Description
Enver Hoxha’s Years of My Childhood is the first volume in his series of reminiscences, acquainting the reader with the earliest period of his life and with the city that formed his first indelible impressions and habits. A book of recollections centred on Gjirokastra between 1908 and 1927, it brings Enver Hoxha’s childhood environment to life through its famous castle, houses, alleyways, schools, neighbourhoods and lively people. He gives special attention to the character of the city itself: its position on a mountain slope, its defensive construction, its stone houses and memorable gates — in a word, the skill of the anonymous builders who, through the centuries, were responsible for its distinctive appearance. Gjirokastra thus appears both as the author’s birthplace and as an historical setting defined by its all-consuming stone.
Aside from the characteristics of the city itself, the reader follows Enver Hoxha’s recollections of family life, schooldays, games, outings and encounters with simple people. The figure whom he calls “father” — the mayor of Gjirokastra, Hysen Hoxha — the women of his household, well-remembered childhood companions, stone craftsmen, bakers, peasants, national minorities and the poor appear with particular warmth. It is among these thrifty, dignified people that Enver Hoxha receives his first lessons in life. At the same time, the author engages with the themes of the period: poverty, landowners, beys and aghas, the regime of Ahmet Zogu, but also the emergence of new patriotic currents and educational institutions. Years of My Childhood is a valuable memoir for understanding Enver Hoxha’s own interpretation of his earliest years, written with the perspective of many decades and after four decades in power.