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The Palace of Dreams
A sinister totalitarian ministry called the Palace of Dreams recruits Mark-Alem to sort, classify, and interpret the dreams of the people in the empire, seeking the "master-dreams" that give clues to the empire's destiny
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
About the author
Ismail Kadare
265 books1,577 followersIsmail Kadare (also spelled Kadaré) was an Albanian novelist and poet. He has been a leading literary figure in Albania since the 1960s. He focused on short stories until the publication of his first novel, The General of the Dead Army. In 1996 he became a lifetime member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of France. In 1992, he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca; in 2005, he won the inaugural Man Booker International Prize, in 2009 the Prince of Asturias Award of Arts, and in 2015 the Jerusalem Prize. He has divided his time between Albania and France since 1990. Kadare has been mentioned as a possible recipient for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. His works have been published in about 30 languages.
Ismail Kadare was born in 1936 in Gjirokastër, in the south of Albania. His education included studies at the University of Tirana and then the Gorky Institute for World Literature in Moscow, a training school for writers and critics.
In 1960 Kadare returned to Albania after the country broke ties with the Soviet Union, and he became a journalist and published his first poems.
His first novel, The General of the Dead Army, sprang from a short story, and its success established his name in Albania and enabled Kadare to become a full-time writer.
Kadare's novels draw on Balkan history and legends. They are obliquely ironic as a result of trying to withstand political scrutiny. Among his best known books are Chronicle in Stone (1977), Broken April (1978), and The Concert (1988), considered the best novel of the year 1991 by the French literary magazine Lire.
In 1990, Kadare claimed political asylum in France, issuing statements in favour of democratisation. During the ordeal, he stated that "dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible. The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship."
Ismail Kadare was born in 1936 in Gjirokastër, in the south of Albania. His education included studies at the University of Tirana and then the Gorky Institute for World Literature in Moscow, a training school for writers and critics.
In 1960 Kadare returned to Albania after the country broke ties with the Soviet Union, and he became a journalist and published his first poems.
His first novel, The General of the Dead Army, sprang from a short story, and its success established his name in Albania and enabled Kadare to become a full-time writer.
Kadare's novels draw on Balkan history and legends. They are obliquely ironic as a result of trying to withstand political scrutiny. Among his best known books are Chronicle in Stone (1977), Broken April (1978), and The Concert (1988), considered the best novel of the year 1991 by the French literary magazine Lire.
In 1990, Kadare claimed political asylum in France, issuing statements in favour of democratisation. During the ordeal, he stated that "dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible. The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship."
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October 22, 2017
Αυτό το βιβλίο είναι ένα μικρό αριστούργημα.
«Το Παλάτι των Ονείρων» είναι μια ανεξήγητη πραγματικότητα. Μια τρομακτική παγίδα ανησυχητικών πιθανοτήτων. Μια απειλητική ιδέα της αστυνομίας των ονείρων. Ένας τρομοκρατικός λόγος.
Είναι ο βωμός που θυσιάζονται τα όνειρα και οι εφιάλτες όλων των πολιτών μιας αυτοκρατορίας σε ένα αόριστο παρελθόν. Η πραγματικότητα που κανείς δεν μπορεί να δώσει πραγματικό σχήμα σκιάζεται απο το μύθο, την ίδια στιγμή που φωτίζεται απο τη λάμψη του ολοκληρωτικού ελέγχου της σκέψης.
Ας θεωρήσουμε πως το Παλάτι των Ονείρων είναι το υπουργείο της κυβέρνησης στην Οθωμανική αυτοκρατορία, όπου οι γραφειοκράτες αποκωδικοποιούν τα όνειρα των πολιτών βοηθώντας στην επικράτηση της κυριαρχίας του Σουλτάνου.
Ο ήρωας μας είναι το πορτραίτου ενός ανύπαρκτου...μα αξέχαστου άνδρα. Η γκρίζα ύπαρξη του
Μαρκ- Άλεμ είναι η προσωποποιημένη άρνηση της ζωής.
Το Παλάτι των Ονείρων που ίσως είναι η άβυσσος και η κόλαση της δίκης του ψυχής, επιβιώνει με την επιβεβλημένη ή επιλεκτική στρατηγική της σιωπής,της απομόνωσης, της μυστικότητας, της απόγνωσης. Εδώ η ζωή ξεσπάει μια στιγμή πριν το θάνατο.
Η ισχυρή επιβολή του φόβου και του τρόπου... που τελικά μετατρέπει την ψυχή ενός ανθρώπου σε ένα άψυχο, σιωπηλό και παγωμένο πέτρινο θυσιαστήριο ελπίδων και ζωής.
Ο Μαρκ-Άλεμ διορίζεται στο υπουργείο των ονείρων και πολύ γρήγορα ίσως λόγω της εξέχουσας πολιτικής και οικογενειακής καταγωγής του προάγεται στα ανώτατα διοικητικά κλιμάκια.
Οι ειδικοί εξετάζουν εμπεριστατωμένα τα όνειρα των ανθρώπων της αυτοκρατορίας. Εισβάλουν ακόμη και στα πιο προσωπικά δεδομένα, ψάχνοντας ομοιότητες και πιθανές απειλές προς το κράτος.
Κάπου εδώ γίνεται αντιληπτή η εξομοίωση της ανθρώπινης ψυχής και του σκοτεινού μηχανισμού που ελέγχει τα όνειρα... μάλλον προσπαθεί να διερευνήσει τα ανομολόγητα σκοτάδια της ύπαρξης, της θέλησης, της σκέψης των θυσιασμένων και χαμένων ψυχών.
Η ταύτιση αυτή είναι η προυπόθεση κατανόησης ενός ψεύτικου ταξιδιού, προκλητικού και παράλογου στον τρόμο της ολοκληρωτικής εξουσίας.
Μια τερατώδη θυσία που απαιτεί το ολοκληρωτικό καθεστώς, όχι απόλυτα ξεκαθαρισμένη απο τον συγγραφέα, μα βυθισμένη στο μυαλό μας ως ανησυχητική πιθανότητα.
Ο Κανταρέ δεν δίνει πολύ χρώμα ή συναίσθημα. Δημιουργεί όμως μια γοητευτική παγίδα που σε αρπάζει και σε κρατάει σε μια διαρκή κατάσταση ονείρου και πραγματικότητας ως το τέλος. Μια διφορούμενη γραφή σε ένα απο τα πιο λαμπρά μυθιστορήματα του ολοκληρωτισμού, που δεν αποσαφηνίζεται ποτέ αν είναι υπέρ ή κατά αυτού.
Είναι ένα απλό και καταπληκτικό βιβλίο που λειτουργεί άψογα σε πολλαπλά επίπεδα.
Δεν είναι μια απλή μεταφορά αλλά μια άμεση φανταστική απεικόνιση της απολυταρχίας με οργανωτική και ψυχολογική λογική.
Ο ήρωας μας καλείται να δώσει νόημα στο ακατανόητο ή το αυτονόητο. Μια λανθασμένη ερμηνεία μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε θανατηφόρα καταστροφή. Η ψυχή του αποτυγχάνει συνεχώς να βρει γαλήνη και διέξοδο απο το Παλάτι των Ονείρων. Η εξουσία θαμπώνει και καταπνίγει παράλληλα και στα μυστικά η αποκρυπτογράφηση έχει αποτύχει ή αγωνίζεται για επιτυχία.
Ο τρόμος της διαταραγμένης ψυχής του χτίζεται προσεχτικά όπως η ουσία του Παλατιού των Ονείρων και καταλήγουν σε ένα χαρακτήρα με τεράστιους απειλητικούς στόχους.
Το έργο αυτό του Κανταρέ δεν μπορεί να χαρακτηριστεί ως άμεσα επαναστατικό, ούτε προάγει αντιφρονούντες θέσεις. Δεν δημιουργεί λύπη, ούτε καθησυχάζει συνειδήσεις.
Διερευνά τρόπους με τους οποίους η κλασική τραγωδία με τη φύση της πίστης και της προδοσίας, αλλά και τα καθήκοντα του ανθρώπου προς το Κράτος, θα μπορούσαν να λειτουργήσουν ως παραδείγματα για τις δεινές καταστάσεις σύμφωνα με τα τωρινά καθεστώτα και την ψυχολογία των πολιτών.
Το Παλάτι των Ονείρων το αγάπησα κυρίως για το φιλοσοφικό του χαρακτήρα. Για την αναζήτηση μέσα απο λαβύρινθους και σκοτεινά ψυχικά μονοπάτια...της ζωής.
Των γεγο��ότων που προέρχονται απο τα βαθύτερα εσωτερικά αρχεία και τους καταλόγους των ονείρων που συσσωρεύονται και συγκλονίζουν ή περιφρονούν.
Λάτρεψα την θλιβερή, σιωπηλή άποψη ενός άλλου κόσμου, εσωτερικού και ολοκληρωτικού.
Στο τέλος όλο το μεγαλείο της ψυχής εκφράζεται με μια κραυγή που δεν ακούστηκε και με ένα δάκρυ που δεν κύλησε.
🌟🏰❤️🌟🏰❤️🌟🏰🌟
Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.
«Το Παλάτι των Ονείρων» είναι μια ανεξήγητη πραγματικότητα. Μια τρομακτική παγίδα ανησυχητικών πιθανοτήτων. Μια απειλητική ιδέα της αστυνομίας των ονείρων. Ένας τρομοκρατικός λόγος.
Είναι ο βωμός που θυσιάζονται τα όνειρα και οι εφιάλτες όλων των πολιτών μιας αυτοκρατορίας σε ένα αόριστο παρελθόν. Η πραγματικότητα που κανείς δεν μπορεί να δώσει πραγματικό σχήμα σκιάζεται απο το μύθο, την ίδια στιγμή που φωτίζεται απο τη λάμψη του ολοκληρωτικού ελέγχου της σκέψης.
Ας θεωρήσουμε πως το Παλάτι των Ονείρων είναι το υπουργείο της κυβέρνησης στην Οθωμανική αυτοκρατορία, όπου οι γραφειοκράτες αποκωδικοποιούν τα όνειρα των πολιτών βοηθώντας στην επικράτηση της κυριαρχίας του Σουλτάνου.
Ο ήρωας μας είναι το πορτραίτου ενός ανύπαρκτου...μα αξέχαστου άνδρα. Η γκρίζα ύπαρξη του
Μαρκ- Άλεμ είναι η προσωποποιημένη άρνηση της ζωής.
Το Παλάτι των Ονείρων που ίσως είναι η άβυσσος και η κόλαση της δίκης του ψυχής, επιβιώνει με την επιβεβλημένη ή επιλεκτική στρατηγική της σιωπής,της απομόνωσης, της μυστικότητας, της απόγνωσης. Εδώ η ζωή ξεσπάει μια στιγμή πριν το θάνατο.
Η ισχυρή επιβολή του φόβου και του τρόπου... που τελικά μετατρέπει την ψυχή ενός ανθρώπου σε ένα άψυχο, σιωπηλό και παγωμένο πέτρινο θυσιαστήριο ελπίδων και ζωής.
Ο Μαρκ-Άλεμ διορίζεται στο υπουργείο των ονείρων και πολύ γρήγορα ίσως λόγω της εξέχουσας πολιτικής και οικογενειακής καταγωγής του προάγεται στα ανώτατα διοικητικά κλιμάκια.
Οι ειδικοί εξετάζουν εμπεριστατωμένα τα όνειρα των ανθρώπων της αυτοκρατορίας. Εισβάλουν ακόμη και στα πιο προσωπικά δεδομένα, ψάχνοντας ομοιότητες και πιθανές απειλές προς το κράτος.
Κάπου εδώ γίνεται αντιληπτή η εξομοίωση της ανθρώπινης ψυχής και του σκοτεινού μηχανισμού που ελέγχει τα όνειρα... μάλλον προσπαθεί να διερευνήσει τα ανομολόγητα σκοτάδια της ύπαρξης, της θέλησης, της σκέψης των θυσιασμένων και χαμένων ψυχών.
Η ταύτιση αυτή είναι η προυπόθεση κατανόησης ενός ψεύτικου ταξιδιού, προκλητικού και παράλογου στον τρόμο της ολοκληρωτικής εξουσίας.
Μια τερατώδη θυσία που απαιτεί το ολοκληρωτικό καθεστώς, όχι απόλυτα ξεκαθαρισμένη απο τον συγγραφέα, μα βυθισμένη στο μυαλό μας ως ανησυχητική πιθανότητα.
Ο Κανταρέ δεν δίνει πολύ χρώμα ή συναίσθημα. Δημιουργεί όμως μια γοητευτική παγίδα που σε αρπάζει και σε κρατάει σε μια διαρκή κατάσταση ονείρου και πραγματικότητας ως το τέλος. Μια διφορούμενη γραφή σε ένα απο τα πιο λαμπρά μυθιστορήματα του ολοκληρωτισμού, που δεν αποσαφηνίζεται ποτέ αν είναι υπέρ ή κατά αυτού.
Είναι ένα απλό και καταπληκτικό βιβλίο που λειτουργεί άψογα σε πολλαπλά επίπεδα.
Δεν είναι μια απλή μεταφορά αλλά μια άμεση φανταστική απεικόνιση της απολυταρχίας με οργανωτική και ψυχολογική λογική.
Ο ήρωας μας καλείται να δώσει νόημα στο ακατανόητο ή το αυτονόητο. Μια λανθασμένη ερμηνεία μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε θανατηφόρα καταστροφή. Η ψυχή του αποτυγχάνει συνεχώς να βρει γαλήνη και διέξοδο απο το Παλάτι των Ονείρων. Η εξουσία θαμπώνει και καταπνίγει παράλληλα και στα μυστικά η αποκρυπτογράφηση έχει αποτύχει ή αγωνίζεται για επιτυχία.
Ο τρόμος της διαταραγμένης ψυχής του χτίζεται προσεχτικά όπως η ουσία του Παλατιού των Ονείρων και καταλήγουν σε ένα χαρακτήρα με τεράστιους απειλητικούς στόχους.
Το έργο αυτό του Κανταρέ δεν μπορεί να χαρακτηριστεί ως άμεσα επαναστατικό, ούτε προάγει αντιφρονούντες θέσεις. Δεν δημιουργεί λύπη, ούτε καθησυχάζει συνειδήσεις.
Διερευνά τρόπους με τους οποίους η κλασική τραγωδία με τη φύση της πίστης και της προδοσίας, αλλά και τα καθήκοντα του ανθρώπου προς το Κράτος, θα μπορούσαν να λειτουργήσουν ως παραδείγματα για τις δεινές καταστάσεις σύμφωνα με τα τωρινά καθεστώτα και την ψυχολογία των πολιτών.
Το Παλάτι των Ονείρων το αγάπησα κυρίως για το φιλοσοφικό του χαρακτήρα. Για την αναζήτηση μέσα απο λαβύρινθους και σκοτεινά ψυχικά μονοπάτια...της ζωής.
Των γεγο��ότων που προέρχονται απο τα βαθύτερα εσωτερικά αρχεία και τους καταλόγους των ονείρων που συσσωρεύονται και συγκλονίζουν ή περιφρονούν.
Λάτρεψα την θλιβερή, σιωπηλή άποψη ενός άλλου κόσμου, εσωτερικού και ολοκληρωτικού.
Στο τέλος όλο το μεγαλείο της ψυχής εκφράζεται με μια κραυγή που δεν ακούστηκε και με ένα δάκρυ που δεν κύλησε.
🌟🏰❤️🌟🏰❤️🌟🏰🌟
Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.
March 15, 2017
”Mark-Alem pressed on, his mouth dry despite his attempts to reassure himself. After all, what did it really matter if he did get lost? He wasn’t on some vast plain or in a forest. He was merely inside the Palace. But still the thought of getting lost terrified him. How would he get through the night amid all these walls, these rooms, these cellars full of dreams and wild imaginings? He’d rather be on a frozen plain or in a forest infested with wolves. Yes, a thousand times rather!
He hurried on faster. How long had he been walking now? Suddenly he thought he hear a noise in the distance. Perhaps it’s only an illusion, he told himself. Then, after a little while, the sound of voices burst out again, more clearly this time, though he still couldn’t tell what direction it came from.
He went down another two or three steps and found himself in another corridor, which he deduced must be on the ground floor. The sound of voices faded for a few moments, then returned, nearer...Mark-Alem was practically running by now, his eyes fixed on the end of the corridor, where a faint square of light came in from outside. Please, God. let it be the back door!"
An empty, seemingly endless hallway can give a person a sense of disassociation.
There are no signs directing people in the proper directions at the Palace of Dreams. Mark-Alem finds himself lost not only in the corridors of the Palace, but also in the hour upon hour day to day work of selecting and interpreting dreams. He is descended from a prominent family called the Quprilis. They have contributed generations of powerful men to the Balkan Empire.
”For nearly four hundred years the Quprilis had seemed fated equally to glory and to misfortune. If its chronicles included great dignitaries, secretaries of state, governors, and prime ministers, they also told how just as many members of the family had been imprisoned or decapitated or had simply vanished.”
There are very few powerful families in the history of humanity that have not found themselves on the losing side of a power struggle at one point or at several points in history. After a few messy decapitations or quarterings these families eventually rise from the ashes (sometimes those ashes are relatives) and find that eventually the state has need of their services again. Now Mark-Alem’s mother is a Quprilis which means it is not evident immediately to the people he meets that he is related to that family. He is timid enough that he does not offer that information readily. Of course when he is summoned to the Palace of Dreams to be offered a position they are very aware of who he is.
He is assured he is the right sort of man.
Instead of starting at the bottom he starts in the middle of the hierarchy.
He moves up so quickly he barely has time to settle into one job before he is sent on to the next one.
Given the nature of the job which is to select dreams and interpret those dreams with the most important ones being sent to the Sultan to help him make decisions about the course of action he will take in running the empire you would think there would be a long and arduous training regime. There is not, at least not for Mark-Alem, but as the plot advances we start to get inklings that he is a pawn in a much bigger, much more dangerous game.
He is absolutely oblivious.
He is paranoid and nervous, but doesn’t know exactly what he should be paranoid and nervous about.
He is too worried about his workload and whether his interpretations of these dreams are correct. He wears out erasures writing what he thinks and then becoming paralyzed with doubt as to how his superiors would interpret his thoughts. Like any good bureaucrat he finds it is much safer to stifle any creativity and pass along the most bland, safest interpretations of the dreams he finds in his folder. Not that they need a reason to separate your head from your body, but certainly try not to hand it to them on a silver platter.
The empire is ruled by dreams. Every dream, no matter how mundane, is required to be written down by every citizen in the realm. I think it only seems reasonable that if I were to have a steamy dream say about my neighbor’s wife that I would make a few changes like say make it two horses in a pasture or really spice it up and have a pig with a goat. My luck somehow that would mean I was secretly plotting the downfall of the empire. These dreams are collected and hauled to the Palace of Dreams where they start the cycle of elimination of those dreams that are deemed worthless or fabricated (mine)and those that are thought to be important are pushed up the chain for further interpretation. As Mark-Alem wanders around his work, usually trying to find a door and usually on the wrong floor to find it, he discovers that sometimes the dreamers are brought in for further questioning about a dream they submitted. The questioning must be rigorous because sometimes those dreamers leave in a black coffin. You're not paranoid if actually there are reasons to be paranoid.
There is no sex in this book, barely a hint of desire. There is one moment where he passes a house where he knows two pretty sisters live and Mark-Alem might have felt a twitch or tingle, but other than that it seems as if the terror of his daily life is all consuming. There is talk at the end of the book of an arranged married, but Mark-Alem is about as interested in the details as he is in catalogued Elephant stool samples.
Ismail Kadare was in Albanian politics during the communist rule in the 1970s. He wrote a satirical poem in 1975 that came to the attention of the government and he was punished by not being able to publish for three years. In 1977 he publishes a book called The Great Winter that is flattering to Enver Hoxha, the Communist leader of Albania. Kadare later said that the book was the price of his freedom. In 1980 when the Palace of Dreams is published the book is immediately banned. Not a big surprise, dictatorships tend to not appreciate books that are Orwellian or Kafkaesque in nature. It seems to me that Kadare was fairly politically astute. He managed to be critical without getting himself killed. It also helps to be Albania’s most celebrated writer. In 1990 he applied for asylum in France.
Ismail Kadare: dissident against a dictatorship or did he collude to survive? Both I do believe and brilliantly in my opinion.
This book is the English translation of the French translation of the Albanian version. Yeah, I know, scary isn’t it? I don’t read Albanian and I unfortunately do not read French so I have no clue how much this story has been sifted and strained and blended and fluffed. I will say after I got over my initial shock at what the publishers had done to me, (I mean seriously the publisher couldn’t find an Albanian intellectual that has a solid command of English?)I found myself as nervous, paranoid, and as frustrated as Mark-Alem in trying to figure out what really was going on. This book is certainly a blatant condemnation of the Albanian government trying to control everything, granted they couldn’t figure out how to control their subject’s dreams, but if they could have they would. This is must read for those fans of Franz Kafka and George Orwell.
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He hurried on faster. How long had he been walking now? Suddenly he thought he hear a noise in the distance. Perhaps it’s only an illusion, he told himself. Then, after a little while, the sound of voices burst out again, more clearly this time, though he still couldn’t tell what direction it came from.
He went down another two or three steps and found himself in another corridor, which he deduced must be on the ground floor. The sound of voices faded for a few moments, then returned, nearer...Mark-Alem was practically running by now, his eyes fixed on the end of the corridor, where a faint square of light came in from outside. Please, God. let it be the back door!"
An empty, seemingly endless hallway can give a person a sense of disassociation.
There are no signs directing people in the proper directions at the Palace of Dreams. Mark-Alem finds himself lost not only in the corridors of the Palace, but also in the hour upon hour day to day work of selecting and interpreting dreams. He is descended from a prominent family called the Quprilis. They have contributed generations of powerful men to the Balkan Empire.
”For nearly four hundred years the Quprilis had seemed fated equally to glory and to misfortune. If its chronicles included great dignitaries, secretaries of state, governors, and prime ministers, they also told how just as many members of the family had been imprisoned or decapitated or had simply vanished.”
There are very few powerful families in the history of humanity that have not found themselves on the losing side of a power struggle at one point or at several points in history. After a few messy decapitations or quarterings these families eventually rise from the ashes (sometimes those ashes are relatives) and find that eventually the state has need of their services again. Now Mark-Alem’s mother is a Quprilis which means it is not evident immediately to the people he meets that he is related to that family. He is timid enough that he does not offer that information readily. Of course when he is summoned to the Palace of Dreams to be offered a position they are very aware of who he is.
He is assured he is the right sort of man.
Instead of starting at the bottom he starts in the middle of the hierarchy.
He moves up so quickly he barely has time to settle into one job before he is sent on to the next one.
Given the nature of the job which is to select dreams and interpret those dreams with the most important ones being sent to the Sultan to help him make decisions about the course of action he will take in running the empire you would think there would be a long and arduous training regime. There is not, at least not for Mark-Alem, but as the plot advances we start to get inklings that he is a pawn in a much bigger, much more dangerous game.
He is absolutely oblivious.
He is paranoid and nervous, but doesn’t know exactly what he should be paranoid and nervous about.
He is too worried about his workload and whether his interpretations of these dreams are correct. He wears out erasures writing what he thinks and then becoming paralyzed with doubt as to how his superiors would interpret his thoughts. Like any good bureaucrat he finds it is much safer to stifle any creativity and pass along the most bland, safest interpretations of the dreams he finds in his folder. Not that they need a reason to separate your head from your body, but certainly try not to hand it to them on a silver platter.
The empire is ruled by dreams. Every dream, no matter how mundane, is required to be written down by every citizen in the realm. I think it only seems reasonable that if I were to have a steamy dream say about my neighbor’s wife that I would make a few changes like say make it two horses in a pasture or really spice it up and have a pig with a goat. My luck somehow that would mean I was secretly plotting the downfall of the empire. These dreams are collected and hauled to the Palace of Dreams where they start the cycle of elimination of those dreams that are deemed worthless or fabricated (mine)and those that are thought to be important are pushed up the chain for further interpretation. As Mark-Alem wanders around his work, usually trying to find a door and usually on the wrong floor to find it, he discovers that sometimes the dreamers are brought in for further questioning about a dream they submitted. The questioning must be rigorous because sometimes those dreamers leave in a black coffin. You're not paranoid if actually there are reasons to be paranoid.
There is no sex in this book, barely a hint of desire. There is one moment where he passes a house where he knows two pretty sisters live and Mark-Alem might have felt a twitch or tingle, but other than that it seems as if the terror of his daily life is all consuming. There is talk at the end of the book of an arranged married, but Mark-Alem is about as interested in the details as he is in catalogued Elephant stool samples.
Ismail Kadare was in Albanian politics during the communist rule in the 1970s. He wrote a satirical poem in 1975 that came to the attention of the government and he was punished by not being able to publish for three years. In 1977 he publishes a book called The Great Winter that is flattering to Enver Hoxha, the Communist leader of Albania. Kadare later said that the book was the price of his freedom. In 1980 when the Palace of Dreams is published the book is immediately banned. Not a big surprise, dictatorships tend to not appreciate books that are Orwellian or Kafkaesque in nature. It seems to me that Kadare was fairly politically astute. He managed to be critical without getting himself killed. It also helps to be Albania’s most celebrated writer. In 1990 he applied for asylum in France.
Ismail Kadare: dissident against a dictatorship or did he collude to survive? Both I do believe and brilliantly in my opinion.
This book is the English translation of the French translation of the Albanian version. Yeah, I know, scary isn’t it? I don’t read Albanian and I unfortunately do not read French so I have no clue how much this story has been sifted and strained and blended and fluffed. I will say after I got over my initial shock at what the publishers had done to me, (I mean seriously the publisher couldn’t find an Albanian intellectual that has a solid command of English?)I found myself as nervous, paranoid, and as frustrated as Mark-Alem in trying to figure out what really was going on. This book is certainly a blatant condemnation of the Albanian government trying to control everything, granted they couldn’t figure out how to control their subject’s dreams, but if they could have they would. This is must read for those fans of Franz Kafka and George Orwell.
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November 7, 2012
I wonder why so few people have read this novel, because it's quite amazing. I can't say that it's completely original, because it reminded me of Kafka (The Castle) and Saramago (All the Names), but imagining an institution where people's dreams are analyzed... That is a brilliant idea, masterfully developed by Ismail Kadaré.
Mark-Alem comes from a powerful Albanian family, the Quiprili (Köprülü), and his relatives decide that he should apply for a job at one of the most influential institutions of the Ottoman Empire - Tabir Saray, the Palace of Dreams. Thus he begins his ascent to the top, although fearful and confused, never fully aware of what he is supposed to do. In this huge machinery of control, the dreams from all over the empire are gathered, sorted and analysed, in order to choose one Master Dream that is presented each Friday to the Sultan. Dreams are believed to foretell important political events, thus being of utmost importance to the Empire.
We follow Mark-Alem's journey through the mysterious Palace of Dreams, with its nightmarish passages where he usually gets lost, with the thousands of dreams stacked away in its huge underground archive, with the kafkian beaurocracy and the strange happenings that make people paranoid. Without realising, Mark-Alem becomes an active part in the events that will unfold in the story, bringing misfortune to his family.
Absorbed in the world of dreams, Mark-Alem comes to believe that this is the real world, powerful and vivid, while the reality outside gradually becomes gray, dull and less and less attractive. He gets more and more isolated, his relatives remaining his only connection to the earthly world. He seems oblivious to any romantic relationship and the only mention of a possible wife comes from his uncles, but we don't ever get to know the girl. The lack of a sexual dimension makes the character a bit too flat, but contributes to his total immersion in the fantastic world of dreams, a sort of hell that Ismail Kadaré wanted to create in his novel.
Mark-Alem comes from a powerful Albanian family, the Quiprili (Köprülü), and his relatives decide that he should apply for a job at one of the most influential institutions of the Ottoman Empire - Tabir Saray, the Palace of Dreams. Thus he begins his ascent to the top, although fearful and confused, never fully aware of what he is supposed to do. In this huge machinery of control, the dreams from all over the empire are gathered, sorted and analysed, in order to choose one Master Dream that is presented each Friday to the Sultan. Dreams are believed to foretell important political events, thus being of utmost importance to the Empire.
We follow Mark-Alem's journey through the mysterious Palace of Dreams, with its nightmarish passages where he usually gets lost, with the thousands of dreams stacked away in its huge underground archive, with the kafkian beaurocracy and the strange happenings that make people paranoid. Without realising, Mark-Alem becomes an active part in the events that will unfold in the story, bringing misfortune to his family.
Absorbed in the world of dreams, Mark-Alem comes to believe that this is the real world, powerful and vivid, while the reality outside gradually becomes gray, dull and less and less attractive. He gets more and more isolated, his relatives remaining his only connection to the earthly world. He seems oblivious to any romantic relationship and the only mention of a possible wife comes from his uncles, but we don't ever get to know the girl. The lack of a sexual dimension makes the character a bit too flat, but contributes to his total immersion in the fantastic world of dreams, a sort of hell that Ismail Kadaré wanted to create in his novel.
November 18, 2019
أن الماضي لا يموت وأن تصفيته مستحيلة، فإرادة الحياة أبقى وأقوى وتستمر بطي القديم والجديد معًا
كاداريه يضرب بسياط الأدب على الدولة الاستبدادية التى عاشت تحت حكمها بلاده (ألبانيا) لقرون، ومن خلال بطل الرواية مارك عليم الذى ينتسب لأسرة ألبانية عريقة تمتد جذورها فى التاريخ ويُنسب لها بناء جسر للدولة العثمانية راح ضحيته العديد من رجال الأسرة، أسرة كوبريللى، تغنت بهذه الأسطورة جماعة تدعى الرابسود لعقود، يقرر أخواله من عائلة كوبريللى أنه يجب عليه الالتحاق للعمل بسرايا طابير وهى أحد أكبر المؤسسات نفوذاً بالإمبراطورية العثمانية ومنوط بها تقديم تأويلات وتفسيرات واضحة لأحلام المواطنين، تعتمد آلية عمل سرايا طابير على تجميع الأحلام من المواطنين عن طريق مجموعة كبيرة من المكاتب الموزعة على مستوى الأمبراطورية ومن ثم تجميعها بالسرايا والبدء بفرزها وتفسيرها وأرشفتها واستخلاص أهمها لتقديمه للسلطان فى حفل كل يوم جمعة، بالطبع فى تلك الأثناء يتم القبض على أصحاب الأحلام وتعذيبهم وأحياناً قتلهم لمحاولة استخلاص أكبر قدر من المعلومات عن أحلامهم، وعلى عكس توقعاته هو شخصياً يترقى مارك عليم بسرعة البرق بين إدارات الطابير بداية من الفرز مروراً بالتفسير وصولاً لمنصب مدير عام الطابير فى سن الثامنة والعشرين.
هل جربت أن تعد البيتزا بالمنزل، أو الدجاج على طريقة كنتاكى ربما، تُرى ماذا ستكون النتيجة؟
حتماً إذا قرر كاداريه أن يكتب مُحاكاة لديستوبيا أورويل فى 1984 ستكون هى قصر الأحلام، فقدر ما هى جيدة ورائعة كفكرة وكتابة إلا أن الديستوبيا الأوريلية كانت ثلاثية الأبعاد مع شاشة منحنية بتفاصيل وجودة ألترا أتش دى، إلا أن المشاهد عند كاداريه كانت من وجهة نظر (شاهد مشافش حاجة)، فمارك عليم لا يعلم كيف تتم ترقيته فى الوقت الذى تتعرض فيه عائلته لأقصى أنواع الإقصاء وتصل للحبس والإعدام لخاله حاكم الولاية البعيدة ولم يشاهد مارك عليم وهو الراوى الأساسى مقتلة الرابسود على يد جنود السلطان العثمانى والتى ��دثت بقصر خاله الوزير، كما عاين أحداث التعذيب والقتل للحالمين من بعيد ولم يكن فاعل رئيسى بها وهذا هو سبب النجمة الناقصة.
"رؤية جهنم"
مارك بحكم موقعه الجديد فى سرايا طابير سيقع بين يديه حلم يُدين أسرته، أخواله بالتحديد بمحاولة الانقلاب على السلطان ومحاولة الاستيلاء على السلطة لكن يمر الحلم من بين يدى مارك ولا يستطيع فهمه إلى أن يصل لغيره فى قسم التفسير فيفسرونه على أنه محاولة من آل كوبريللى للاستيلاء على السلطة ويقرر السلطان القبض على آل كوبريللى وإعدام أحد أخوال مارك إلا أن أسرة كوبريللى وفى اليوم التالى ترد على السلطان ويستطيعون العودة لمنطقة نفوذهم وسلطتهم وبذلك يصل مارك عليم إلى منصب المدير العام بالإنابة لسرايا طابير لكنه فى اليوم الذى يصل فيه لقمة مجده الشخصى يتأكد من أن يوم آخر سيحل عليهم لعنة آل كوبريللى وسيعودون أدراجهم مرة أخرى ليتم إقصاءهم واستبعادهم وإعدامهم
فلكل شئ إذا ما تم نقصان .. فلا يُغر بطيب العيش إنسان
هى أيام كما شاهدتها دول .. من سره زمن ساءته أزمان
كاداريه يضرب بسياط الأدب على الدولة الاستبدادية التى عاشت تحت حكمها بلاده (ألبانيا) لقرون، ومن خلال بطل الرواية مارك عليم الذى ينتسب لأسرة ألبانية عريقة تمتد جذورها فى التاريخ ويُنسب لها بناء جسر للدولة العثمانية راح ضحيته العديد من رجال الأسرة، أسرة كوبريللى، تغنت بهذه الأسطورة جماعة تدعى الرابسود لعقود، يقرر أخواله من عائلة كوبريللى أنه يجب عليه الالتحاق للعمل بسرايا طابير وهى أحد أكبر المؤسسات نفوذاً بالإمبراطورية العثمانية ومنوط بها تقديم تأويلات وتفسيرات واضحة لأحلام المواطنين، تعتمد آلية عمل سرايا طابير على تجميع الأحلام من المواطنين عن طريق مجموعة كبيرة من المكاتب الموزعة على مستوى الأمبراطورية ومن ثم تجميعها بالسرايا والبدء بفرزها وتفسيرها وأرشفتها واستخلاص أهمها لتقديمه للسلطان فى حفل كل يوم جمعة، بالطبع فى تلك الأثناء يتم القبض على أصحاب الأحلام وتعذيبهم وأحياناً قتلهم لمحاولة استخلاص أكبر قدر من المعلومات عن أحلامهم، وعلى عكس توقعاته هو شخصياً يترقى مارك عليم بسرعة البرق بين إدارات الطابير بداية من الفرز مروراً بالتفسير وصولاً لمنصب مدير عام الطابير فى سن الثامنة والعشرين.
هل جربت أن تعد البيتزا بالمنزل، أو الدجاج على طريقة كنتاكى ربما، تُرى ماذا ستكون النتيجة؟
حتماً إذا قرر كاداريه أن يكتب مُحاكاة لديستوبيا أورويل فى 1984 ستكون هى قصر الأحلام، فقدر ما هى جيدة ورائعة كفكرة وكتابة إلا أن الديستوبيا الأوريلية كانت ثلاثية الأبعاد مع شاشة منحنية بتفاصيل وجودة ألترا أتش دى، إلا أن المشاهد عند كاداريه كانت من وجهة نظر (شاهد مشافش حاجة)، فمارك عليم لا يعلم كيف تتم ترقيته فى الوقت الذى تتعرض فيه عائلته لأقصى أنواع الإقصاء وتصل للحبس والإعدام لخاله حاكم الولاية البعيدة ولم يشاهد مارك عليم وهو الراوى الأساسى مقتلة الرابسود على يد جنود السلطان العثمانى والتى ��دثت بقصر خاله الوزير، كما عاين أحداث التعذيب والقتل للحالمين من بعيد ولم يكن فاعل رئيسى بها وهذا هو سبب النجمة الناقصة.
"رؤية جهنم"
مارك بحكم موقعه الجديد فى سرايا طابير سيقع بين يديه حلم يُدين أسرته، أخواله بالتحديد بمحاولة الانقلاب على السلطان ومحاولة الاستيلاء على السلطة لكن يمر الحلم من بين يدى مارك ولا يستطيع فهمه إلى أن يصل لغيره فى قسم التفسير فيفسرونه على أنه محاولة من آل كوبريللى للاستيلاء على السلطة ويقرر السلطان القبض على آل كوبريللى وإعدام أحد أخوال مارك إلا أن أسرة كوبريللى وفى اليوم التالى ترد على السلطان ويستطيعون العودة لمنطقة نفوذهم وسلطتهم وبذلك يصل مارك عليم إلى منصب المدير العام بالإنابة لسرايا طابير لكنه فى اليوم الذى يصل فيه لقمة مجده الشخصى يتأكد من أن يوم آخر سيحل عليهم لعنة آل كوبريللى وسيعودون أدراجهم مرة أخرى ليتم إقصاءهم واستبعادهم وإعدامهم
فلكل شئ إذا ما تم نقصان .. فلا يُغر بطيب العيش إنسان
هى أيام كما شاهدتها دول .. من سره زمن ساءته أزمان
July 6, 2024
Mark-Alem, integrante de la poderosa familia Qyprilli, ingresa a trabajar al Palacio de los sueños, organismo que estudia los sueños de todos los ciudadanos del Imperio Otomano, para descubrir augurios para el Estado.
Sufre atrapado en laberintos interminables, perdido por los pasillos del edificio, o en su tarea de estudio de los sueños; aunque en principio todo parece disparatado, Mark Alem intuye que toda esa maquinaria tiene un sentido, `posiblemente tenebroso, y lo angustia no terminar de comprenderlo.
Además de la potente metáfora sobre el filoso sistema de vigilancia de los Estados totalitarios, para lo cual el autor busca refugio en el pasado otomano para describir el autoritarismo del todopoderoso Enver Hoxha, el gran exponente stalinista en Albania, la novela destaca por su calidad literaria, con momentos de atmósfera kafkianas.
Sufre atrapado en laberintos interminables, perdido por los pasillos del edificio, o en su tarea de estudio de los sueños; aunque en principio todo parece disparatado, Mark Alem intuye que toda esa maquinaria tiene un sentido, `posiblemente tenebroso, y lo angustia no terminar de comprenderlo.
Además de la potente metáfora sobre el filoso sistema de vigilancia de los Estados totalitarios, para lo cual el autor busca refugio en el pasado otomano para describir el autoritarismo del todopoderoso Enver Hoxha, el gran exponente stalinista en Albania, la novela destaca por su calidad literaria, con momentos de atmósfera kafkianas.
March 28, 2022
Arnavut yazar İsmail Kadare’nin mükemmel bir romanı. Yazar gerilim dozunu baştan sona doğru arttırarak romanının akıcı okunuşunu sağlamakla kalmamış, yaşamdaki diyalektiği her sayfada hissettirmiş. Hikaye Osmanlı İmparatorlu’nun son dönemlerinde Arnavutluk’ta geçer. Osmanlı’nın en önemli Vezir-i Azam’larından olan Köprülü Mehmet Paşa ailesinden bir genç romanın kahramanıdır.
Temelde despotik ve baskıcı bir yönetimin alegorik anlatımı gibi görülse de, her tarih ve coğrafyada yaşanmış, yaşanmakta olan ve yaşanması kaçınılmaz olanın anlatımı olarak değerlendirmek daha doğru olur. Doğu ile Batı arasındaki sıkışmış kişiliklerin, metafizik arayışların, gerçeküstü değerlendirmelerin gerçek hayattaki yansımalarını çok güzel bir kurgu ile yazmış Kadare.
Yazar bir dönemi anlatırken kendi yaşadığı dönemi, Arnavutluk’ta Enver Hoca dönemindeki Çin’e yakın duran komunist yönetimini de hedefliyor, zaten bu nedenle kitap 1981’de yayınlandıktan bir süre sonra rejimle başı derde düşen yazar 1990’da Fransa’ya giderek belki de Köprülüler’in akibetinden kendini kurtarıyor. Çok etkileyici bir kitap, öneririm.
Temelde despotik ve baskıcı bir yönetimin alegorik anlatımı gibi görülse de, her tarih ve coğrafyada yaşanmış, yaşanmakta olan ve yaşanması kaçınılmaz olanın anlatımı olarak değerlendirmek daha doğru olur. Doğu ile Batı arasındaki sıkışmış kişiliklerin, metafizik arayışların, gerçeküstü değerlendirmelerin gerçek hayattaki yansımalarını çok güzel bir kurgu ile yazmış Kadare.
Yazar bir dönemi anlatırken kendi yaşadığı dönemi, Arnavutluk’ta Enver Hoca dönemindeki Çin’e yakın duran komunist yönetimini de hedefliyor, zaten bu nedenle kitap 1981’de yayınlandıktan bir süre sonra rejimle başı derde düşen yazar 1990’da Fransa’ya giderek belki de Köprülüler’in akibetinden kendini kurtarıyor. Çok etkileyici bir kitap, öneririm.
March 20, 2017
Τι είναι λοιπόν το Παλάτι των Ονείρων;
Ο Ισμαήλ Κανταρέ γράφει ένα βιβλίο έχοντας σαν βασικές του επιρροές το 1984 του Όργουελ, την Δίκη και γενικά το έργο του Κάφκα και την Θεία Κωμωδία του Δάντη. Ο συγγραφέας σκιαγραφεί την αλλοτρίωση του ανθρώπου και της εξουσίας , γράφοντας μια αλληγορία πρώτα για το απολυταρχικό καθεστώς του Ένβερ Χότζα που σαν δικτάτορας κομμουνιστικού καθεστώτος καταδίκασε την γειτονική Αλβανία σε σχεδόν 50 χρόνια σκότους αλλά και κατ’ επέκταση για όλες τις μορφές εξουσίας και ελέγχου του ανθρώπου.
Ο Μαρκ Άλεμ είναι ένας νεαρός άντρας, γόνος μια μεγάλης και ιστορικής οικογένειας της Αλβανίας, ο οποίος διορίζεται ως υπάλληλος στο Παλάτι των Ονείρων. Εκεί θα διαπιστώσει ότι το αυτό το κτήριο είναι ένας δαιδαλώδης λαβύρινθός γραφείων και διαδρόμων, στον οποίο όλοι οι υπάλληλοι έχουν ένα και μόνο καθήκον. Να ελέγχουν και να καταγράφουν τα όνειρα όλων των πολιτών της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας. Μέσω αυτού του ελέγχου ο Σουλτάνος ελέγχει και κυρίως προλαμβάνει ανωμαλίες και εξεγέρσεις που μπορεί να βλάψουν τον ίδιο και την Αυτοκρατορία του.
Όπως και ο Κάφκα έτσι και ο Κανταρέ, δημιουργεί ένα ασφυχτικό κλοιό γύρω από τον πρωταγωνιστή με την απρόσωπη διοίκηση του μυστήριου αυτού κτηρίου. Οι υπάλληλοι τηρούν διαδικασίες και κανόνες χωρίς όμως να γνωρίζουν την δομή του Παλατιού ή το τι μέλλει γενέσθαι. (στο σύμπαν του Κάφκα υπάρχει ο Πύργος, του Όργουελ τα Υπουργεία Αλήθειας και Προπαγάνδας και στον ακαθόριστο χωροχρόνο του Κανταρέ το Παλάτι των Ονείρων). Ο Μαρκ θα χαθεί στις ενοχές του, τον φόβο και την ανασφάλεια ενώ αρκετές φορές η δαιδαλώδης δομή του Παλατιού θα του δημιουργήσει ένα συναίσθημα απόγνωσης. Όταν όμως αρχίζει να εισβάλει στον κόσμο των ονείρων θα διαπιστώσει ότι το Παλάτι των Ονείρων, η Αυτοκρατορία και η οικογένεια του συνδέονται με ένα πολύ μυστήριο και σκοτεινό τρόπο....
Αν το τέλος δεν ήταν λίγο αδύναμο θα έλεγα πως πρόκειται για αριστούργημα. Ο συγγραφέας κατέβασε τον Μαρκ Άλεμ στην κόλαση της γραφειοκρατίας, της απόγνωσης και της ενοχής, απλά θεωρώ πως θα μπορούσε να κατέβει λίγο πιο βαθιά.
Στο σύνολο του 4/5…
Ο Ισμαήλ Κανταρέ γράφει ένα βιβλίο έχοντας σαν βασικές του επιρροές το 1984 του Όργουελ, την Δίκη και γενικά το έργο του Κάφκα και την Θεία Κωμωδία του Δάντη. Ο συγγραφέας σκιαγραφεί την αλλοτρίωση του ανθρώπου και της εξουσίας , γράφοντας μια αλληγορία πρώτα για το απολυταρχικό καθεστώς του Ένβερ Χότζα που σαν δικτάτορας κομμουνιστικού καθεστώτος καταδίκασε την γειτονική Αλβανία σε σχεδόν 50 χρόνια σκότους αλλά και κατ’ επέκταση για όλες τις μορφές εξουσίας και ελέγχου του ανθρώπου.
Ο Μαρκ Άλεμ είναι ένας νεαρός άντρας, γόνος μια μεγάλης και ιστορικής οικογένειας της Αλβανίας, ο οποίος διορίζεται ως υπάλληλος στο Παλάτι των Ονείρων. Εκεί θα διαπιστώσει ότι το αυτό το κτήριο είναι ένας δαιδαλώδης λαβύρινθός γραφείων και διαδρόμων, στον οποίο όλοι οι υπάλληλοι έχουν ένα και μόνο καθήκον. Να ελέγχουν και να καταγράφουν τα όνειρα όλων των πολιτών της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας. Μέσω αυτού του ελέγχου ο Σουλτάνος ελέγχει και κυρίως προλαμβάνει ανωμαλίες και εξεγέρσεις που μπορεί να βλάψουν τον ίδιο και την Αυτοκρατορία του.
Όπως και ο Κάφκα έτσι και ο Κανταρέ, δημιουργεί ένα ασφυχτικό κλοιό γύρω από τον πρωταγωνιστή με την απρόσωπη διοίκηση του μυστήριου αυτού κτηρίου. Οι υπάλληλοι τηρούν διαδικασίες και κανόνες χωρίς όμως να γνωρίζουν την δομή του Παλατιού ή το τι μέλλει γενέσθαι. (στο σύμπαν του Κάφκα υπάρχει ο Πύργος, του Όργουελ τα Υπουργεία Αλήθειας και Προπαγάνδας και στον ακαθόριστο χωροχρόνο του Κανταρέ το Παλάτι των Ονείρων). Ο Μαρκ θα χαθεί στις ενοχές του, τον φόβο και την ανασφάλεια ενώ αρκετές φορές η δαιδαλώδης δομή του Παλατιού θα του δημιουργήσει ένα συναίσθημα απόγνωσης. Όταν όμως αρχίζει να εισβάλει στον κόσμο των ονείρων θα διαπιστώσει ότι το Παλάτι των Ονείρων, η Αυτοκρατορία και η οικογένεια του συνδέονται με ένα πολύ μυστήριο και σκοτεινό τρόπο....
Αν το τέλος δεν ήταν λίγο αδύναμο θα έλεγα πως πρόκειται για αριστούργημα. Ο συγγραφέας κατέβασε τον Μαρκ Άλεμ στην κόλαση της γραφειοκρατίας, της απόγνωσης και της ενοχής, απλά θεωρώ πως θα μπορούσε να κατέβει λίγο πιο βαθιά.
Στο σύνολο του 4/5…
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December 31, 2023So, last year I went to a Halloween Party dressed as an allegory. Most of the other attendees didn’t get it. Frankenstein looked me over and said I was trying too hard. Little Bo Beep huffed in reply and said I wasn’t trying hard enough! Raggedy Ann came by, pulling Raggedy Andy and saying he just had to meet Al, but after careful fist bumps their looks turned quizzical. A French Maid looked at me seductively and whispered, “So what are you? Some kind of statement of the human condition?” I smiled shyly and flirted back, “Oh, I’m just a man trying to challenge his dead enemy to a duel on his grave.” She backed away.
Uneasy at the overall response I shuffled my way into a corner, near some bookshelves, and nursed my drink. My friend Franz came over, put his arm around my shoulder, and said, “Well, aren’t you some oppressive Albanian dictatorship tonight!” I looked at my friend, the only one who seemingly understood me, and said, “Where did you get that great cockroach costume?” He took his arm from my shoulder, looked at me with sad, confused eyes, and said, “What costume?”
Uneasy at the overall response I shuffled my way into a corner, near some bookshelves, and nursed my drink. My friend Franz came over, put his arm around my shoulder, and said, “Well, aren’t you some oppressive Albanian dictatorship tonight!” I looked at my friend, the only one who seemingly understood me, and said, “Where did you get that great cockroach costume?” He took his arm from my shoulder, looked at me with sad, confused eyes, and said, “What costume?”
June 25, 2020
لا أذكر كيف ولكنني حقاً شعرت بالخوف والرهبة خلال قراءتي لهذه الرواية، كل شيء يبدو هنا مدفوناً في الأحلام، غارقاً في كثافة عالم غير مرئي، قصر ليس مثل كل القصور بل هو متحف، مخزن، مستودع، جيش من الأحلام المتكدسة فوق بعضها، بعضها ليس ذا شأن وبعضها الآخر قد يحدد مصير أمم وامبراطوريات وأشخاص قد تتحدد حياتهم فق لتلك الأحلام المتكدسة في القصر، قصر مخيف ومفزع يضج بالأساطير وعوالم البشر السفلية، عندما تقرأ هذه الرواية تشعر أن عالماً موازياً مدفون في داخل كل شخص منا، عالم بأكمله من الأمنيات والمخاوف والرغبات المحرمة والذكريات السحيقة التي تبرزها الأحلام على هيئة رسالة من عالم آخر، في هذا القصر شأن كل قصور الدنيا تحكمه القسوة ويجلس على عرشه جلادون ومتوحشون وخائفون من القيام بأي حركة قادمة، شأنه شأن كل القصور المليئة بكل الحكايات الفجة والأسرار القذرة والخوف والجنون والتوحش الكامن في البشر..
ندخل في هذا القصر من باب ضيق جداً مع شخصية مارك عليم، شخص خجول وعديم الخبرة نفتح معه باب القصر مع أرتباكه وخوف وقلقه ، نقف أمام قصر شاخص بعيون صغيرة تتفحص المكان الرهيب للمرة الأولى أمام هذا الأرتباك ودقات القلب، يحاول مارك عليم الحصول على وظيفة، يدخل إلى عمق القصر، يكتشف فيه الأسرار والخبايا، يدخل عالم الأحلام حتى يغدو الواقع بالنسبة له شيئاً تافهاً وسطحياً، ولكن أي مصير يخبئه القدر ل مارك عليم، هل كان يدري أي مصيبة سيجلبها على عائلته جراء خطأ بسيط جداً، خطأ أتفه من أن يكون خطئاً، جرم خفي يختبئ خلف حلم، حول تفسير، حول إمكانية أن يكون الفرد قادراً على تغيير مصير شعب أو عائلة أو حتى دولة بأكملها ..
رواية مشوقة تجبرك على الأسمتاع بها وعيش لحظات الخوف البريئة فيها وتقمص شخصية البطل فيها، رواية جريئة وممتعة، طريقة مذهلة في سرد رواية، لم يخيبني إسماعيل كاداريه في أي رواية قرأتها له لحد الآن..
ندخل في هذا القصر من باب ضيق جداً مع شخصية مارك عليم، شخص خجول وعديم الخبرة نفتح معه باب القصر مع أرتباكه وخوف وقلقه ، نقف أمام قصر شاخص بعيون صغيرة تتفحص المكان الرهيب للمرة الأولى أمام هذا الأرتباك ودقات القلب، يحاول مارك عليم الحصول على وظيفة، يدخل إلى عمق القصر، يكتشف فيه الأسرار والخبايا، يدخل عالم الأحلام حتى يغدو الواقع بالنسبة له شيئاً تافهاً وسطحياً، ولكن أي مصير يخبئه القدر ل مارك عليم، هل كان يدري أي مصيبة سيجلبها على عائلته جراء خطأ بسيط جداً، خطأ أتفه من أن يكون خطئاً، جرم خفي يختبئ خلف حلم، حول تفسير، حول إمكانية أن يكون الفرد قادراً على تغيير مصير شعب أو عائلة أو حتى دولة بأكملها ..
رواية مشوقة تجبرك على الأسمتاع بها وعيش لحظات الخوف البريئة فيها وتقمص شخصية البطل فيها، رواية جريئة وممتعة، طريقة مذهلة في سرد رواية، لم يخيبني إسماعيل كاداريه في أي رواية قرأتها له لحد الآن..
March 27, 2024
İsmail Kadare ile ilk tanışmamız ziyadesiyle heyecan verici oldu ya, üf.
Arnavutluk'un yaşayan en büyük yazarı kabul edilen Kadare'yi okumaya çok övülen kitabı Rüyalar Sarayı ile başladım. Bir tür tarihsel distopya diyebileceğimiz kitabın konusu müthiş yaratıcı: Osmanlı'nın gerileme dönemindeyiz. Devletin geleceğini öngörmek ve olası saldırıları, komploları, sabotajları engellemek için “Tabir Sarayı” isimli bir rüya bakanlığı var. Ülkenin her yerinde görülen rüyalar burada toplanıyor, eleniyor, sınıflandırılıyor ve yorumlanıyor. Qyprilli (bizim bildiğimiz Köprülü) ailesinin genç üyesi Mark-Alem bu tuhaf, tekinsiz yerde çalışmaya başlıyor ve olaylar gelişiyor.
Biraz Saramago, biraz Kafka, biraz İhsan Oktay Anar - bu üçünün harmanı gibi bir roman bu, e daha ne olsun? Saramago'nun Bütün İsimler'de anlattığı Nüfus Kayıt Merkez Arşivi’ni ve Kafka'nın Şato'da tarif ettiği binayı andıran bir yer Tabir Sarayı. Şehri, sokakları, o tekinsiz, uçucu şeyleri anlatırken kullandığı dil de İhsan Oktay Anar'ı andırıyor, okurken sık sık aklıma bu üç yazar geldi. Bir de tabii Borges - çünkü rüyalar diyince aklıma Borges'in gelmemesi düşünülemez, özellikle şu cümleleri bu romanın çatısını izah ediyor gibi adeta: "Rüyalar estetik eserlerdir, belki de estetik ifadenin en eski biçimleridir. Kabusunsa çok kendine özgü bir dehşeti vardır ve bu kendine özgü dehşet her türlü senaryo aracılığıyla kendini ifade edebilir."
Neyse, Mark-Alem bu garip binada çalışıp kendi tabiriyle koca bir dünyanın uykusuna şahit olmaya başladıkça, gerçeklikle ilişkisi de yavaş yavaş kopmaya doğru gidiyor. Dünyayı alegorilerden ibaret görmeye başlıyor ve her şeyi çözülmesi gereken bilmeceler gibi algılıyor. Bu arada ait olduğu güçlü Köprülü ailesinin hanedanla arasındaki siyasi gerilim de biçim değiştiriyor, olaylar gelişiyor. Devletlerin, özellikle güçsüzleştiği dönemlerde nasıl birer paranoya makinesine dönüşebileceklerini bence şahane biçimde anlatan, çok lezzetli ve müthiş orijinal bir roman bu.
Kadare okumaya muhakkak devam edeceğim!
Arnavutluk'un yaşayan en büyük yazarı kabul edilen Kadare'yi okumaya çok övülen kitabı Rüyalar Sarayı ile başladım. Bir tür tarihsel distopya diyebileceğimiz kitabın konusu müthiş yaratıcı: Osmanlı'nın gerileme dönemindeyiz. Devletin geleceğini öngörmek ve olası saldırıları, komploları, sabotajları engellemek için “Tabir Sarayı” isimli bir rüya bakanlığı var. Ülkenin her yerinde görülen rüyalar burada toplanıyor, eleniyor, sınıflandırılıyor ve yorumlanıyor. Qyprilli (bizim bildiğimiz Köprülü) ailesinin genç üyesi Mark-Alem bu tuhaf, tekinsiz yerde çalışmaya başlıyor ve olaylar gelişiyor.
Biraz Saramago, biraz Kafka, biraz İhsan Oktay Anar - bu üçünün harmanı gibi bir roman bu, e daha ne olsun? Saramago'nun Bütün İsimler'de anlattığı Nüfus Kayıt Merkez Arşivi’ni ve Kafka'nın Şato'da tarif ettiği binayı andıran bir yer Tabir Sarayı. Şehri, sokakları, o tekinsiz, uçucu şeyleri anlatırken kullandığı dil de İhsan Oktay Anar'ı andırıyor, okurken sık sık aklıma bu üç yazar geldi. Bir de tabii Borges - çünkü rüyalar diyince aklıma Borges'in gelmemesi düşünülemez, özellikle şu cümleleri bu romanın çatısını izah ediyor gibi adeta: "Rüyalar estetik eserlerdir, belki de estetik ifadenin en eski biçimleridir. Kabusunsa çok kendine özgü bir dehşeti vardır ve bu kendine özgü dehşet her türlü senaryo aracılığıyla kendini ifade edebilir."
Neyse, Mark-Alem bu garip binada çalışıp kendi tabiriyle koca bir dünyanın uykusuna şahit olmaya başladıkça, gerçeklikle ilişkisi de yavaş yavaş kopmaya doğru gidiyor. Dünyayı alegorilerden ibaret görmeye başlıyor ve her şeyi çözülmesi gereken bilmeceler gibi algılıyor. Bu arada ait olduğu güçlü Köprülü ailesinin hanedanla arasındaki siyasi gerilim de biçim değiştiriyor, olaylar gelişiyor. Devletlerin, özellikle güçsüzleştiği dönemlerde nasıl birer paranoya makinesine dönüşebileceklerini bence şahane biçimde anlatan, çok lezzetli ve müthiş orijinal bir roman bu.
Kadare okumaya muhakkak devam edeceğim!
March 28, 2023
La premisa de este libro es por demás interesante: El Palacio de los sueños es el lugar al que todos los ciudadanos del imperio están obligados a enviar lo que han soñado por la noche, para ser analizado e interpretado. Si el sueño resulta una amenaza para el Estado, se hace llegar al sultán para que pueda tomar cartas en el asunto.
Pero esta historia no tiene que ver solo con sueños, sino con el poder, las instituciones, el autoritarismo y el miedo. Kadaré logra en muy pocas páginas crear un relato asfixiante, con el único pero de que termina muy pronto.
Este autor fue un descubrimiento y me han dado ganas de leer más libros de él.
Pero esta historia no tiene que ver solo con sueños, sino con el poder, las instituciones, el autoritarismo y el miedo. Kadaré logra en muy pocas páginas crear un relato asfixiante, con el único pero de que termina muy pronto.
Este autor fue un descubrimiento y me han dado ganas de leer más libros de él.
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February 20, 2018Upravo sam pokušala da čitam ovo srpsko izdanje... Da, pokušala, i odustala... Mislila sam u pitanju je prevodilac početnik... Nažalost, u pitanju je prevodilac koji je očevidno upropastio već dosta knjiga albanskih autora na području Jugoslavije... :( Dobar lektor bi ublažio štetu i malo popeglao tekst da makar može da se čita... Bruka i sramota za Samizdat!
Već kod druge rečenice sam se zagrcnula pošteno... Preostaje mi da se dočepam ovog autora u engleskom ili francuskom prevodu pa da uživam kô čovek u čitanju... :(
Odavno ne naleteh na ovakvu krš kombinaciju prevoda i "lekture" :(
Već kod druge rečenice sam se zagrcnula pošteno... Preostaje mi da se dočepam ovog autora u engleskom ili francuskom prevodu pa da uživam kô čovek u čitanju... :(
Odavno ne naleteh na ovakvu krš kombinaciju prevoda i "lekture" :(
September 18, 2023
O carte fascinanta, nu mă așteptam să îmi placă așa de mult. Mă bucur că mi-am dat la un moment dat seama ce urma să se petreacă sau, mai corect, ce a cauzat un anume eveniment, asta pentru că romanul este plin de semnificații și nutresc speranța că măcar o parte dintre ele le-am prins și eu. Daca nu as fi citit descrierile de pe spate, as fi conchis la final că a fost vorba despre ceva istoric, un complot și atâta.
April 12, 2021
Poursuivant mon parcours de l'œuvre de l'immense auteur albanais Ismaïl Kadaré j’arrive au Palais des Rêves, sur une institution gouvernementale dont l'objectif est de recevoir, classer, interpréter et juger les rêves. Le bâtiment labyrinthique dans les couloirs duquel se perd Mark-Alem, issu d'une illustre famille d'Albanais, reflète parfaitement les différents cercles qui le composent. L'étrange atmosphère silencieuse et secrète qui l’accueille dès le premier jour de travail l’accompagnera tout au long du roman et retracera son chemin et son ascension inexplicable, semblable à celle d'un somnambule, dans laquelle le subconscient semble tout contrôler.
Parfaitement ancrée dans ce monde sombre qui apparaît si souvent dans ses autres romans, où les jours semblent dominés par une épaisse couche de brume et le soleil caché derrière des nuages dont la pluie ou la neige n'arrête pas de tomber, l'intrigue se déroule avec une lenteur méticuleuse. Peu à peu, notre personnage se fraye un chemin à travers la hiérarchie complexe du Palais, où les longs couloirs flanqués de portes, derrière lesquels tout un monde d'engrenages se cachent, travaillent des centaines de fidèles serviteurs qui, ensemble, choisissent parmi tous ces rêves le soi-disant Maître Rêve, dont le sens est minutieusement interprété par tous les cercles des différents bureaux et le sort de l'Empire en dépend. Jusqu'au jour où Mark-Alem, sans comprendre la raison de son ascension, atteint le sommet absolu.
Tout au long du roman, le lecteur ne cesse de ressentir la peur des espaces clos dans cette institution téméraire, la mer de doutes qui envahissent le protagoniste et la présence inconfortable de l'œil de l'État, où règne le Souverain tout-puissant, qui veille jusqu’aux moments les plus intimes de la vie privée de ses sujets. Comme c'est souvent le cas dans d'autres de ses romans, les personnages passent de l'un à l'autre, créant ainsi un monde qui se déroule à travers tous ses livres dans une tentative de créer l'œuvre totale. Mark-Alem est un membre des Quprilli, dont le nom de famille remonte à plusieurs générations. Une dynastie qui commence dans Le Pont Aux Trois Arches :
Notre patronyme n’est que la traduction du mot albanais Ura (qyprija ou kurpija) ; il réfère à un pont à trois arches situé en Albanie centrale, édifié à l’époque où les Albanais étaient encore chrétiens, et dans les fondations duquel on avait emmuré un homme. Après avoir travaillé à la construction de ce pont et une fois l’ouvrage achevé, un de nos bisaïeuls, prénommé Gjon, a pris, à l’instar de beaucoup d’autres, en même temps que la marque du crime qui y demeurait attaché, le nom de Ura.
Il est impossible de ne pas penser à l'influence de Kafka sur l'histoire. Cependant, le traitement de Kadaré est unique, sa magnifique prose doit beaucoup à la tradition culturelle de son pays. L'albanais est une langue très complexe et, selon l'auteur, l'une des langues les plus anciennes et les plus riches d'Europe. En outre, également selon les mots de Kadaré lui-même, le français, dans sa construction et sa grammaire et très proche de l’albanais, par conséquent, les traductions dans cette langue semblent être les plus fidèles à l'esprit original. Il est important de mentionner l'énorme travail des éditions Fayard commandées par Claude Durand (et les traductions impeccables de Jusuf Vrioni) qui ont publié en français ses œuvres complètes en douze volumes. Depuis octobre 1990 (date à laquelle le gouvernement français lui a accordé l'asile politique), Kadaré vit une partie de chaque année à Paris.
Parfaitement ancrée dans ce monde sombre qui apparaît si souvent dans ses autres romans, où les jours semblent dominés par une épaisse couche de brume et le soleil caché derrière des nuages dont la pluie ou la neige n'arrête pas de tomber, l'intrigue se déroule avec une lenteur méticuleuse. Peu à peu, notre personnage se fraye un chemin à travers la hiérarchie complexe du Palais, où les longs couloirs flanqués de portes, derrière lesquels tout un monde d'engrenages se cachent, travaillent des centaines de fidèles serviteurs qui, ensemble, choisissent parmi tous ces rêves le soi-disant Maître Rêve, dont le sens est minutieusement interprété par tous les cercles des différents bureaux et le sort de l'Empire en dépend. Jusqu'au jour où Mark-Alem, sans comprendre la raison de son ascension, atteint le sommet absolu.
Tout au long du roman, le lecteur ne cesse de ressentir la peur des espaces clos dans cette institution téméraire, la mer de doutes qui envahissent le protagoniste et la présence inconfortable de l'œil de l'État, où règne le Souverain tout-puissant, qui veille jusqu’aux moments les plus intimes de la vie privée de ses sujets. Comme c'est souvent le cas dans d'autres de ses romans, les personnages passent de l'un à l'autre, créant ainsi un monde qui se déroule à travers tous ses livres dans une tentative de créer l'œuvre totale. Mark-Alem est un membre des Quprilli, dont le nom de famille remonte à plusieurs générations. Une dynastie qui commence dans Le Pont Aux Trois Arches :
Notre patronyme n’est que la traduction du mot albanais Ura (qyprija ou kurpija) ; il réfère à un pont à trois arches situé en Albanie centrale, édifié à l’époque où les Albanais étaient encore chrétiens, et dans les fondations duquel on avait emmuré un homme. Après avoir travaillé à la construction de ce pont et une fois l’ouvrage achevé, un de nos bisaïeuls, prénommé Gjon, a pris, à l’instar de beaucoup d’autres, en même temps que la marque du crime qui y demeurait attaché, le nom de Ura.
Il est impossible de ne pas penser à l'influence de Kafka sur l'histoire. Cependant, le traitement de Kadaré est unique, sa magnifique prose doit beaucoup à la tradition culturelle de son pays. L'albanais est une langue très complexe et, selon l'auteur, l'une des langues les plus anciennes et les plus riches d'Europe. En outre, également selon les mots de Kadaré lui-même, le français, dans sa construction et sa grammaire et très proche de l’albanais, par conséquent, les traductions dans cette langue semblent être les plus fidèles à l'esprit original. Il est important de mentionner l'énorme travail des éditions Fayard commandées par Claude Durand (et les traductions impeccables de Jusuf Vrioni) qui ont publié en français ses œuvres complètes en douze volumes. Depuis octobre 1990 (date à laquelle le gouvernement français lui a accordé l'asile politique), Kadaré vit une partie de chaque année à Paris.
November 12, 2017
Surrealista y visual.
Mi primer libro de Kadaré, un libro corto para la lectura lenta. Lo tenía hace un tiempo en mi e-reader y ya no recordaba porqué lo tenía entre mis pendientes. Una noche, con ánimo de recibir sorpresas me decanté por esta novela, que con ese título era difícil no fijarse en ella.
El planteamiento es atrevido. El escritor nos sitúa en Albania, la cual a su vez pertenece a un imperio de 40 nacionalidades (siendo como un “boceto” del imperio otomano), hay gente de todas las razas, credos y posición económica. El protagonista es Mark-Alem, un muchacho de 28 años perteneciente a la influyente y acaudalada familia Qyprille. Mark-Alem, apadrinado por su poderoso tio El-Visir, entra a trabajar en uno de los más importantes, sino el más, órganos de control y seguridad, el Tabir Sarai; en donde, gracias a las oficinas de recepción, archivo, selección e interpretación, son recaudados y monitoreados los sueños de los ciudadanos, con el objeto de mantener la seguridad del estado.
La realidad en la que Kadaré ha puesto sus escenas me ha producido una sensación de despersonalización. Kadaré crea una realidad con elementos irreales que desfilan como fantasmas de otros tiempos; del pasado y del futuro, dejando vaguedad en el tiempo presente. Esto por la presentación de imperios, de carruajes o sultanes, contrastados por la manifestación de otras naciones, de la vestimenta y del aparato, que imaginamos, es el estado. Y ese estado de extrañeza, el autor me lo sigue alimentando con la atmosfera y el protagonista, y el carácter onírico de la novela. Hay un narrador, que nos guía a través de la perspectiva de Mark-Alem; sin embargo, Mark-Alem, no es un personaje con el que el lector intime, compagine o se identifique, es un personaje plano, lo cual aleja o produce indiferencia, lejanía. El entorno del protagonista es el que maneja el transcurrir del tiempo en la novela y el clima de la misma. Es un tiempo lento, el entorno es gélido, es un espacio pintado con la paleta de colores de Salvador Dalí instantáneamente se me vino a la cabeza “Sueño causado por el vuelo de una abeja alrededor de una granada un segundo antes de despertar”). La realidad del palacio de los sueños se mece entre la levedad y la inercia, al menos así la sentí yo.
Más allá del título y del tema del libro, el onirismo es omnipresente; es imposible no caer en fascinación con algunos sueños que se le cuentan al lector:
”Un gato negro con la luna entre los dientes corría perseguido por la multitud, dejando en su huida el rastro sangriento del cuerpo celeste desgarrado”…
Hasta aquí, es evidente el señalamiento a los gobiernos totalitaristas. Un estado policial omnipotente y omnipresente, que busca escudriñar hasta en el más apartado e íntimo rincón del subconsciente del individuo. Como está planteada la novela, la primera relación que establecemos con los “soñadores” es como si el estado estuviera buscando un oráculo de Delfos, o al menos eso esa es la excusa. Sin embargo, la transgresión de los sueños para mí va más dirigido a reprimirlos, porque la posibilidad de realizar los sueños hace libre a los individuos, y lo que quiere el estado son esclavos.
…”No existe pasión o pensamiento maléfico, adversidad o catástrofe, rebelión o crimen, que no proyecte su sombra en los sueños antes de materializarse en el mundo”…
El Palacio de los Sueños, fue publicada en 1981 y vetada en este mismo año en Albania, cuando aún era gobernada por el comunismo. Viniendo Ismail Kadaré de una familia con militantes comunistas, se ha señalado a Kadaré como un comunista desencantado. Hay muchas cosas que se me escapan, es evidente en el libro más alusiones a Albania, y que no alcanzo a abordar por desconocimiento de la historia y la actualidad de este país.
El Palacio de los Sueños para mi representó un ejercicio literario. Es mi primer vistazo a Ismail Kadaré y ahora entiendo porqué suele estar en la baza de los premios Nobel, este libro ya es un clásico!
Me gusta eso que dice Carlos Ruiz Zafón:
“Conserva tus sueños, nunca sabes cuándo te harán falta.”
Mi primer libro de Kadaré, un libro corto para la lectura lenta. Lo tenía hace un tiempo en mi e-reader y ya no recordaba porqué lo tenía entre mis pendientes. Una noche, con ánimo de recibir sorpresas me decanté por esta novela, que con ese título era difícil no fijarse en ella.
El planteamiento es atrevido. El escritor nos sitúa en Albania, la cual a su vez pertenece a un imperio de 40 nacionalidades (siendo como un “boceto” del imperio otomano), hay gente de todas las razas, credos y posición económica. El protagonista es Mark-Alem, un muchacho de 28 años perteneciente a la influyente y acaudalada familia Qyprille. Mark-Alem, apadrinado por su poderoso tio El-Visir, entra a trabajar en uno de los más importantes, sino el más, órganos de control y seguridad, el Tabir Sarai; en donde, gracias a las oficinas de recepción, archivo, selección e interpretación, son recaudados y monitoreados los sueños de los ciudadanos, con el objeto de mantener la seguridad del estado.
La realidad en la que Kadaré ha puesto sus escenas me ha producido una sensación de despersonalización. Kadaré crea una realidad con elementos irreales que desfilan como fantasmas de otros tiempos; del pasado y del futuro, dejando vaguedad en el tiempo presente. Esto por la presentación de imperios, de carruajes o sultanes, contrastados por la manifestación de otras naciones, de la vestimenta y del aparato, que imaginamos, es el estado. Y ese estado de extrañeza, el autor me lo sigue alimentando con la atmosfera y el protagonista, y el carácter onírico de la novela. Hay un narrador, que nos guía a través de la perspectiva de Mark-Alem; sin embargo, Mark-Alem, no es un personaje con el que el lector intime, compagine o se identifique, es un personaje plano, lo cual aleja o produce indiferencia, lejanía. El entorno del protagonista es el que maneja el transcurrir del tiempo en la novela y el clima de la misma. Es un tiempo lento, el entorno es gélido, es un espacio pintado con la paleta de colores de Salvador Dalí instantáneamente se me vino a la cabeza “Sueño causado por el vuelo de una abeja alrededor de una granada un segundo antes de despertar”). La realidad del palacio de los sueños se mece entre la levedad y la inercia, al menos así la sentí yo.
Más allá del título y del tema del libro, el onirismo es omnipresente; es imposible no caer en fascinación con algunos sueños que se le cuentan al lector:
”Un gato negro con la luna entre los dientes corría perseguido por la multitud, dejando en su huida el rastro sangriento del cuerpo celeste desgarrado”…
Hasta aquí, es evidente el señalamiento a los gobiernos totalitaristas. Un estado policial omnipotente y omnipresente, que busca escudriñar hasta en el más apartado e íntimo rincón del subconsciente del individuo. Como está planteada la novela, la primera relación que establecemos con los “soñadores” es como si el estado estuviera buscando un oráculo de Delfos, o al menos eso esa es la excusa. Sin embargo, la transgresión de los sueños para mí va más dirigido a reprimirlos, porque la posibilidad de realizar los sueños hace libre a los individuos, y lo que quiere el estado son esclavos.
…”No existe pasión o pensamiento maléfico, adversidad o catástrofe, rebelión o crimen, que no proyecte su sombra en los sueños antes de materializarse en el mundo”…
El Palacio de los Sueños, fue publicada en 1981 y vetada en este mismo año en Albania, cuando aún era gobernada por el comunismo. Viniendo Ismail Kadaré de una familia con militantes comunistas, se ha señalado a Kadaré como un comunista desencantado. Hay muchas cosas que se me escapan, es evidente en el libro más alusiones a Albania, y que no alcanzo a abordar por desconocimiento de la historia y la actualidad de este país.
El Palacio de los Sueños para mi representó un ejercicio literario. Es mi primer vistazo a Ismail Kadaré y ahora entiendo porqué suele estar en la baza de los premios Nobel, este libro ya es un clásico!
Me gusta eso que dice Carlos Ruiz Zafón:
“Conserva tus sueños, nunca sabes cuándo te harán falta.”
July 16, 2023
Knjiga od početka do kraja postaje sve bolja i bolja, a počinje odlično.
Dva poslednja dela su majstorija.
Toliko tema: epske pesme - naše i albanske, Ćuprilije kao porodica, ep o njima, njihova gradnja mostova i svog prezimena istovremeno, ljudska žrtva predata mostu (gomila paralela sa Andrićem - čak i po liku liče (???) Kadare i Andrić, bar prema ovoj slici koju imam na knjizi u izdanju Samizdata) Kosovo, Kosovska bitka, gusle, snovi - sve što bi naše čitaoce moglo da zanima, a opet je Kadare toliko malo prisutan u našoj kulturi.
Roman je po izboru teme postavljen epski, ali je po izboru likova, obimu i izvedbi, opet, prilično kamerno delo. A zaključci su opet epski. Nije ga džaba pisao od 1976 do 1981. - bar tako piše na kraju knjige (inače, baš volim kad pisci na kraju napišu koliko dugo su stvarali delo, pa makar i slagali. Pomislio sam da sam i na kraju Na Drini ćuprija video takvu zabelešku, ali u izdanju koje imam u stanu na kraju teksta romana nema te beleške).
Jedva da ima deset imenovanih likova u celoj knjizi. Mark-Alem, glavni je lik čije uspone i padove na poslu iz snova pratimo kroz celu knjigu i na nešto više od 150 strana vidimo sve što u jednoj distopiji/satiri treba da se vidi.
Na kraju, mehanizam je važniji i od najvažnijih ljudi u državi i mora da nastavi da se kotrlja po svaku cenu, a da se više ni ne zna zbog čega, jer moćnih ljudi koji su ga zarad održavanje svoje moći osmislili odavno više nema.
Dva poslednja dela su majstorija.
Toliko tema: epske pesme - naše i albanske, Ćuprilije kao porodica, ep o njima, njihova gradnja mostova i svog prezimena istovremeno, ljudska žrtva predata mostu (gomila paralela sa Andrićem - čak i po liku liče (???) Kadare i Andrić, bar prema ovoj slici koju imam na knjizi u izdanju Samizdata) Kosovo, Kosovska bitka, gusle, snovi - sve što bi naše čitaoce moglo da zanima, a opet je Kadare toliko malo prisutan u našoj kulturi.
Roman je po izboru teme postavljen epski, ali je po izboru likova, obimu i izvedbi, opet, prilično kamerno delo. A zaključci su opet epski. Nije ga džaba pisao od 1976 do 1981. - bar tako piše na kraju knjige (inače, baš volim kad pisci na kraju napišu koliko dugo su stvarali delo, pa makar i slagali. Pomislio sam da sam i na kraju Na Drini ćuprija video takvu zabelešku, ali u izdanju koje imam u stanu na kraju teksta romana nema te beleške).
Jedva da ima deset imenovanih likova u celoj knjizi. Mark-Alem, glavni je lik čije uspone i padove na poslu iz snova pratimo kroz celu knjigu i na nešto više od 150 strana vidimo sve što u jednoj distopiji/satiri treba da se vidi.
Na kraju, mehanizam je važniji i od najvažnijih ljudi u državi i mora da nastavi da se kotrlja po svaku cenu, a da se više ni ne zna zbog čega, jer moćnih ljudi koji su ga zarad održavanje svoje moći osmislili odavno više nema.
October 23, 2022
Halkın gördüğü rüyaları denetlemek isteyen bir devletin varlığı bir yandan çok distopik gelse de bir yanıyla çok gerçekçi - ne yazık ki -.
Rüyalar Sarayı romanı Osmanlı Dönemi'nde rüyaların denetlendiği bir merkezde işe başlayan Mark-Alem karakterinin yaşadıklarını, baskı rejiminin rüyalar üzerindeki etkilerini ve denetimini anlatıyor. Baskıcı rejimlerin hissettirdiği gerilime ek olarak, köken açısından bir yere ait hissedememe duygusu da kitaba damgasını vuruyor. Nedense çok iyi bir fikre gereken değerin verilmediğini düşündüm kitabı okurken. Adından daha çok söz edilmesi gereken bir "distopya" olduğunu düşünüyorum.
Rüyalar Sarayı romanı Osmanlı Dönemi'nde rüyaların denetlendiği bir merkezde işe başlayan Mark-Alem karakterinin yaşadıklarını, baskı rejiminin rüyalar üzerindeki etkilerini ve denetimini anlatıyor. Baskıcı rejimlerin hissettirdiği gerilime ek olarak, köken açısından bir yere ait hissedememe duygusu da kitaba damgasını vuruyor. Nedense çok iyi bir fikre gereken değerin verilmediğini düşündüm kitabı okurken. Adından daha çok söz edilmesi gereken bir "distopya" olduğunu düşünüyorum.
July 2, 2010
The Palace of Dream, by Ismail Kadare
If Kafka's The Castle and Orwell's 1984 got freaky with it and had a baby the result would be Kadare's The Palace of Dreams. Karade is an Albanian and I would argue that the Palace of Dreams belongs to the long and productive tradition of subversive communist literature that cleverly disguises its critique in a novel about the fantastic. Karade's subversion isn't so disguised; it kind of hits in the face, but he's Albanian and not a Russian and he lives in France, but the novel is of this type. The Palace of Dreams is a monolithic government agency that feels like it comes out of Orwell or the movie Brazil. The agency's mission is to gather and interpret the dreams of all the citizens. The protagonist, Mark-Alem, gets assigned to a mid-level position in Selection. The job of Selection is to to choose the dreams that are worthy of Interpretation from those that are garbage. Mark-Alem starts at a mid-level position because his family is second in the land only to the Sultan (the book is set in the Ottoman Empire, but this time period is of little consequence). The Palace itself feels like Kafka's The Castle. It is a labyrinth in which Mark-Alem is constantly lost and he winds up turning corners to find himself face to face with busy bureaucrats and big desks. As he spends his time in Selection more of the Palace is revealed. It is by design mysterious. Everyone works at their position but few know to what end. It is revealed to him that there is a Master Dream that is of interest to the Sultan. The Master Dream has something to do with major political events, such as assassinations and wars and has existed and interpreted for hundreds of years. After more of the Palace is revealed, Mark-Alem goes to work one day and finds himself promoted into the division of Interpretation. In Interpretation he reads several dreams and in particular one he choose earlier from Selection to be interpreted. Little of the dream is discussed, but it has to do with a bridge, a raging bull, and a fire. In a nut shell, the story follows the life of Mark-Alem as a bureaucrat in the Palace. He works, he has coffee breaks, he files papers, and he discusses his work with his family (despite the fact that he is supposed to be secretive). Underlying the Palace and the prose is a tension. Everyone works, but because they do not know to what end and because they are forced to be secretive, everyone is paranoid and second guesses their selections and interpretations. Then one day it all changes. His family is raided by the secret Police. Their servants are killed and his Uncle is arrested. Mark-Alem feels his family may know why, but he is left in the dark. He goes to work the next day and the Palace is a buzz in whispered gossip. The bureaucrats all talk of what happened to Mark-Alem's family. The next day there is retaliation. Mark-Alem's family, second in the nation, has retaliated in assignations and political moves. Mark-Alem finds him again promoted, but his time into a directors position. As a director he has the access to research what has happened. He discovers that the dream he Selected and Interpreted was a part of the Master Dream and predicted a power struggle between his family and the Sultan. His family would gain power at the cost of his Uncle's life. Mark-Alem wonders if he were planted by his family to Select and Interpret the Master Dream. He wonders if it was a coincidence that he is now a man in power or that if he were set up to be handed the Master Dream and raised to Interpret it as such. He wonders and he waits, for he knows one day the secret police will come and take him. Until that time he continues to work.
Ismail Karade said that he wanted to create “vision of hell.” I would say that he succeeded. Mark-Alem's life is directionless, mundane, and worst all he waits in ignorance of a when horrible future will catch up to him. I think that having the knowledge that the future will be 'bad' but not knowing when or how is one of the worst feelings of all time. It creates anticipation and expectation and these feelings are often more powerful than the reality itself. At the same time, Mark-Alem's life is mundane and pointless. He is not waiting for death by living an exciting fun life, he is waiting for death by barely getting by in isolation and paranoia. It is a hell, a very modern and distinct vision. The only critique I could offer is that this reality of hell is present, but that the emotion behind those feelings isn't well captured. The book is not character driven, but setting driven. But I don't consider this a bad thing, but a good choice. The setting, The Palace of Dreams is ultra cool. The prose is quick and fun. Together those elements make this a fun book to read. The result is that Karade captures a modern hell in a fun way, and that makes this a really great book.
If Kafka's The Castle and Orwell's 1984 got freaky with it and had a baby the result would be Kadare's The Palace of Dreams. Karade is an Albanian and I would argue that the Palace of Dreams belongs to the long and productive tradition of subversive communist literature that cleverly disguises its critique in a novel about the fantastic. Karade's subversion isn't so disguised; it kind of hits in the face, but he's Albanian and not a Russian and he lives in France, but the novel is of this type. The Palace of Dreams is a monolithic government agency that feels like it comes out of Orwell or the movie Brazil. The agency's mission is to gather and interpret the dreams of all the citizens. The protagonist, Mark-Alem, gets assigned to a mid-level position in Selection. The job of Selection is to to choose the dreams that are worthy of Interpretation from those that are garbage. Mark-Alem starts at a mid-level position because his family is second in the land only to the Sultan (the book is set in the Ottoman Empire, but this time period is of little consequence). The Palace itself feels like Kafka's The Castle. It is a labyrinth in which Mark-Alem is constantly lost and he winds up turning corners to find himself face to face with busy bureaucrats and big desks. As he spends his time in Selection more of the Palace is revealed. It is by design mysterious. Everyone works at their position but few know to what end. It is revealed to him that there is a Master Dream that is of interest to the Sultan. The Master Dream has something to do with major political events, such as assassinations and wars and has existed and interpreted for hundreds of years. After more of the Palace is revealed, Mark-Alem goes to work one day and finds himself promoted into the division of Interpretation. In Interpretation he reads several dreams and in particular one he choose earlier from Selection to be interpreted. Little of the dream is discussed, but it has to do with a bridge, a raging bull, and a fire. In a nut shell, the story follows the life of Mark-Alem as a bureaucrat in the Palace. He works, he has coffee breaks, he files papers, and he discusses his work with his family (despite the fact that he is supposed to be secretive). Underlying the Palace and the prose is a tension. Everyone works, but because they do not know to what end and because they are forced to be secretive, everyone is paranoid and second guesses their selections and interpretations. Then one day it all changes. His family is raided by the secret Police. Their servants are killed and his Uncle is arrested. Mark-Alem feels his family may know why, but he is left in the dark. He goes to work the next day and the Palace is a buzz in whispered gossip. The bureaucrats all talk of what happened to Mark-Alem's family. The next day there is retaliation. Mark-Alem's family, second in the nation, has retaliated in assignations and political moves. Mark-Alem finds him again promoted, but his time into a directors position. As a director he has the access to research what has happened. He discovers that the dream he Selected and Interpreted was a part of the Master Dream and predicted a power struggle between his family and the Sultan. His family would gain power at the cost of his Uncle's life. Mark-Alem wonders if he were planted by his family to Select and Interpret the Master Dream. He wonders if it was a coincidence that he is now a man in power or that if he were set up to be handed the Master Dream and raised to Interpret it as such. He wonders and he waits, for he knows one day the secret police will come and take him. Until that time he continues to work.
Ismail Karade said that he wanted to create “vision of hell.” I would say that he succeeded. Mark-Alem's life is directionless, mundane, and worst all he waits in ignorance of a when horrible future will catch up to him. I think that having the knowledge that the future will be 'bad' but not knowing when or how is one of the worst feelings of all time. It creates anticipation and expectation and these feelings are often more powerful than the reality itself. At the same time, Mark-Alem's life is mundane and pointless. He is not waiting for death by living an exciting fun life, he is waiting for death by barely getting by in isolation and paranoia. It is a hell, a very modern and distinct vision. The only critique I could offer is that this reality of hell is present, but that the emotion behind those feelings isn't well captured. The book is not character driven, but setting driven. But I don't consider this a bad thing, but a good choice. The setting, The Palace of Dreams is ultra cool. The prose is quick and fun. Together those elements make this a fun book to read. The result is that Karade captures a modern hell in a fun way, and that makes this a really great book.
April 22, 2022
DANTE Y KAFKA SE CITAN EN TIRANA
La presencia del Estado totalitario como un engranaje que tritura a los individuos, incluso controlando sus pensamientos, es la denuncia de Kadaré en esta novela simbólica que elige el Imperio Otomano para establecer una comparación, sin nombrarlo, con el estalinista y el de Enver Hoxha. Es el recurso de la novela histórica, que denuncia situaciones anteriores de gran paralelismo con las actuales. Aunque en este caso la novela de Kadaré vaya más allá, con su componente kafkiano y onírico; entronca con el control de las masas del Orwell de 1984. El tema de las novelas de Kadaré siempre gira en torno a la alienación del individuo dentro de una sociedad, la mayoría de las veces, con reglas incomprensibles. Hasta tal punto alcanza el absurdo y lo arbitrario en algunas de sus novelas, como es en el caso de El Palacio de los sueños, que el autor parece cuestionar la verdadera realidad de la experiencia de sus personajes, es decir, lo que ven, oyen, sienten, incluso recuerdan. En este sentido, se abre una vía directa, igual que en el caso de Norman Manea y de Ivan Klíma, que enlaza a Kadaré con Kafka. Esto no es casual. Lo que distancia, al final, a uno de otro, es que tal vez el albanés no esté tan interesado en lo absurdo, sino más en lo trágico, con una base de amor por los clásicos (en concreto Homero) que no aparece en el checo.
Así pues, los mitos griegos como referencia intertextual de Kadaré, pero también las leyendas albanesas de las que se nutre, de abundante tradición oral, y una extraña condición abierta de sus obras, al estilo de los ciclos de la épica oral, que le lleva a reescribir las novelas una y otra vez, sin considerar nunca ningún texto definitivamente cerrado. El mundo otomano, pero como ingrediente de un realismo mágico propio y especial, que podría calificar como realismo mágico balcánico, y la guerra y el totalitarismo como temas centrales. De esta manera, la novela que me ocupa, El Palacio de los sueños, se encuadra dentro de la preocupación sobre el tema del Estado entendido como un poder despótico, pero enmarcados los sucesos en el Imperio otomano. La Albania de los años en que se redacta la obra (a principios de los años ochenta), la Albania incomunicada, hostil, la Albania del tirano decrépito y solitario, aislado, Enver Hoxha, queda en un segundo plano, en una penumbra en donde también se mantiene en otras muchas de las novelas del autor. Puede parecer, de esta manera, que Kadaré opte por silenciar los crímenes que están ocurriendo en esos momentos, pero una ausencia muy significativa que salpica sus obras hace pensar, por omisión, que la crítica existe. No mencionar el Partido en la literatura sometida al realismo socialista, donde los ingenieros del alma componían a mayor gloria del Partido. Y criticar, como critica, al sistema viviendo integrado en el propio centro del sistema de Hoxha y de su sucesor, Ramiz Alia. Con el enorme mérito, además, de que Kadaré consiguió publicar gran parte de la obra en Albania, burlando el cerco de la censura y de las represalias. Además, por si todo ello no significara ya un enorme riesgo, las obras de Kadaré suelen contener claves, pactos secretos con sus lectores, los albaneses coetáneos, que encuentran referencias a personajes públicos, lugares, acontecimientos, bien conocidos por sus compatriotas y que al leerlos asociaban de inmediato con la realidad política y cultural del momento. Nada más comenzar el relato, Mark-Alem, su protagonista, realiza un recorrido por las calles de la ciudad, cuyo nombre Kadaré evita mencionar, que parece ser fácilmente asociable o reconocible con una topografía de la Tirana de ese momento, concretamente el centro de la ciudad, los lugares donde se encontraban ministerios y edificios estatales.
El tema del tiempo, de la ubicación de El Palacio de los sueños en un tiempo otomano, no es una cuestión que el autor haya elegido por capricho o por mero oportunismo de tipo comercial: no es una simple treta literaria. Kadaré se caracteriza en sus novelas por recuperar los ejes temáticos fundamentales de la humanidad, esos universales temáticos comunes a todas las civilizaciones, el imaginario que reposa y rebosa, que rezuman las fuentes de la tradición clásica (en Esquilo, en Homero) y las grandes obras maestras de la literatura universal (Shakespeare, Cervantes). La línea temporal de temas tratados desde la Grecia clásica a la Inglaterra renacentista o la España barroca demuestra que el poder, las intrigas, las guerras y la violencia, de uno u otro modo, de muchos modos, son consustanciales a la historia de la literatura. Si la gran obsesión de Kadaré en su obra son los mecanismos totalitarios y la forma en que oprimen al individuo, en El Palacio de los sueños, siguiendo una línea que desarrollará en otras de sus novelas, busca, además, reflejar cómo el sistema consigue horadar hasta conformar la conciencia de uno de los integrantes de ese aparato despótico, que lo convierte en cierta monstruosidad burocrática, acabando por integrar y asumir el mecanismo de sojuzgación del que forma parte y que sabe, en algún momento, lo destrozará a él también. En este caso, ese individuo que trabaja al servicio del Estado absoluto tiene nombre: Mark-Alem. Un nombre que muy bien podría darse la mano con Josef K. o el Agrimensor K. E incluso con Winston Smith y el camarada Rubashov. En este sentido, Kadaré se muestra en esta novela muy cercano a Kafka, Orwell y Koestler.
El espíritu que alimenta el propio lugar, también nace de un disparate: la importancia de los sueños y el papel que juegan en los destinos de los Estados y en sus gobernantes. Por eso, el lugar examina y clasifica los sueños de todos los súbditos del Imperio, en una tarea faraónica y absurda, además de imposible. Es en este momento cuando lo grotesco, lo kafkiano, deja paso a una visión de la kadaria que hace que la sonrisilla de estupefacción hasta ahora esbozada se hiele en los labios, intuyendo la magnitud de la tragedia que se está fraguando. Se trata de un intento de control mental absoluto, descubriendo lo que piensan los súbditos incluso cuando esos pensamientos escapan a su control, en el sueño. Es de una malignidad absoluta. Mil novecientas secciones provinciales, con sus propias subsecciones, someten a una purga previa los sueños recolectados, antes de remitir los sueños al Palacio. Entonces, llega el turno del departamento de Selección, que ejecuta una nueva criba que los divide en tres: sueños privados, los vinculados al ser carnal del hombre (provocados por hambre, fiebre, enfermedad) y los simulados, inventados por la gente para lograr notoriedad. Una vez eliminadas esas tres categorías, desde allí, los sueños válidos, es decir los que tienen que ver con el Estado, pasan a Interpretación. Allí, aparte de la detección de un posible sueño que augure un atentado contra la integridad del Estado, se elige, además, cada viernes, el Sueño maestro o suprasueño, considerado el más importante y que se le presenta personalmente al Soberano.
El profesor Ioan Culianu escribió un ensayo acerca del simbolismo del relato de Borges La muerte y la brújula (1944), en donde uno de los personajes se siente como Mark-Alem en el interior del Palacio: “Yo sentía que el mundo es un laberinto, del cual era imposible huir”, afirma el asesino del relato. Para Culianu, lo que busca Borges es “huir de la tiranía de un sistema mental y entrar en tantos otros como sea posible para obtener, al completarlos, una libertad de percibir el mundo”. ¿Acaso Kadaré no ha intentado algo de eso con sus novelas, no ha luchado, con su escritura, por conseguir su propia libertad de percibir el mundo cuando lo tenía por completo prohibido?
Si se puede calificar a una novela como de obra maestra, desde luego que esta se lo merece. Y no es la única obra maestra de Kadaré, afortunadamente. Un texto opresivo kafkiano, kadaresco, kakánico, castillesco, kubinesco, archivesco, y, en particular, rotundo por su valentía y lucidez.
La presencia del Estado totalitario como un engranaje que tritura a los individuos, incluso controlando sus pensamientos, es la denuncia de Kadaré en esta novela simbólica que elige el Imperio Otomano para establecer una comparación, sin nombrarlo, con el estalinista y el de Enver Hoxha. Es el recurso de la novela histórica, que denuncia situaciones anteriores de gran paralelismo con las actuales. Aunque en este caso la novela de Kadaré vaya más allá, con su componente kafkiano y onírico; entronca con el control de las masas del Orwell de 1984. El tema de las novelas de Kadaré siempre gira en torno a la alienación del individuo dentro de una sociedad, la mayoría de las veces, con reglas incomprensibles. Hasta tal punto alcanza el absurdo y lo arbitrario en algunas de sus novelas, como es en el caso de El Palacio de los sueños, que el autor parece cuestionar la verdadera realidad de la experiencia de sus personajes, es decir, lo que ven, oyen, sienten, incluso recuerdan. En este sentido, se abre una vía directa, igual que en el caso de Norman Manea y de Ivan Klíma, que enlaza a Kadaré con Kafka. Esto no es casual. Lo que distancia, al final, a uno de otro, es que tal vez el albanés no esté tan interesado en lo absurdo, sino más en lo trágico, con una base de amor por los clásicos (en concreto Homero) que no aparece en el checo.
Así pues, los mitos griegos como referencia intertextual de Kadaré, pero también las leyendas albanesas de las que se nutre, de abundante tradición oral, y una extraña condición abierta de sus obras, al estilo de los ciclos de la épica oral, que le lleva a reescribir las novelas una y otra vez, sin considerar nunca ningún texto definitivamente cerrado. El mundo otomano, pero como ingrediente de un realismo mágico propio y especial, que podría calificar como realismo mágico balcánico, y la guerra y el totalitarismo como temas centrales. De esta manera, la novela que me ocupa, El Palacio de los sueños, se encuadra dentro de la preocupación sobre el tema del Estado entendido como un poder despótico, pero enmarcados los sucesos en el Imperio otomano. La Albania de los años en que se redacta la obra (a principios de los años ochenta), la Albania incomunicada, hostil, la Albania del tirano decrépito y solitario, aislado, Enver Hoxha, queda en un segundo plano, en una penumbra en donde también se mantiene en otras muchas de las novelas del autor. Puede parecer, de esta manera, que Kadaré opte por silenciar los crímenes que están ocurriendo en esos momentos, pero una ausencia muy significativa que salpica sus obras hace pensar, por omisión, que la crítica existe. No mencionar el Partido en la literatura sometida al realismo socialista, donde los ingenieros del alma componían a mayor gloria del Partido. Y criticar, como critica, al sistema viviendo integrado en el propio centro del sistema de Hoxha y de su sucesor, Ramiz Alia. Con el enorme mérito, además, de que Kadaré consiguió publicar gran parte de la obra en Albania, burlando el cerco de la censura y de las represalias. Además, por si todo ello no significara ya un enorme riesgo, las obras de Kadaré suelen contener claves, pactos secretos con sus lectores, los albaneses coetáneos, que encuentran referencias a personajes públicos, lugares, acontecimientos, bien conocidos por sus compatriotas y que al leerlos asociaban de inmediato con la realidad política y cultural del momento. Nada más comenzar el relato, Mark-Alem, su protagonista, realiza un recorrido por las calles de la ciudad, cuyo nombre Kadaré evita mencionar, que parece ser fácilmente asociable o reconocible con una topografía de la Tirana de ese momento, concretamente el centro de la ciudad, los lugares donde se encontraban ministerios y edificios estatales.
El tema del tiempo, de la ubicación de El Palacio de los sueños en un tiempo otomano, no es una cuestión que el autor haya elegido por capricho o por mero oportunismo de tipo comercial: no es una simple treta literaria. Kadaré se caracteriza en sus novelas por recuperar los ejes temáticos fundamentales de la humanidad, esos universales temáticos comunes a todas las civilizaciones, el imaginario que reposa y rebosa, que rezuman las fuentes de la tradición clásica (en Esquilo, en Homero) y las grandes obras maestras de la literatura universal (Shakespeare, Cervantes). La línea temporal de temas tratados desde la Grecia clásica a la Inglaterra renacentista o la España barroca demuestra que el poder, las intrigas, las guerras y la violencia, de uno u otro modo, de muchos modos, son consustanciales a la historia de la literatura. Si la gran obsesión de Kadaré en su obra son los mecanismos totalitarios y la forma en que oprimen al individuo, en El Palacio de los sueños, siguiendo una línea que desarrollará en otras de sus novelas, busca, además, reflejar cómo el sistema consigue horadar hasta conformar la conciencia de uno de los integrantes de ese aparato despótico, que lo convierte en cierta monstruosidad burocrática, acabando por integrar y asumir el mecanismo de sojuzgación del que forma parte y que sabe, en algún momento, lo destrozará a él también. En este caso, ese individuo que trabaja al servicio del Estado absoluto tiene nombre: Mark-Alem. Un nombre que muy bien podría darse la mano con Josef K. o el Agrimensor K. E incluso con Winston Smith y el camarada Rubashov. En este sentido, Kadaré se muestra en esta novela muy cercano a Kafka, Orwell y Koestler.
El espíritu que alimenta el propio lugar, también nace de un disparate: la importancia de los sueños y el papel que juegan en los destinos de los Estados y en sus gobernantes. Por eso, el lugar examina y clasifica los sueños de todos los súbditos del Imperio, en una tarea faraónica y absurda, además de imposible. Es en este momento cuando lo grotesco, lo kafkiano, deja paso a una visión de la kadaria que hace que la sonrisilla de estupefacción hasta ahora esbozada se hiele en los labios, intuyendo la magnitud de la tragedia que se está fraguando. Se trata de un intento de control mental absoluto, descubriendo lo que piensan los súbditos incluso cuando esos pensamientos escapan a su control, en el sueño. Es de una malignidad absoluta. Mil novecientas secciones provinciales, con sus propias subsecciones, someten a una purga previa los sueños recolectados, antes de remitir los sueños al Palacio. Entonces, llega el turno del departamento de Selección, que ejecuta una nueva criba que los divide en tres: sueños privados, los vinculados al ser carnal del hombre (provocados por hambre, fiebre, enfermedad) y los simulados, inventados por la gente para lograr notoriedad. Una vez eliminadas esas tres categorías, desde allí, los sueños válidos, es decir los que tienen que ver con el Estado, pasan a Interpretación. Allí, aparte de la detección de un posible sueño que augure un atentado contra la integridad del Estado, se elige, además, cada viernes, el Sueño maestro o suprasueño, considerado el más importante y que se le presenta personalmente al Soberano.
El profesor Ioan Culianu escribió un ensayo acerca del simbolismo del relato de Borges La muerte y la brújula (1944), en donde uno de los personajes se siente como Mark-Alem en el interior del Palacio: “Yo sentía que el mundo es un laberinto, del cual era imposible huir”, afirma el asesino del relato. Para Culianu, lo que busca Borges es “huir de la tiranía de un sistema mental y entrar en tantos otros como sea posible para obtener, al completarlos, una libertad de percibir el mundo”. ¿Acaso Kadaré no ha intentado algo de eso con sus novelas, no ha luchado, con su escritura, por conseguir su propia libertad de percibir el mundo cuando lo tenía por completo prohibido?
Si se puede calificar a una novela como de obra maestra, desde luego que esta se lo merece. Y no es la única obra maestra de Kadaré, afortunadamente. Un texto opresivo kafkiano, kadaresco, kakánico, castillesco, kubinesco, archivesco, y, en particular, rotundo por su valentía y lucidez.
February 7, 2022
Osman Gazi rüya görür: Şeyh Edebali'nin koynundan bir ay doğar ve ardından kendi koynuna girer bu ay. Göbeğinden ise bir ağaç çıkar, bu ağaç büyür, büyür ve dünyayı kaplar. Osmanlı'nın habercisi misalidir rüya.
Rivayet odur ki..
.
Yıllar sonra rüyaların renklerine dalınır. Çökmekte, çürümekte olan şeyleri görmemek için uykuya sığınılmış, derman için uykudan medet umulur hale gelinmiş gibidir. Tabir Sarayı kurulur, görülen rüyalar seçilir, açıklığa kavuşturulur. Köprülü ailesinden Mark-Alem, kendini bu bakanlıkta bulur. Gerçek hayattan rüyalara geçer. Oradan çıkmak ister ama gittikçe daha da kaybolur bu bakanlığın koridorlarında. Rüya içinde rüya.
.
Arnavut yazar İsmail Kadare, Osmanlı'nın gerileme dönemini, Köprülü (Qyprilli) ailesinin çevresinde, simgesel bir sarayla anlatıyor. Bunu yaparken; çanların sesi de yavaştan duyulmaya başlanıyor. Mark-Alem karakteri doğunun ve batının ortasında kalıyor.
.
Oldukça akıcı bir eser Rüyalar Sarayı. Okuru kendine çekmeyi, anlattıklarını düşündürmeyi ve meraklandırmayı başarıyor. Çok severek okuduğumu söylemeliyim.
.
Finesa Xhibo çevirisi, David Drummond kapak tasarımıyla~
Rivayet odur ki..
.
Yıllar sonra rüyaların renklerine dalınır. Çökmekte, çürümekte olan şeyleri görmemek için uykuya sığınılmış, derman için uykudan medet umulur hale gelinmiş gibidir. Tabir Sarayı kurulur, görülen rüyalar seçilir, açıklığa kavuşturulur. Köprülü ailesinden Mark-Alem, kendini bu bakanlıkta bulur. Gerçek hayattan rüyalara geçer. Oradan çıkmak ister ama gittikçe daha da kaybolur bu bakanlığın koridorlarında. Rüya içinde rüya.
.
Arnavut yazar İsmail Kadare, Osmanlı'nın gerileme dönemini, Köprülü (Qyprilli) ailesinin çevresinde, simgesel bir sarayla anlatıyor. Bunu yaparken; çanların sesi de yavaştan duyulmaya başlanıyor. Mark-Alem karakteri doğunun ve batının ortasında kalıyor.
.
Oldukça akıcı bir eser Rüyalar Sarayı. Okuru kendine çekmeyi, anlattıklarını düşündürmeyi ve meraklandırmayı başarıyor. Çok severek okuduğumu söylemeliyim.
.
Finesa Xhibo çevirisi, David Drummond kapak tasarımıyla~
July 6, 2024
N-ai ce scrie despre o operă fără cusur... Romanul e un vis, un coșmar cu unele inserturi de realitate. Sau invers? Realitatea, cu aparența unui vis copleșitor, interminabil. Un vis în vis?
Fără legătură cu literatura (Nobelul n-are foarte des legătură cu literatura, ci mai ales cu militantismul autorilor), mă întreb dacă nu cumva comitetul ce acordă acest premiu realmente ocolește (cum au presupus și alții) scriitorii foști disidenți anticomuniști.
Kundera, Kadare - mari scriitori care vor părăsi această lume fără a fi primit acest premiu stupid, dar atât de nedrept de bine cotat.
Fără legătură cu literatura (Nobelul n-are foarte des legătură cu literatura, ci mai ales cu militantismul autorilor), mă întreb dacă nu cumva comitetul ce acordă acest premiu realmente ocolește (cum au presupus și alții) scriitorii foști disidenți anticomuniști.
Kundera, Kadare - mari scriitori care vor părăsi această lume fără a fi primit acest premiu stupid, dar atât de nedrept de bine cotat.
March 13, 2019
Imperiul Otoman, undeva la începutul secolului 20, pe când disoluția imperiului era evidentă. La fel și birocrația, de vreme ce există o instituție numită Tabir Saray - Palatul Viselor - unde există sute și mii de funcționare, care colectează toate visele locuitorilor, le selecționează și le interpretează, ca simple vise sau, dimpotrivă, ca profeții pentru tulburări sociale, politice, revoluții sau atentate. Mark-Alem este descendentul unei familii străvechi, care se angejează aici și ne introduce în tainele unei instituții care metamorfozează orice idee de instituție, de cenzură, de control al populației din orice țară totalitară.
Sunt multe idei din cărțile lui Kadare aici (Palatul mai apare în nuvelele sale, podul cu trei arce în alt roman, istoria Albaniei etc.), dar acest volum este un demn continuator al Procesului sau al lui 1984.
Sunt multe idei din cărțile lui Kadare aici (Palatul mai apare în nuvelele sale, podul cu trei arce în alt roman, istoria Albaniei etc.), dar acest volum este un demn continuator al Procesului sau al lui 1984.
July 14, 2023
Căutam o carte care să fi fost interzisă la un moment dat, iar acest roman a fost interzis de regimul comunist al lui Enver Hodja în 1981.
Faptul că e încadrată ca și distopie m-a cucerit și într-adevăr este descrisă o societate foarte interesantă într-un mod aproape halucinant.
Personajul Mark-Alem este foarte docil și suspus normelor intrigante ale totalitarismului, când se angajează la Tabir Saray nici nu îndrăznește să se îndoaie de puterea instituției. Începe să selecteze și apoi să interpreteze vise, fiind convins că ajută Imperiul și că are un rol important. Dar cu cât ajunge mai sus, este tot mai doborât de responsabilități.
Chiar mi-a plăcut!
Faptul că e încadrată ca și distopie m-a cucerit și într-adevăr este descrisă o societate foarte interesantă într-un mod aproape halucinant.
Personajul Mark-Alem este foarte docil și suspus normelor intrigante ale totalitarismului, când se angajează la Tabir Saray nici nu îndrăznește să se îndoaie de puterea instituției. Începe să selecteze și apoi să interpreteze vise, fiind convins că ajută Imperiul și că are un rol important. Dar cu cât ajunge mai sus, este tot mai doborât de responsabilități.
Chiar mi-a plăcut!
September 14, 2019
This is another fascinating story from Ismail Kadare. It is a story of the Quprilis (Turkish: Koprulu), a noble Albanian family, and the Tabir Sarrail, the Palace of Dreams, a government ministry which wields great unbridled power. It reads very much like magical realism but is set against a historical backdrop.
Set in the time of the Ottoman Empire, the influential and respected Quprili family had illustrious members who were Viziers and other important officials. Not so for Mark-Alem who was rather insignificant, without much talent or gumption. What he did have was a maternal Quprili inheritance but counterbalanced by an Arabic paternal descent. He is thrust into a highly sought after career at the Tabir Sarrail.
The task of the Tabir is to classify and examine the dreams of all citizens without exception. The premise is that Allah sends a forewarning to the world through dreams which may come from anybody. The Tabir has to sift out ordinary dreams, as well as the “fake news” dreams, leaving only the potentially important ones and to interpret these selected dreams. Distilled at the end are Master-Dreams which determine the future of the empire.
The Tabir is a labyrinth of hallways and rooms, filled with thousands of nameless staff who stick to fixed routines and run like clockwork. It is in this Orwellian environment that the addlepated Mark-Alem has to, not only survive, but to thrive. That they collect, sort and analyse dreams seems rather odd and could only be allegorical. Also symbolic is how Mar-Alem keeps losing his way in the Tabir.
Intriguing. A nice way to end my binge on Kadare.
Set in the time of the Ottoman Empire, the influential and respected Quprili family had illustrious members who were Viziers and other important officials. Not so for Mark-Alem who was rather insignificant, without much talent or gumption. What he did have was a maternal Quprili inheritance but counterbalanced by an Arabic paternal descent. He is thrust into a highly sought after career at the Tabir Sarrail.
The task of the Tabir is to classify and examine the dreams of all citizens without exception. The premise is that Allah sends a forewarning to the world through dreams which may come from anybody. The Tabir has to sift out ordinary dreams, as well as the “fake news” dreams, leaving only the potentially important ones and to interpret these selected dreams. Distilled at the end are Master-Dreams which determine the future of the empire.
The Tabir is a labyrinth of hallways and rooms, filled with thousands of nameless staff who stick to fixed routines and run like clockwork. It is in this Orwellian environment that the addlepated Mark-Alem has to, not only survive, but to thrive. That they collect, sort and analyse dreams seems rather odd and could only be allegorical. Also symbolic is how Mar-Alem keeps losing his way in the Tabir.
Intriguing. A nice way to end my binge on Kadare.
July 1, 2024
Ky libër është një tjetër konfirmim se pse Kadare është një ndër shkrimtarët e mi të preferuar tashmë. Si gjithmonë, Kadaresë i lexoj me një frymë. Subjekti edhe një herë është shumë origjinal, por ndjesitë që përcjell janë të ngjashme me librat e tjerë: një botë surreale mbytëse por magjepsëse, ku realiteti ndërthuret me legjendat dhe e zakonshmja me absurden, e populluar me personazhe si të Kafkas, dhe me ngjarje plot simbolikë të fuqishme.
Tensioni, vetmia dhe disocimi i personazhit kryesor, Mark-Alemi, ndihet në çdo faqe. Humbja nëpër korridoret e gjata të pallatit e përforcon këtë ndjesi.
Mark-Alemi, që vinte nga një familje me emër, punësohet si nëpunës në Tabir Saraj, i cili ishte Pallati i Ëndrrave, vendi ku pushteti mblidhte dhe studionte ëndrrat e të gjithë njerëzve të asaj perandorie. Aty, ai kalon në disa role, nga seleksionues, në interpretues, dhe kështu duke u ngritur në detyrë lartë e më lartë në hierarkinë e këtij pushteti, pa qenë as vetë i vetëdijshëm se si edhe pse...
Fjala ëndërr është kryefjala në këtë libër, duke u përsëritur mbi 200 herë në këto 200 faqe. Ëndrrave i frikësohet më shumë se çdo gjë tjetër pushteti më i lartë. Ndoshta sepse ëndrra në radhë të parë është simbol i vetëdijes dhe i mendimit të lirë.
Kurioz fakti që, në këtë perandori të madhe (supozohet ajo Osmane), një popull ndalon së ëndërruari: populli shqiptar. Të mos ëndërrosh në një botë të privuar nga zgjedhja, është të refuzosh dëshirën për liri... dhe ky do të ishte një krim më i madh se çdo ëndërr-komplot.
Ka kaq shumë për të folur mbi interpretimin e Pallatit të Ëndrrave; ka shumë simbolika që kanë interpretime të ndryshme, por nuk zgjatem në këtë, sepse ka shumë ese interesante që e bëjnë këtë gjë më mirë se unë. Unë do të mjaftohem duke e këshilluar fort këtë libër, ashtu si çdo libër tjetër të Kadaresë.
Tensioni, vetmia dhe disocimi i personazhit kryesor, Mark-Alemi, ndihet në çdo faqe. Humbja nëpër korridoret e gjata të pallatit e përforcon këtë ndjesi.
Mark-Alemi, që vinte nga një familje me emër, punësohet si nëpunës në Tabir Saraj, i cili ishte Pallati i Ëndrrave, vendi ku pushteti mblidhte dhe studionte ëndrrat e të gjithë njerëzve të asaj perandorie. Aty, ai kalon në disa role, nga seleksionues, në interpretues, dhe kështu duke u ngritur në detyrë lartë e më lartë në hierarkinë e këtij pushteti, pa qenë as vetë i vetëdijshëm se si edhe pse...
Fjala ëndërr është kryefjala në këtë libër, duke u përsëritur mbi 200 herë në këto 200 faqe. Ëndrrave i frikësohet më shumë se çdo gjë tjetër pushteti më i lartë. Ndoshta sepse ëndrra në radhë të parë është simbol i vetëdijes dhe i mendimit të lirë.
Kurioz fakti që, në këtë perandori të madhe (supozohet ajo Osmane), një popull ndalon së ëndërruari: populli shqiptar. Të mos ëndërrosh në një botë të privuar nga zgjedhja, është të refuzosh dëshirën për liri... dhe ky do të ishte një krim më i madh se çdo ëndërr-komplot.
Ka kaq shumë për të folur mbi interpretimin e Pallatit të Ëndrrave; ka shumë simbolika që kanë interpretime të ndryshme, por nuk zgjatem në këtë, sepse ka shumë ese interesante që e bëjnë këtë gjë më mirë se unë. Unë do të mjaftohem duke e këshilluar fort këtë libër, ashtu si çdo libër tjetër të Kadaresë.
January 24, 2022
Kahramanımız Rüyalar Sarayında işe başlıyor ve görevi de yorumlanmak için gelen rüyaların önemli olduğunu düşündüklerini ayıklamak. Çünkü rüyalar ülkenin geleceği için, ülkeye gelecek tehditleri önlemek için çok önemli. Kahramanımızın burda yaşadıkları, hissettiklerini okuyoruz. Daha sonra da rüya tabiri birimine geçiş yapıyor. Gelişen olaylar, geçmişle olan bağlantılar derken kurgu ilerliyor. Etkili bir sonla da kitap bitiyor. Emeği geçen herkese çok teşekkür ederim. Keşke herkes okusab
June 8, 2017
Kadare's metaphor for a monolithic police state and its workings. Set in the late 19th century Ottoman Empire--I figured this out from several subtle hints in the novel--along with elements from the late 20th century, this novel tells of a young man, Mark Alem, who is employed by the Palace of Dreams, the author's surreal intelligence agency, where dreams from all over the empire are collected, sorted, interpreted, with an eye to discovering which might be a "Master-Dream" pointing to a possible coup or other upheaval in the State. When one is discovered, the sultan's secret police can nip a possible plot in the bud and do away with any perpetrators. Mark Alem starts out in the Selection Department and passes along a file containing what he feels might be a possibly incriminating dream: a wasteland filled with garbage, a musical instrument, a rampaging bull, and a bridge. When he is promoted to the Interpretation Section, he is faced with the very same dream. We don't know his final interpretation, but agents from the Master Dream Section become very busy....
A chilling and nightmarish novel, reminiscent of Kafka--the claustrophobic, labyrinthine corridors of the Palace are evoked frighteningly. Mark-Alem must find his way from one department to another alone, hoping for help. On his day off, he notices how pale and insipid the real world has become as compared with the inner lives of people in the Palace. Atmospheric.
Very highly recommended. I'd advise reading the author's Three-Arched Bridge first if possible to get some backstory.
A chilling and nightmarish novel, reminiscent of Kafka--the claustrophobic, labyrinthine corridors of the Palace are evoked frighteningly. Mark-Alem must find his way from one department to another alone, hoping for help. On his day off, he notices how pale and insipid the real world has become as compared with the inner lives of people in the Palace. Atmospheric.
Very highly recommended. I'd advise reading the author's Three-Arched Bridge first if possible to get some backstory.
July 20, 2022
Uyku ve rüyalarla alakalı tüm kitaplar ilgimi çektiği için bu kitabı da seveceğimden emindim. Tüm Jaguar kitapları gibi ilginç bir kurguya sahipti. Yer yer çeviride minik hataları fark etsem de genel olarak keyifli bir kitaptı. Tabir Sarayı'nın betimlemelerini unutacağımı sanmıyorum.
August 25, 2022
Yazarın yaratıcılığı etkileyici..
January 25, 2016
The unique idea at the heart of this story is instantly intriguing. Mark-Alem, scion of the powerful Quprili family, is given a job at a prestigious institution: the Tabir Sarrail, or Palace of Dreams. Transcriptions of citizens' dreams are collected here in their thousands, then pored over, analysed and interpreted for indications that they contain some divine prediction, a message of glory (or doom) for the Empire. The eventual aim of this mammoth task is to identify the 'Master-Dream', the most meaningful and portentous of them all, which is delivered to the Sultan on a weekly basis.
Unsurprisingly, the novel has often been compared to the works of Orwell and Kafka. Mark-Alem's job is bureaucratic yet bizarre, and cloaked in so much mystery that at first, he doesn't even know what he's supposed to be doing, or the way around the vast Palace, or what all the oddly-named departments do. There are recurring scenes in which he wanders the corridors, lost and disorientated. Parallels are drawn between being swallowed up by this place and the experience of sleep - or even death. Having become accustomed to its strange ways, Mark-Alem finds real life comparatively insipid: 'the whole world seemed to have lost all its colour, as if after a long illness... How tedious, grasping and confined this world seemed in comparison with the one he now served!' Yet when he's at work, the dream transcripts often seem incomprehensible to him. At times he marks them at random, and it's this cavalier approach to the task that ultimately brings about the plot's bloody climax. Its meaning as a political allegory is clear, but the novel is always equally enjoyable as an imaginative (often quite suspenseful) story.
Had this been a smoother read, my rating would be higher, as I really liked the story. However, I thought it had a stilted and awkward feel all the way through, and I'm convinced this can only be the result of it having been translated twice - this English version is not translated directly from the original Albanian, but from the the French edition. There were a couple of unusual recurring phrases that really jarred, and seemed like inaccurate choices; certain words were repeated with irritating frequency. I found all of this really offputting and I'm afraid it also makes me less likely to read more Kadare (though I'd first need to establish whether all of them have been through the weird Albanian-French-English treatment).
Unsurprisingly, the novel has often been compared to the works of Orwell and Kafka. Mark-Alem's job is bureaucratic yet bizarre, and cloaked in so much mystery that at first, he doesn't even know what he's supposed to be doing, or the way around the vast Palace, or what all the oddly-named departments do. There are recurring scenes in which he wanders the corridors, lost and disorientated. Parallels are drawn between being swallowed up by this place and the experience of sleep - or even death. Having become accustomed to its strange ways, Mark-Alem finds real life comparatively insipid: 'the whole world seemed to have lost all its colour, as if after a long illness... How tedious, grasping and confined this world seemed in comparison with the one he now served!' Yet when he's at work, the dream transcripts often seem incomprehensible to him. At times he marks them at random, and it's this cavalier approach to the task that ultimately brings about the plot's bloody climax. Its meaning as a political allegory is clear, but the novel is always equally enjoyable as an imaginative (often quite suspenseful) story.
Had this been a smoother read, my rating would be higher, as I really liked the story. However, I thought it had a stilted and awkward feel all the way through, and I'm convinced this can only be the result of it having been translated twice - this English version is not translated directly from the original Albanian, but from the the French edition. There were a couple of unusual recurring phrases that really jarred, and seemed like inaccurate choices; certain words were repeated with irritating frequency. I found all of this really offputting and I'm afraid it also makes me less likely to read more Kadare (though I'd first need to establish whether all of them have been through the weird Albanian-French-English treatment).
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