In a field crowded with literary heavyweights, Albanian author Ismail Kadare didn’t exactly stand out on the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize. But while his win several weeks back was a surprise to many in the publishing world (and to the author himself,) there can be no doubt as to Kadare’s significance. “At 69, Kadare is Albania’s most beloved literary export and one of the central cultural figures in the recently troubled Balkan region — but unlike many other Eastern Europeans writing under socialist regimes, he was no dissident. His early writings earned him wide acclaim in official (and tightly controlled) literary circles, and he was particularly well received by Albania’s then-ruler, Enver Hoxha.”