ANALYSIS:  COHESION - Almost like a chain, the Albanian mountaineers are linked interminably to this custom/curse. Even the other scriptures in the Kanun seem inextricably linked to this bloodshed; ‘stainless’ acts transform to bloody from ‘generation to generation’.

THE KANUN - Entrenched within their culture is the Kanun which prescribes the vendetta for its followers. Essentially it is regulated by the idea that vengeance must be carried out on the murderer of your kin then you yourself (after a period of decided relief) must be killed in return in recompense for your murder. With very little room for truce or appeasement this futile series of innocent deaths is almost absurd yet so instantly accepted that villages have an almost clinical/perfunctory appraisal of the post mortem ritual and deciding the number of days of the bessa as though they are discussing a holiday, it is so second nature as they discuss the technicalities of this murderous ritual in an almost rehearsed/conversational tone. As if the murder wasnt crippling enough, families are expected to hang a constant reminder in order to shame them to quick action - hanging the bloodied death shirt of the victim until it is cleaned upon vengeance being exacted. It is almost unbelievable how the Kanun works and the depth to which it describes the technicalities to performing murder 'correctly'. There is even an imbalance on the weight of petty infractions of honour versus the lightness with which murder is dealt with.

MURDER/DEATH - To the Albanian, gjaks is a killer of reciprocity and therefore not a pejorative term. Furthermore it is like this custom necessitates morbidity as Gjorg prosaically plans his own funeral whilst enduring that of the man he killed. Greater offence is taken to breaking the code than the act of murder itself.

Once the bessa is initiated there is a surprising expectation that unless you have an extraordinary aspiration or unfulfilled life wish) you just continue with quotidian banality until your time is up. To the mountain people death of natural causes is embarrassing. The horribly bathetic ending merely gives a prosaic insight into the reality. No rose tinted glasses. No happy endings. Just endless murders and premature deaths.

OPPOSITION - Unlike the others it seems, Gjorg is tortured and sickened by the custom. Otherwise, no one dares to question any of it. It appears that the Kanun is penetrative all the way to the unconscious - it pervades bias, perspective and knowledge. To the outer world, the High Plateau is essentially ungovernable other than by the Kanun and custom - so ingrained is it in the very lifestyle and mindset of these people - is inextricable from their very blood. It appears that its followers are so indoctrinated as to feel indignation at its questioning to being called blood-feudology. Even the idea of an alternative mindset is indigestible to subservient minds.

MOURNING - Mourning customs appear quite affected with traditional displays of grief - clawing faces and hair tearing (applicable even from the days of Ovid) are performed by professional mourners. Then almost to exacerbate it further it is customary and respectful to mourn alongside the relatives of the man you kill - a sadistic way to worsen the life of a man whose days are already numbered.

GENDER - Kadare gives also an interesting insight into the disparity between men and women's lives. Not only is Gjorg's father the only one we really interact with (the mother a silent, non-imposing, secondary figure) but also women live separate to the men, on the first floor. The trousseau (Dowry) is still very much a thing and, shockingly, part of the marital custom is the trousseau bullet - functioning as a husbands means to kill his bride if ever she left or betrayed him. Diana sparks fear becuase of her doubts, inquisitive mind and divergence from blind conformity.

BREAKING APRIL - The sub-plot revolves around the painful prospect of an unfinished April (eponymous reference) - Gjorg sees it as a split between his existence. The 26 years before the blood shed and the 30 days afterwards are the pivotal halves of his broken existence.

HOSPITALITY - A totem of Albanian culture appears to be hospitality and how the guest has greater importance than the property owner themselves. The title of guest erases all accountability - there is a definitive hierarchy.

SHELTERED - Outside of these isolated sectors - the outside looks on in awe of the myths, the legends and the mystery of the Kanun and all it entails - it’s extremely claustrophobic for people inside the bubble alienated from alternative thinking. To the married couple it is like looking in on an alternate universe or discussing a fable. To Bessian, the epitome of the mystified tourist it is a source of abundant imagination - sparking tales and wonder - blind to the brutal reality. They make a spectacle of the mountain people who are even more primitive than the rest of the country. Although he attempts initially to romanticise this murderous tradition, narrating the landscape enigmatically and existentially as though imagining his book, instead, he is crushed to demystify and debunk a legend much too horrific to glorify even with the licence of literature. The idea of literature and things that disparage the Kanun are separated from the good literature and known as tainted - the selectiveness of teachings maintains narrow-mindedness and demonstrates how the Kanun prevails over the people.

HUSBAND AND WIFE - There is an interesting dynamic between husband and wife - initially it is as though she is nervous as to quash his ego and caters to him but what is fascinating is the suddenness of her change and how she changes.

STAGNANT - There almost appears to be a deeper meaning behind the meaning of 'plateau' as if to relate to the stagnant atmosphere and culture of the region.

BLOOD - There is a recurrent motif of blood and red throughout - it orchestrates everything.

CORRUPTION - Ordinarily would be dismissed as strict custom but slowly the corruption and vested monetary interest in the Kanun and the blood feud are revealed - including instigating and riling up people to exacerbate and fulfil feuds. It reveals plainly the capacity for something to become corruptible once a group is alienated from outer world influence e.g. different ways of thinking.