A dark and emotive novel.

General Overview
An interesting recommendation from a friend that I enjoyed as a book, and also as an impromptu study on leadership. General of the Dead Army delivers a very real and human story of the Second World War and those left behind after it.

Style
I have never read a book, as far as I am aware, from an Albanian author before. Mr Ismail Kadare has a strong writing style, that smoothly jumps from the last or the present and from different perspectives.

The tangential stories that come across us for a chapter or so are a delight, and add to the whole piece of work he has made.

His protagonist, The General, is never named. This adds instant feel to who he is as a character. A man who is known by his job and status alone, but not as a simple human. This has great meaning later on the book, and shows a good writers hand for Mr Kadare.

Story
The General has been tasked by his Ministry of Defence, to recover all the buried dead of his country left in Albanian from the Second World War. After meticulously planning, and hearing the countless pleas from widows and so forth, he sets off with the aid of a Priest and a small team to exhume the lost regiments.

The General being Italian puts an interesting slant on this piece, as he is also on the hunt for the body of a Colonel Z, a notorious figure of the war hated by the Albanians. This Colonel Z becomes key later on, and leads to a truly moving and thought provoking conclusion.

This book speaks very disparagingly of the local Albanians, a clear ploy of the authors on how we all views ‘not of our own’ when our understanding is based off a history of violence.

It is a bleak yet humourful story, with lovingly describe scenes that set the whole narrative.

The final chapters really made me look at the character of the protagonist more, and how poorly at times he performs his duty. A job of great strains and hardship he has be given, when looked down upon from his predecessors for being as he calls him, a peacetime General.

But to fail as he does really speaks to his character, and the failings people of power can easily show when put under pressure, and if they become ignorant to reality. For though we do not see this in how the character is named, The General is as human as us all.

Final Thoughts
A great read, and one I would never have come across without the recommendation. For anyone interested in leadership, this is one worth picking up.

Der General und der Priester sind Teil der Armee eines nicht genannten Landes - klar wird im Verlauf, dass dieses Land Italien ist. Sie kommen nach Albanien, um die Gebeine der Soldaten nach Hause zu bringen, die im zweiten Weltkrieg gefallen sind. Auf seinem Weg durch das Land bekommt der General verstreute Geschichten über das lokale Leben und Albanien im zweiten Weltkrieg mit.
Insbesondere sucht er Oberst Z und findet ihn, als in einer dramatischen Szene hervorkommt, dass er von der Mutter eines Mädchens ermordet wurde, das er vergewaltigt hatte und das sich umgebracht hatte.
Der General hat durch die ihm auferlegte Aufgabe psychische Probleme und trinkt zu viel.

Das Narrativ war etwas bruchstückhaft. Nur einige wenige Charaktere hatten Namen, die anderen, auch die Hauptcharaktere, waren "Der General" oder "Der Spezialist". Eine Signifikanz dieser Tatsache ist nicht sofort augenscheinlich. Der General war ein anstrengender, aber gut gezeichneter Charakter, da er ständig Aufmerksamkeit brauchte und sich betrank.

This is good. Parts of it are really good, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.