Mehmet Çalışkan's Blog
October 6, 2025
Children of Jotunheim – The Philosophical Background of Its Narrative Style
Many readers might perceive the novel’s “emotionally distant” style as a weakness. However, this distance forms the philosophical mirror at the heart of the story. Just as we feel “detached” when reading about past atrocities in history books, I deliberately created the same sense of distance in Children of Jotunheim.
This narrative approach mirrors humanity’s detached relationship with its own dark past. I guide the reader to witness not the characters’ suffering, but our own emotionally distant perspective on that suffering. This becomes one of the novel’s most powerful messages:
“Just like in history books, do we look at the tragedies we’ve created from the outside?”
To create a mythological atmosphere, I transformed my characters from individuals into archetypes. Eric represents conscience, Helen embodies logic, and Iosis symbolizes destruction. This choice allows the story to transcend individual drama and become an allegory of humanity’s collective sins.
The distant narrative is intentionally broken in “Thirty Days Through the Eyes of a Hybrid”. Here, we experience only 30 days of a hybrid’s brief life from their perspective. This sudden inner view disrupts the godlike tone of the rest of the novel and makes the weight of emotional detachment palpable.
Ultimately, this cold style is not emotional indifference—it is a mirror of humanity’s own lack of empathy. The narrative distance is not a flaw; it is the most powerful storytelling tool I consciously chose.
Mehmet Çalışkan
This narrative approach mirrors humanity’s detached relationship with its own dark past. I guide the reader to witness not the characters’ suffering, but our own emotionally distant perspective on that suffering. This becomes one of the novel’s most powerful messages:
“Just like in history books, do we look at the tragedies we’ve created from the outside?”
To create a mythological atmosphere, I transformed my characters from individuals into archetypes. Eric represents conscience, Helen embodies logic, and Iosis symbolizes destruction. This choice allows the story to transcend individual drama and become an allegory of humanity’s collective sins.
The distant narrative is intentionally broken in “Thirty Days Through the Eyes of a Hybrid”. Here, we experience only 30 days of a hybrid’s brief life from their perspective. This sudden inner view disrupts the godlike tone of the rest of the novel and makes the weight of emotional detachment palpable.
Ultimately, this cold style is not emotional indifference—it is a mirror of humanity’s own lack of empathy. The narrative distance is not a flaw; it is the most powerful storytelling tool I consciously chose.
Mehmet Çalışkan
