From Publishers Weekly
In prose clear as window glass, sharp-eyed New Zealand novelist Jones (Splinter) recounts his journey through Albania in 1991, just as the poor, isolated country stumbles into a chaotic, post-communist future. Biografi (the title comes from the word for the security dossiers kept by the secret police on each citizen) is equal parts travelogue, political reportage and mystery: the author's search for Petar Shapallo, a dentist whose face had been surgically altered so he could serve as a double for the Communist dictator, Enver Hoxha, gives the book its considerable narrative thrust. Deftly, Jones etches memorable images of the country and its people: "The notion of clouds gives way to layers of hill; their tops are darkly pencilled and fold back on one another"; a "pale and thin" man, fueled by his volatile convictions; the official "state farms"-in reality desolate exile camps-dotting what was once the food bowl of Albania. Never intrusive, always curious, Jones is the perfect conduit for stories that are by turns horrifying and comic, tragic and heroic, each depicting yet another life stunted by repression. Biografi is a gem: sympathetic and informed, as enlightening as it is entertaining. First serial to Grand Street; QPB selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A biografi was an official dossier maintained by the Albanian sigourimi (secret police) on its citizens until 1991. Most were intricate combinations of fact and fiction, contrived to show that the sigourimi were protecting the state from internal insurrection. This novel is cleverly disguised as a travelog. The unnamed narrator travels from New Zealand to Albania in 1991 after the collapse of communism to find Petar Shapallo, a dentist who was used as a double for the dictator Enver Hoxha for over 30 years. The narrator describes his experiences as he travels the country. Is Shapallo a real person? It hardly matters as fact blends into fiction, giving an absorbing glimpse of life as it may have been in that backward nation. Recommended for general fiction collections, though it would not be surprising to find this work in the travel section.
Mary Ann Parker, Dept. of Water Resources Law Lib., Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Mary Ann Parker, Dept. of Water Resources Law Lib., Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
