Broken April

In the stark mountains of 1930s northern Albania, young Gjorg Berisha is compelled by the ancient Kanun code to kill his brother's murderer, setting in motion a cycle of vengeance from which he cannot escape. He is granted a 30-day truce—the “bessa”—during which he must pay a blood tax and face the inevitability of his own death. Meanwhile, a newlywed couple from the city visits the region, offering outsiders’ eyes on the brutal tradition and highlighting the clash between modern values and ancestral law. Kadare’s spare, haunting prose makes Broken April a poignant meditation on fate, honor, and the tragic toll of cultural custom.