Ismail Kadare, the "Homer of Albania," blends myth and history. Subtly laconic and sophisticated. A minor official, who has never seen an unveiled woman, is ordered by the Sultan to bring half a million veils to the conquered provinces in the Balkans. The beauty of women who do not hide their faces shakes his worldview, and a dangerous sorrow creeps into his heart. In three extraordinary tales, the cruel logic of totalitarian power is revealed, affecting even the smallest corners of the Ottoman Empire, whether it spies on the emotional stirrings of individuals or outright eliminates the entire elite of a rebellious satellite state.