Istanbul in Women's Short Stories

by Hande Öğüt (Editor)

Istanbul is the cornerstone of this culturally significant collection of short stories written exclusively by women. Ranging from ancient Constantinople to the modern capital of Turkey, these 27 short stories show the colorful traces of the people that have lived in that city throughout the ages. Highlighting the rich historical, political, and cultural accents of the city, this compilation provides a unique perspective about this fascinating and global metropolis.  

Genres: Short Stories, Turkish

370 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

1970 yılında İstanbul’da doğdu. İstanbul Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi’nden mezun oldu. Çeşitli gazete, dergi ve televizyon programlarında editör olarak görev aldı. 'Hayalet Gemi, Gergindergi ve Altzine’de öyküleri yayımlandı. 2003 yılında editörlüğünü Halil Gökhan’ın yaptığı Erotik Öyküler, 2007 yılında editörlüğünü Handan İnci’nin yaptığı Şimdi Seni Konuşuyorduk Selim İleri Kitabı, 2009 yılında Mor Çatı tarafından basılan Şiddete Karşı Anlatılar ve 2010’da Gülnur Elçik ve Tuğba B. Özenç’in derlediği Bedende Kıpırdanmalar adlı kitaplarda yazıları yayımlandı. 2008 yılında Kadın Öykülerinde İstanbul ve 2011 yılında Kadın Öykülerinde Doğu adlı iki antoloji hazırladı. Bomonti’den Harbiye’ye adlı kitabı 2010’da yayımlandı. Eşikcini, Pazartesi, Virgül dergilerinde yazdı. Halen, Radikal Kitap, Yeni Şafak Kitap, Varlık, Mesele, Milliyet Sanat, Bibliotech, Kaos GL, Cogito, Amargi, Psikeart, Memlekent, Notos Edebiyat, Fotoritim, SanatLog, gibi dergi ve internet sitelerinde yazmaya devam etmektedir.

Yazılarında genellikle feminist eleştiriye odaklanır. Edebiyattan görsel sanatlara dek geniş bir çerçevede yayımladığı eleştiri yazıları, kadını merkeze alır. 2010’da yayımladığı Bomonti’den Harbiye’ye adlı kitabı Bomonti’de geçen çocukluğunu sunan otobiyografik bir metindir

Reviews

[Gauntletto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book from a random shelf in Istanbul's bookshop for quite particular reasons.

I'm a Storyteller (akin to Dungeon Master in Dungeons and Dragons) and right now I'm living in Istanbul. This city inspired me to create my own stories and I was eager to learn more about its' overall "vibe" through the pespective of people who live here. I didn't make any prior research about this book though, blindly hoping it won't dissapoint me

And... it kinda did and did not at the same time?

Some stories there were great, inspiring even, and they definetely were worth buying the book. But most stories were partly incomprehensible (due to lack of good translation and narrative context) partly quite mediocre to say the least.

At the end of the day, I liked the experience and made a bunch of very insightful notes about Istanbul and its' people. But if you don't have enough free time, commitment or a specific goal for reading book like this, I'd suggest skipping right away

[Nepreading · Rating 2 out of 5]

Väldigt ojämn bok (vilket kanske inte är särskilt konstigt med tanke på att det är just en novellsamling), men det gjorde att en handfull berättelser gnistrade till och fick mig att verkligen andas i mig varje ord och känna, medan resten fick mig att sucka och bläddra framåt till nästa.

Det gav mig verkligen mycket att faktiskt ha varit på flera av platserna som beskrevs - skapade en helt annan och djupare känsla att kunna se Beyoglu eller Sülemaniye eller Besiktas framför mig, känna doften av lahmacun och turkiskt te, och minnas stadens rytm. Jag hade sannolikt tyckt ännu mindre om boken annars.

[David Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Rain is an agony here. In other parts of the world, a downpour will in all likelihood come as a boon for nearly everyone and everything... Not so in Istanbul though. Rain, for us, isn't necessarily about getting wet. It's not about getting dirty even. If anything, it's about getting angry. It's mud and chaos and rage, as if we didn't have enough of each already".

Read in KSA, Bahrain, and Istanbul (May 2025)

[Paul Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have only spent three days in Istanbul so many of the place and cultural references in the stories are unknown to me. That said, some of the stories are powerful and evocative (and I certainly want to get to know the city better) but some are impenetrable or incomprehensible.

[Philippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had particularly high-hopes for this after picking up a copy in Istanbul. Unfortunately I think some of the translations were not up to scratch and definitely needed some better proof reading. While some of the stories were fabulous, I know that some definitely passed over my head due to my ignorance of some history and cultural practices.

That being said I think it's a great that collections like this are being published (and English so I can enjoy them!).