Biografi

Book excerpt: Peter Shapello is a village dentist in Albania until one day he recieves a visit that changes his life - and an offer he can't refuse. He will become the double for Albania's Great Leader, Enver Hoxha, the man who stands in for him on official engagements. As the unnamed narrator of Biografi goes in search of Shapello, the bizarre reality of his country reveals itself. A highly original travel book first published in 1993, Biografi is about the creation of new lives, apparitions and subversive histories. It is at once an adventure quest and a tour de force of imaginative writing - mysterious, shocking, poignant and sometimes grimly funny.