In his books he was focused on the history and culture of the Balkans. Although he did not like to be considered a political writer, he was said to be one of the few who managed to describe the mechanisms of totalitarianism and how it influenced human individuality.
He was born in 1936 in the south of Albania. His first book of poetry was published in 1954 and his first novel in 1963. In 1990 he emigrated to France.
In 2005, in the first year of the Man Booker International he was awarded it for his entire body of work.
In 2009 he also received the Prince of Asturia Award.
Kadare’s short novel from 1984, The Blinding Order, was published by the Borderland Publishing House in 2010.
(Kadare' s photograph by Lars Haefner, Wikipedia )