Piramida

In his ‘Egyptian’ novel Ismail Kadare retells the story of the construction of the imposing Pyramid of Cheops, which was built to consolidate the reign of the young Pharaoh and to quench the rebellious powers, which resulted from a life of abundance and plenty. Kadare paints a hypnotic picture of a world in which time is not measured in months or years, but in numbered blocks of stone and the millionfold gruesome deaths that are the consequence of the arduous transportation and construction work. Real as well as imagined conspiracies against the monumental building project are punished mercilessly. Kadare’s profound political parable is drenched in the experience of totalitarian regimes of the 20^th century.