Reading guide: A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare, translated by John Hodgson
Ismail Kadare’s novel is a fascinating meditation on Soviet Russia, authoritarianism, power structures and the relationship between writers and tyranny
John Hodgson
John Hodgson, who was born in 1951, taught at the Universities of Pristina and Tirana after studying English literature at Cambridge and Newcastle.
He has worked as a translator and interpreter at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague. He has translated five novels by Ismail Kadare, including The Traitor’s Niche, and several works by Fatos Lubonja, including Second Sentence and The False Apocalypse. He lives in London.
All nominated books
Ismail Kadare conjures up a surreal tale of tyranny and rebellion, in a Kafkaesque land where languages are banned and memories extinguished. Translated by John Hodgson.
Translated by John Hodgson
A fascinating meditation on Soviet Russia, authoritarianism, power structures and a period of great writers. Translated from Albanian by John Hodgson.
Translated by John Hodgson
