Kadare, Ismail. Translated into English from the French of Jusuf Vrioni by David Bellos. The File on H. 1997.

When the tape recorder was first invented, two Irish Homeric scholars travelled to Albania to try to record the poems of the last surviving epic storytellers, were believed by the Albanian government to be spies. The novel is told from the point of view of several characters, through narrative following their thoughts and actions, and through passages from their journals. It is literary and delightful. Concise, but with enough lack of closure to invite further reflection after you've finished reading.

I say no more than that so that you might read it.