anoush
Reader
Another Turkish writer I've seen appear in English, thanks to a few edition from Marion Boyars, is Latife Tekin. From what I can gather, she's some sort of Turkish magical realist. Any thoughts?
In other news, I've stumbled acros this site which lists Contemporary Turkish Literature in Translation. I suppose, unless you know who to look for, the genre section (Novel is listed as a genre), is the best to get a list of such translations to English.
I've read the english translation to Latife Tekin's Berji Kristin: Tales from the Garbage Hills. The book is very clever. It tells the story of a slum created by country migrants who come to the city in search of work. The text follows the development of this slum's society over time and shows how folklore, songs and traditions are created from the experiences of everyday circumstances. There is a sense of magical realism in the way nature is personified, but not I think as much as there is in her other books. There is a strong sense of nihilism in the book as well and it deals with the darker elements of society. It's not an easy read, in part I think caused by there being no main character all the way through. The narrative follows the stories of multiple characters and how they impact the on the garbage hills. I could see people either loving or hating it. So perhaps it's one to check out from the library. Basically this type of writing is never going to be a best-seller in the UK and does not have the commercial appeal that Orhan Pamuk has.
I also have the translation of her first Dear Shameless Death which I have yet to get round to reading.
anoush
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