Excerpt from Indignity by Lea Ypi, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

'I wonder what gave that away…'

'You said you're going to the former Sigurimi archives. That's how foreigners talk. There are no "formers" here. It's the same as it ever was, all the same people. My daughter, she's now from Florida, comes once a year. She also claims it all looks different.'

I want to explain I hadn't meant it in that way, but there is no natural break in his stream of words.

'I'm old, I used to be an import/export truck driver, travelled the world before everyone else. I was in Poland, in Krakow – do you know how many times…'

He pauses to let out a long whistle, as if he wanted the sound to travel all the way from Tirana to Krakow and back again.

'The sunglasses are from those days – I like them, they make everything look dark, with a little red glow. Trust me, nothing has changed, it's the same as it ever was.'

'This has changed though, hasn't it?' I say, pointing at the endless line of cars stuck at the red light just before the turning on to Four Heroes Street.

'They don't know how to drive,' he replies with the evident satisfaction of someone accustomed to crushing such a superficial objection. 'Every day I think I'll be killed. Wouldn't it be better if they just walked? As we all did, back in the day. Now they inhale this poison every morning, then, in the evening, they pay for yoga and the gym.'

'Other things have changed too,' I say, just to see how he will respond. 'Look at all those new trees the mayor has planted.'

'Ha, you're just like my daughter!' he exclaims. 'She only comes for New Year's Eve – there's some sort of Christmas deal with the airline. And she falls in love with the lights on the trees. Have you seen what happens here in winter? There are so many lights you'd think there was a war. All because of the Christmas decorations. Come at any other time, and you'll see it for yourself – nothing's changed, it's the same as it ever was. Even the trees know it.'

I'm still mulling over the favourite pastime here, 'Is it the same? Is it different?', when, suddenly, he slams on the brakes and, with the window rolled down, starts cursing at other drivers as he attempts a U-turn. We've just passed Et'hem Bey Mosque, turned left on to George W. Bush Street and are approaching Joan of Arc Boulevard when he decides to change course.

'I just remembered something,' he says, once the manoeuvre is complete. 'You want to go to the new office, right? The one they moved to recently?'

I shrug. 'Not sure,' I reply, pulling out my phone to double-check the address in the email:

Dear Dr Ypi

I am writing regarding your request, No. 736, submitted on 10.05.2022, in your capacity as a researcher, to access documentation from the former State Security concerning citizens Leman Ypi (Leskoviku), Asllan Ypi and Xhafer Ypi.

In accordance with Article 36 of Law No. 45/2015, 'On the Right to Information Concerning Documentation of the Former State Security of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania' (amended), Law No. 9887/2008, 'On the Protection of Personal Data' (amended), and the guidelines 'For Researchers/Media' approved by Decision No. 24.09.2020, the Authority has decided to make the following documentation available:

a) Documentation from File 531 concerning citizen Leman Ypi, 34 pages

b) Documentation from Fund 1, Investigative Judicial File 1355 concerning citizen Asllan Ypi, 666 pages

c) Documentation from Fund 1, Investigative Judicial File 1384 concerning citizen Xhafer Ypi, 138 pages

Please bring an ID card with you, as it is required by the security protocol for entering the premises of the Skanderbeg Military Garrison, where the Authority has recently relocated.

Signed: Eva D.

Specialist Employee of the Authority for Information Concerning Documentation of the Former State Security Service, Department of Research, Media, etc.

Excerpted from Indignity by Lea Ypi. Copyright © 2025 by Lea Ypi. Excerpted by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.