The Palace of Dreams (1981)
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In an unnamed empire, all of the citizen’s dreams are collected, sorted, and interpreted in a sprawling central fortress, with the goal of identifying “master dreams” portentous of the Empire and monarch’s future. Young Mark-Alem initially feels lucky to have scored a job there. This Kadare novel was banned in Albania upon publication, and the English-language edition (which I read) was translated from a French-language translation. Hardly the ideal reading situation, but the circular repetitive nature of the narrative perfectly echoes the narrator’s ascent into his nightmarish employment.
