The Pianist's Monologue is a darkly satirical journey through the political and cultural ruins of a post-communist capital. Narrated by a tired, drunken tour guide, the book paints a vivid, grotesque panorama of Albania's central boulevard—where ministries, museums, and monuments collapse under the weight of corruption, decay, and absurdity. From stolen gold and fake reforms to ghost institutions and plagiarized professors, this is a guided tour through a city where nothing functions as it should, and everything hides something rotten beneath. With biting irony and tragic humor, the narrator exposes the hypocrisy of power and the hopelessness of those who stay behind. "Don't seek meaning," he says. "Seek alcohol." In this city, truth is unbearable, and the only honest guide is the one who's given up. )