The Small Library in Chaos

During Albania’s 1997 civil collapse, two brothers build a secret library of rescued books amid the chaos.

Albania, 1997. As civil unrest engulfs the country, brothers Dardan (14) and Drilon (10) find themselves trapped at home while violence rages outside. To comfort his frightened younger brother, Dardan reads from a damaged copy of “Two Years’ Vacation,” only to discover the final chapters are missing. When Dardan invents an optimistic ending, Drilon begs to know the real conclusion. Venturing to their abandoned school, Dardan can’t find another copy but instead rescues other endangered books, creating a secret library behind a wall panel in their bedroom. As their collection grows through increasingly dangerous rescue missions, their small library becomes not just an escape but an act of resistance against the chaos. When vandals threaten to burn the remaining school books, Dardan and his father undertake one final, desperate rescue. Years later, Dardan discovers the novel’s actual ending—far less powerful than his creation.