Biografi: A Traveler's Tale

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Albania from 2008 to 2009 and in my opinion this book is still current. Reading it I was struck my how accurate and true-to-life a lot of his impressions are. The main drawback was a slight incoherency regarding his experiences outside of Albania, back in New Zealand, before and after the main body of work. This book should be required reading for anyone heading to the Balkans who wants a better idea of some of the hardships the region went through; obviously centered on Albania as it emerged from dictatorship and continues to struggle with free market entry today.

Having traveled in Albania around the same time as the unnamed narrator in this book, I found the book's descriptions of people and places exceptionally accurate. A great story, a terrific device for conveying the misery and insecurity of immediate post-transition Albania, and well-written besides.

When I started reading "Biografi," I expected a straightforward travelogue on Albania and its peoples. After all, Albania seems to bring out the travelogue in authors. I can think of several on Albania alone off the top of my head. But most of these are 19th and early 20th century journals. What is surprising is that even in the 1990's, and one assumes into the future, travelogues are and will still be written on a country that is, amazingly enough, in Europe. The reason for this is few know anything about Albania. There may be a vague recollection of its Communist past; beyond this people draw a blank. This is where the travelogues come in; they are an easy way of discovering and presenting the unknown. Unfortunately, they are often grossly inaccurate and fraught with bias or outright hostility by the author in question. The topic, in this case Albania, is the problem. To outsiders, Albania is weird. Centuries of Ottoman domination destroyed any chance of development and left the majority of the population Muslim (at least nominally), and the rugged terrain further hindered outside influence. What makes this book different is that it isn't travelogue in the orthodox sense; it is a strange mix of fact and fantasy about a misunderstood country.I was greatly pleased to read that Jones learned about Albania the same way I did, namely through shortwave radio. I vividly remember listening to Radio Tirana back in the 1980's. Tirana always stood out on the dial because the Chinese transmitters were so poorly modulated that the announcers sounded as though they were talking into a bucket. Jones's neighbor, who plays a prominent part in this book, often listened to Radio Tirana, and Jones became interested. When the Communist collapses came in the early 1990's, Jones decided to take a trip to Albania (lucky duck!). This book is the result.Jones's quest in Albania is to find Petar Shapallo. Petar, a dentist by trade, is abducted by Communist leader Enver Hoxha's secret police so he can become Hoxha's body double. Shapallo assumes Hoxha's duties when Hoxha is ill. When Hoxha dies, Shapallo is cast out into society, where his likeness to a suddenly unpopular leader leads Shapallo to mutilate his face and go into hiding. During the search for Shapallo, Jones runs into a grand cast of characters, both local and foreign. Jones even talks to Hoxha's widow, Nexhmije, along the way. Everywhere Jones goes, he finds a country in a freefall into chaos. What's worse, the people are decaying just as rapidly. Albanians constantly worry over their "biografi," which are official files held by the Albanian secret police. The stories are heartrending; people locked up, exiled, or executed for trivial matters. A family member of thirty years ago with the wrong connections can land their descendents in jail, or worse. Outside of these biografis, Albanians seem to have no identity of their own.Jones is very concerned with journeys in this book. Everyone is going somewhere; Jon

See how Enver Hoxha ruled with his people... You'll find it hard to believe...

A facinating look at a country and culture that was hidden from us for nearly 50 years. Not your normal travelogue...but one with a unique progression to its end.