Kristaq Turtulli

Mysteries of "little Paris" Kristaq Turtulli

Korca is known for its western-influenced culture and its essential role in the history of Albania. The title referring to "Paris" is due to this western influence that the city has. Albanian's among themselves refer to the town as "Little Paris." The author himself is from Korca and very knowledgeable of its history and culture. Throughout the novel, the author takes us into different periods. Stela, the narrator, is sharing her present situation in post-WWII, but she continuously goes back in time to talk about the history of her family. The author talks about the changes in social conditions between periods and the shift in how her family is perceived. The mood of the story is gloomy as the author tries to express the hardships that a lot of people had to live through with the change of the system and installation of the communist regime. The story is fictional but can very well be defined as a historical novel as it can be the story of many families in Albania during that time. A lot of Stela's hardships were a reality for many Albanian families during the communist regime. The moral or lessons of this novel are multi-fold, it talks about ingratitude, humanism, love for country, pride, and diversity.