The Messenger Boy Murders

by Perihan Mağden, Richard Hamer (Translation)

Unwillingly charged with investigating mysterious deaths among the city's fleet of seemingly perfect, ageless messenger boys, Stravrogin encounters the city's strange, charismatic characters and its even stranger secret—a program of genetic engineering.

Genres: Turkish, Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Perihan Mağden is a Turkish novel writer and columnist in newspapers, especially known for her wit and diverse use of language.

Mağden was born in 1960 in Istanbul. After graduating from Robert College of Istanbul, she studied psychology at Boğaziçi University. By her own account, she was an unruly student—and her mother was proud of it.
One of the most famous writers in young Turkish literature, Perihan Magden has spent some time at Yaddo, the famous artists' community.
Mağden is a single mother who lives in Istanbul.
In addition to writing editorial columns for Turkish newspapers, Mağden has also published fictional novels and a collection of poetry. Mağden's novel İki Genç Kızın Romanı (Two Girls), published in 2005 by Serpent's Tail, was praised for pushing "Turkish beyond its conventional literary patterns" and compared to J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye for the way she had captured adolescent anguish.
She spent some years in far east countries. Her novel 2 Girls has been a big success in homeland Turkey and became an award winning movie premiered in Europe in London Film Festival right after Sydney. She is the author of Messenger Boy Murders (Haberci Çocuk Cinayetleri), The Companion (Refakatçi) and Escape (Biz kimden kaciyorduk, Anne?). Her latest novel Ali and Ramazan published in 2010 in Turkish and now out by Suhrkamp (German) and AmazonCrossing (USA). Her latest essays on Turkey are collected under the title Political Essays (Politik Yazılar). Her novels have been translated into 19 languages including English, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Greek and Russian.

Reviews

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent book. It is like talking late into the night in a French cafe, the words disappearing like the smoke rings from Turkish cigarettes... made me nostalgic for catching trains through Europe at midnight and a time when nothing was as important as books like this.
Thank you for the rec, Katerina :)

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

This dopey book was given to me some time ago by some dopey girl. I think. I think it was a dopey girl, though it could've been a regular girl. The book though was pretty dopey.

Imagine a detective story in which the detective does little in the way of detecting. He sits, he drinks, he pines for a woman and he ponders the mystery surrounding the murders of a group of Stepford-wifelike messenger boys. Perfect boys with perfect features delivering messages with perfect precision. The detective doesn't get very far and therefore neither does the story.

The best part was when a dwarf explains why women are attracted to dwarfs, because they want to have sex with their own children it would seem. I am currently reading a book entitled Werner Herzog's Guide for the Perplexed and in it he talks of getting in touch with one's inner dwarf. This is something I am working on. I hope the ladies will notice.

[mert · Rating 3 out of 5]

perihan mağden'in kendine has, biricik bir uslubu ve dili var, demek yanlış olmayacaktır. çok akıcı ve kolay okunur ayrıca. tüm bunlara karşın, bu kitap anlaması biraz zor bir eserdi. yine de sevdiğimi söylemekte bir sıkıntı görmüyorum. mağden'in okuduğum ikinci kitabıydı, devam da ederim gibi duruyor eserlerini okumaya.

[Orion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Returning home from his travels, Stravrogin is asked by the local book store owner to investigate a disturbing string of messenger boy murders that has recently plagued the city. As he unwillingly takes up the case of the mysterious deaths, he is met at every turn with unusual people and circumstances. It is like an adult fairy tale where the rules of life are gently suspended and you are immersed in a strangely mysterious, yet logically consistent, place and time. I was enthralled and look forward to reading more by Perihan Mağden.

[Женя · Rating 2 out of 5]

Что это было?
Детектив? - Нет!
Драма? - Нет!
Приключения? - Снова мимо!
Я не знаю как назвать этот жанр, мне это похоже на картины постимпрессионизма - яркие широкие мазки, а смысла не на грош.
Весь сюжет раскрыт в аннотации к книге, поэтому описывать его не берусь. Убил конец, когда на главные вопросы один из героев ответил - Не знаю.

[Cool._.Air · Rating 4 out of 5]

Насправді дуже цікава книга, та й написана досить незвично
Дуже була здивована фіналом, хоча якщо посидіти й подумати, то не так вже це й неочікувано, як здалося на перший погляд

[Berna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 yıldız üzerinden 4 yıldız.
Çok garip bir kitaptı ama sevdim.

[fatma kaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perihan Mağden'den okuduğum ilk kitaptı. Ama türk bir yazar okuyormuş gibi hissetmedim hiç. Sonunu da bu şekilde beklemiyordum. Belki de daha iyi olabilirdi.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popular Turkish author and newspaper columnist Perihan Maðden ("2 Girls") made an unobtrusive and largely unnoticed international debut with this exquisite English language translation by Richard Hammer of her quirky and innovative 1991 hardboiled-detective science-fiction hybrid homage made available by Millet Publishing.

Unwilling amateur detective Stavrogin makes for an occasionally insightful and often entertaining narrator as he analyses the bizarre characters, often referred to merely by the nicknames he assigns, who he encounters in his attempt to solve the twisted mystery at the heart of his exotic hometown, which assumes a character uniquely its own.

The burgeoning author, a Psychology graduate of Istanbul's Bosphorous University, draws upon her academic knowledge as well as her experiences living in India and the Far East to weave a truly extraordinary and disconcerting tale that constantly surprises, confounds and amuses as it twists its way towards a heartrending conclusion.

"Like strolling through a field sown with laughter mines."

[Emin Kiraz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gazete yazılarında kendine özgü üslubuyla ve sıradışı çıkışlarıyla tanıdığımız Perihan Mağden'in 1991 yılında basılan ilk kitabı. Genetik mühendisliği harikası olarak takdim edilen insan (haberci çocuk) yetiştirme çabasının acımasızlığını ve doğaya aykırılığını bilim-kurgu roman tadında anlatan bir modernizm eleştirisi.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Passive, genderless protagonist. Absurdist, ultimately pointless surrealism. Perihan Magden probably has the ability to write some great short stories, but I doubt I’ll ever try another of her novels.

[Ros]

Read a long time ago

[Fieke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Te experimenteel naar mijn smaak. Vreemde gebeurtenissen die helaas niet erg boeien en met een onbevredigende ontknoping.

[Inge (Inge1990) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ik kon niet door dit boek komen. Heel traag geschreven, rare zinnen totaal geen vaart in het verhaal