Walking through some wasteland near the lake, which also serves as a dumping ground, I saw some books abandoned with the rubbish. Normally I wouldn't wish this on a book, but after a closer look I understood.
And now the end is near and so i face nanananana... Never did like that crappy song. But it's true nevertheless. Tomorrow in the wee hours of the morning we will be heading for the airport for the last time. I suppose it was too much to expect that I could have kept this going while getting ready to leave. So apologies for the lack of postings over the last weeks. This is post number 380 something so I suppose one post every two days is not a bad average. There were probably 380 more in my head or scribbled down on scraps of paper, but many of them are perhaps best left there. I suppose I should be penning - or typing - my final thoughts and reflections on two years in Tirana, but right now I don't have any. Maybe in a month or two though I might come back with something. Thanks to all of you who have read this blog - especially those of you who have become regulars. Thanks also for linking and thanks to all who left comments. As for the other stars of the blog, Bella now has h...
Comments
Ok, I understand that they don't want to deal with the past anymore, but throwing away any book is a sin. Afterall, it's a part of our past and history and we should learn from our mistakes not be in denial. At least keep them in a library from reference.
It's tragicomic. I don't think that throwing away "any book" is a sin. There are plenty of books that are pure garbage. And most of Enver's repetitive propaganda fit that description.
Take the book Alwyn has photographed. "Historia e Partise Punes se Shqiperise". That book is not the true history, but it's what Enver wanted people to be perceived as history, hence it's pure garbage, and deserves to rot away.
nice catch Alwyn!
When are you leaving the land of eagles anyway?
Ohh you should have seen my fathers bookcase a few years back.
He had volumes of them, I think there are about 12 volumes (Works) in total. Turned out a bit useful (the actual pages, not the content) in the end because I perfected the "art" of paper plane making.
Even now at 23 I'm a true expert on paper planes!
Anon If you click on 5265 (now 5265-1) you'll see the original. I've played with contrast and sharpness a bit. It's 3.4 MB so it might take a few moments to load.
I think we should preserve all points of view. You can analyze and study Enver's technique so that we won't be fooled again.
THese books are certainly kept at the reference library...I think what Alwyn has photographed was the throw-away collection of some family/person.
It is actually interesting to read a few passages from some of them (especially the ones bearing the name "Enver Hoxha" as the author). When reading them, if you can get past the obvious propaganda, one can sort of disect the passages to find some historical trueth. Not that anything printed in them was true, but only saying one can find out how the party perceived certain individulas and how they reacted after each split with each superpower etc etc. Whats always amazed me is that Hoxha himself was credited with 100 books, most of them coming after 1978-79. Sadly as most people know, he was so inadequate after that time, that he could barely attend party meetings, let alone write books. No doubt most if not all of them were shadow-written, and I think a few of them by good writers too. For example "Titistet", or the "Titoists" in English, is full of historical passages and half-trueths. I doubt Hoxha himself could have written a 400 page book so elequently all the while being in charge of the party and state!