The Pyramid (Kadare novel)
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The Pyramid (Template:Langx) is a 1992 novel written by Ismail Kadare. It is considered to serve both literary and dissident purposes.[1] It is a political allegory of absolute political power.
Background
The first part of the novel was written in 1988-1990 but was rejected by the state publisher.[2] It was serialized in January 1991 in several issues of the new opposition newspaper Democratic Renaissance. [3] After the establishment of pluralism and democracy in Albania, it was completed and published in Tirana and Paris.[2]
Plot
The Pyramid is a political allegory set in ancient Egypt. It is the tale of the conception and construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza by Cheops, but also of absolute political power.[3]
Reception
The New York Times picked up on the significance of The Pyramid:
"For the pyramid, viewed by his subjects as an abiding symbol of his total and incontestable power, comes to be seen by him as a personal memento mori, a constant and paralyzing reminder that his brief life will give way to an eternal entombment in stone."[4]
In 1993, the novel was awarded the Prix Méditerranée Étranger in France.[5]