I was thoroughly absorbed by your novel “Kloroform”. I am happy to see there is at least one of our contemporaries, who dared recreate through her art the difficult and dark times our generation lived in. The novel begins with a traumatic and shocking event, which was also a characteristic constant of our times. It threatened our dreams, passions and quality of life but could never wipe our souls to the end. That is why Alma describes “…(a) second being inside me, cold and condescending, that continuously makes fun of everything, as if it is the only one who unraveled what all other idiots in its way couldn’t: the mystery of life!”

The novel skillfully displays all complex elements that complete the human universe brutally destroyed in our times. A group of “elite” friends, which I call lucky to have found an opportunity to express and exchange the freedom of their inner worlds even from within a small damp basement, become the protagonists of this novel that depicts the dictatorship of the times in all its dimensions. However, our Klara does not stop here. She is able to draw all layers of our society and skillfully recreate a world of seemingly simple people through its riveting plot elements.

This book is not a light read. It made me go back in time and experience once again those traumatic times salvaged only by our youth and angelic dreams. It reminded me of our “DEA”, the symbol of Albanian art and culture that my student brother, an amateur artist, had reproduced in charcoal for me. I hung it in our simple dormitory room, above my bed stand. One day, when I came back from class, I found it on the floor. I put it back on the stand. Several days later it was on the floor again. It continued like this, until one day I found it on top of my stand, torn in 4-5 pieces… The dormitory caretaker was a woman with an hourglass feminine body and a massacred soul, a completely ‘chloroformed” being. I still feel the anger…did the state stop at nothing?

Klara you have succeeded in your task. Thank you for this elegant gift. Looking forward to another such powerful and delicate creation!

With respect and affection,

Ermira Paza

Veterinary Doctor

Your class and college mate