tainted Heroes, Go-Bos Press, Leiderdorp, 2017 411 pp. ISBN: 978- 9082 608922. Reviewed by Antonia Young.

The Romanian author (brought up in the US) complicates an already very complicated situation, that of the South Eastern Balkans at the start of 20th Century, by fictionalizing it, with a myriad of characters (some based apparently on her own family members) in a lengthy novel. Great novels can deal with a wide range of complex characters, but despite its ambition, this novel seems to fall short of that. The novel represents an untangling, at a personal level, of the turbulent times of Macedonia in its final years as a part of the Ottoman Empire. Golna has gained glowing reviews for her book. One from Maria Todorova even compares her narrative to that of Zorba the Greek. Golna prefaces her book with an explanation of the peoples who inhabited the region during the years 1903–08: Slavs, Albanians, Romanians, Vlachs and Greeks. Two other books based on this same period and in the same or adjoining regions are: Albert Sonnichsen’s Confessions of a Macedonian Bandit: A Californian in the Balkan Wars (The Narrative Press., Santa Barbara, 2004, Number 88 in the Histoica Adventure and Exploration Series, reproduced from original published by Duffield & Co. and The Premier Press, New York , l909) and much more recently, Kapka Kassabova’s, Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe (Granta, London, 2017—eviewed in the last issue of Central and Eastern European Review). These each have detailed maps, something very much missing from Golna’s book, despite mentioning at least 50 places.

Central and Eastern European Review

About the reviewer Antonia Young is Honorary Research Fellow in the Division of Peace and International Development, University of Bradford, UK. She is also Research Associate at Colgate University, New York. Her email address is a.t.i.young@bradford