Rumors multiply. A secret police is formed. Conspiracies--real and imagined--swirl around the rising edifice. The most drastic purges follow. By the time the first stone is laid, Cheops's subjects are terrified enough to yield to his most murderous whims. Each time one of the massive stones is hoisted into place, dozens of men are crushed, and there are tens of thousands of stones. . . .
Richer and more encompassing than a political fable . . . Like Kafka, Kadare has the gift of writing parables of great weight in the lightest of tones.