In the past three decades, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the last bastion of Stalinism in Europe, the "prison literature" around the world became richer with novels published in Albania, which was a living model of "Gulag" during the years 1945-1990.

One outstanding figure from the new generation is Besnik Mustafaj, born in 1958. He defected from the regime early, led demonstrations in Albania in 1989, became a member of parliament in the first democratic elections, served as Albania's ambassador to Paris, then as Minister of Foreign Affairs, before dedicating himself to literature: poetry, short stories, and novels.

His works include "A Small Epic about Prison," first published in Tirana in 1995, followed by editions in Albania and North Macedonia, and translations into French, German, and Italian in 2018.

Unlike other novelists who have been imprisoned and wrote about their prison experiences, Besnik Mustafaj does not focus on an individual experience or a whole generation. Instead, he addresses three generations, with a particular focus on the years 1945-1990. He explores prison from two perspectives: the prisoners and the jailers, along with the regime, which is essentially a continuing dictatorship under various names.