In his compelling prequel to The Successor, Kadare draws us into a land deprived of choice, a country under a reign of terror. The spellbinding Agamemnon's Daughter was written in Albania in the 1980s and smuggled into France a few pages at a time. It reveals a world where fear is an instrument of power, but the individual survives despite the odds.

I'm delighted to have found this book! Kadare is a great and important writer and I look forward to reading this. Thanks Canongate.

There are three stories in this. Agamemnon's Daughter is Excellent. I like how the narrative shows the protagonist's thoughts and how he interconnects the myths that he is reading with what he sees going on around him. A very telling commentary on Albanian society of the 1980s with relevance to any oppresive regime.

The Blinding orders is also excellent. Set in the Ottoman Empire it is nonetheless entirely applicable to any repressive regime during any period of history.

I also enjoyed The Great Wall with its thoughtful insights into boundaries and ideas of cause and effect.

I gave this book to AutumnWitch who read it and enjoyed it but she gave it back to me instead of passing it on. I'm putting it up as part of my Christmas Giveaway on my blog over the next few days.

http://craftygreenpoet.blogspot.com

The book was won by mazzlestar, and I'll send it to her in the next few days.