I read Spring Flowers, Spring Frost by Ismail Kadare

It's 1999, and Albania has spent the last century going through two world wars, the rise and fall of Communism, and the establishment of a new, UN and NATO-led order is on the horizon. Amid this chaos, something strange seems to be working in the shadows... Starting with a fascination with old mythology and folktales, a small-town painter working at the local arts centre begins to get the feeling that the truly ancient old laws, of blood feuds and revenge, may be taking advantage of the power vacuum to stage a comeback.

I really enjoyed this one. It's funny that I found it in Stephen's house and started reading it even though he hadn't read it himself; it really reminds me of the tempo and feeling of his "...Of The Killer" games. Kafka comparisons are always a bit stale/overdone, but I did also like the way that this book makes similar logical leaps or transformations in space to represent the character's inner shifts or incoherence, while also maintaining a consistent realism on the moment-to-moment level no matter how surreal the situation gets. I also like fiction about artists who are kind of lame and not very successful in general lol.