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{{Short description|Book by Ismail Kadare}}
{{Original research|date=January 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{infobox Book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
{{about||the 1967 novel by William Golding|The Pyramid (Golding novel)|the 1989 novel by Terry Pratchett|Pyramids (novel)}}
{{infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name = The Pyramid
| name = The Pyramid
| title_orig =
| title_orig =
| translator = [[Joseph Vrioni]] & [[David Bellos]]
| translator = [[Jusuf Vrioni]] & [[David Bellos]]
| image = [[Image:IsmailKadare ThePyramid.jpg|200px|US first edition cover]]
| image = IsmailKadare ThePyramid.jpg
| caption = First edition (Albanian)
| author = [[Ismail Kadare]]
| author = [[Ismail Kadare]]
| cover_artist =
| cover_artist =
Line 11: Line 14:
| series =
| series =
| genre = [[Novel]], [[Fiction]]
| genre = [[Novel]], [[Fiction]]
| published = 1992
| publisher = [[Arcade Publishing]] (USA) & [[Harvill Press]] (UK)
| publisher = Çabej (Albania)<br>[[Arcade Publishing]] (USA)<br>[[Harvill Press]] (UK)
| release_date = 1 February 1996
| english_pub_date = 1 February 1996
| media_type = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] & [[Paperback]])
| media_type = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] & [[Paperback]])
| pages = 224 p. (hardback edition)
| pages = 224 p. (hardback edition)
| isbn = ISBN 1-55970-314-8 (US hardback edition) & ISBN 1-86046-123-9 (UK hardback edition)
| isbn = 1-55970-314-8 |isbn_note= (US hardback edition) & {{ISBN|1-86046-123-9}} (UK hardback edition)
| dewey= 891/.9913 20
| dewey= 891/.9913 20
| congress= PG9621.K3 P5813 1996
| congress= PG9621.K3 P5813 1996
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}}
}}


'''''The Pyramid''''' is a 1995 novel written by [[Ismail Kadare]], considered one of the greatest works produced by this writer, rivaling ''[[The Garden Party (play)|The Garden Party]]'', by [[Václav Havel]]. It is considered to serve both literary and a dissident purposes. <ref>[http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-55970-314-7 Review] 04/01/1996</ref>
'''''The Pyramid''''' ({{Langx|sq|Piramida}}) is a 1992 novel written by [[Ismail Kadare]]. It is considered to serve both literary and dissident purposes.<ref>[http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-55970-314-7 Review] 04/01/1996</ref> It is a political allegory of absolute political power.

==Background==
The first part of the novel was written in 1988-1990 but was rejected by the state publisher.<ref name="Fayé"/> It was serialized in January 1991 in several issues of the new opposition newspaper ''[[Rilindja Demokratike|Democratic Renaissance]]''.
<ref name="Elsie">{{cite book|author1=Robert Elsie|authorlink1=Robert Elsie |title =Albanian Literature: A Short History |date=2005|publisher=IBTaurus |isbn=1-84511-031-5 |page=178}}</ref> After the establishment of pluralism and democracy in Albania, it was completed and published in [[Tirana]] and [[Paris]].<ref name="Fayé">{{cite book|last=Fayé|first=Eric|editor-last=Kadaré|editor-first=Ismail|title= Oeuvres completes: tome 1 |publisher=Editions Fayard |date=1993|pages=80-82}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
''The Pyramid'' is a political allegory set in ancient Egypt. It is the tale of the conception and construction of the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]] by [[Cheops]], but also of absolute political power.<ref name="Elsie"/>
Every sentence has two meanings – one in the novel and one that tells something about [[Communism]]. For example, the [[Pharaoh]] Cheops desires to build a pyramid so large that it will drain the prosperity out of [[Egypt]], and an unprosperous people will not rebel.<ref>[http://winstonsdad.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/the-pyramid-by-ismail-kadare/ The Pyramid] by Ismail Kadare</ref>


==Reception==
==Reception==
''[[The New York Times]]'' picked up on the significance of ''The Pyramid'':
Like in all his novels, Kadare uses only the pure [[Albanian language]] and does not add foreign words. This is unique to him and many credit him with restoring the Albanian language. He is one of the most significant writers who has developed the Albanian language and literature. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}


<blockquote>"For the pyramid, viewed by his subjects as an abiding symbol of his total and incontestable power, comes to be seen by him as a personal memento mori, a constant and paralyzing reminder that his brief life will give way to an eternal entombment in stone."<ref>{{cite news | title=Land of the Pharaoh: New York Times | url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E1DA1639F93BA15757C0A960958260 | last=Bawer | first=Bruce |date=28 April 1996 | accessdate=2006-05-23 | work=The New York Times}}</ref>
<blockquote>''"Ismail Kadare enjoys a reputation as Albania's greatest literary voice"''<ref>{{cite web | title=Central Europe Review: The Three-Arched Bridge | url=http://www.ce-review.org/books/books_old_kadare.html | year=1999 | month=10 May | accessdate=2006-05-23 }}</ref>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


In 1993, the novel was awarded the [[Prix_Méditerranée#Prix_Méditerranée_Étranger|Prix Méditerranée Étranger]] in France.<ref name="Gaspon">{{cite web|author=Nicole Gaspon|title=ISMAÏL KADARÉ COURONNÉ POUR «LA PYRAMIDE»|url=https://www.humanite.fr/node/54199|website=L'humanity|accessdate=21 October 2019|date=14 April 1993}}</ref>
And New York Times picked up on the significance of the "The Pyramid",

<blockquote>''"For the pyramid, viewed by his subjects as an abiding symbol of his total and incontestable power, comes to be seen by him as a personal memento mori, a constant and paralyzing reminder that his brief life will give way to an eternal entombment in stone."''<ref>{{cite news | title=Land of the Pharaoh: New York Times | url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E1DA1639F93BA15757C0A960958260 | last=Bawer | first=Bruce | year=1996 | month=28 April | accessdate=2006-05-23 | work=The New York Times}}</ref>
</blockquote>


==See also==
==See also==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyramid}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyramid}}
[[Category:1995 novels]]
[[Category:1992 novels]]
[[Category:Albanian novels]]
[[Category:20th-century Albanian novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Ismail Kadare]]
[[Category:Novels by Ismail Kadare]]
[[Category:Novels set in Albania]]
[[Category:Novels set in Albania]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt]]
[[Category:Arcade Publishing books]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 26th century BC]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Khufu]]
[[Category:Great Pyramid of Giza]]


{{1990s-novel-stub}}


{{1990s-novel-stub}}
[[es:La Pirámide (novela)]]
[[pl:Piramida (powieść)]]
[[ru:Пирамида (Кадаре)]]
[[sq:Piramida (roman)]]

Latest revision as of 21:08, 10 November 2024

The Pyramid
First edition (Albanian)
AuthorIsmail Kadare
TranslatorJusuf Vrioni & David Bellos
LanguageAlbanian
GenreNovel, Fiction
Published1992
PublisherÇabej (Albania)
Arcade Publishing (USA)
Harvill Press (UK)
Publication placeAlbania
Published in English
1 February 1996
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages224 p. (hardback edition)
ISBN1-55970-314-8 (US hardback edition) & ISBN 1-86046-123-9 (UK hardback edition)
OCLC32429764
891/.9913 20
LC ClassPG9621.K3 P5813 1996

The Pyramid (Albanian: Piramida) is a 1992 novel written by Ismail Kadare. It is considered to serve both literary and dissident purposes.[1] It is a political allegory of absolute political power.

Background

[edit]

The first part of the novel was written in 1988-1990 but was rejected by the state publisher.[2] It was serialized in January 1991 in several issues of the new opposition newspaper Democratic Renaissance. [3] After the establishment of pluralism and democracy in Albania, it was completed and published in Tirana and Paris.[2]

Plot

[edit]

The Pyramid is a political allegory set in ancient Egypt. It is the tale of the conception and construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza by Cheops, but also of absolute political power.[3]

Reception

[edit]

The New York Times picked up on the significance of The Pyramid:

"For the pyramid, viewed by his subjects as an abiding symbol of his total and incontestable power, comes to be seen by him as a personal memento mori, a constant and paralyzing reminder that his brief life will give way to an eternal entombment in stone."[4]

In 1993, the novel was awarded the Prix Méditerranée Étranger in France.[5]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Review 04/01/1996
  2. ^ a b Fayé, Eric (1993). Kadaré, Ismail (ed.). Oeuvres completes: tome 1. Editions Fayard. pp. 80–82.
  3. ^ a b Robert Elsie (2005). Albanian Literature: A Short History. IBTaurus. p. 178. ISBN 1-84511-031-5.
  4. ^ Bawer, Bruce (28 April 1996). "Land of the Pharaoh: New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2006.
  5. ^ Nicole Gaspon (14 April 1993). "ISMAÏL KADARÉ COURONNÉ POUR «LA PYRAMIDE»". L'humanity. Retrieved 21 October 2019.