The Boys of the War

The novel "Djemtë e luftës" is a rare biographical account that brings back to readers' attention the lives of Albanian children during the Second World War. It is also a tribute to Durrës and to the resistance this city offered to the fascist occupation from the very first day.

At the centre of this true event is the heroic yet painful story of Met Hasa, a young orphan who covered the barrel of a Nazi machine gun with his tender chest. It is a living chronicle of that time, as it is linked to the author's childhood memories and to other real characters.

Leafing through the book, as if it were the pages of a diary, the reader will get to know the toys, dreams, worries and hardships of the peers of another era, as well as their school and teachers; they will see how these children filled their world with joy, and how from an upended childhood they rose again and came out stronger.