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Sweet Tooth and Other Stories
Queerness, labels, and allyship are central themes in this moving collection of stories set in Turkey, where Middle Eastern and Euro-American expressions of identity collide and naming one's orientation is a fraught endeavor. An eleven-year-old undergoes hand surgery that will allow him to wear a wedding ring in adulthood. Two college roommates reach an erotic understanding as they indulge in dessert. A sex worker travels with an American same-sex marriage activist through the Aegean countryside. A passionate hookup during Istanbul Pride ends in tear gas. Two friends' tempers flare over cold red wine on a hot summer night by the Dardanelles. A father bonds with his son and his son's drag-queen boyfriend over classic Turkish cinema on the Mediterranean coast.
In Sweet Tooth and Other Stories , Serkan Görkemli weaves together interconnected narratives of four Turkish characters―Hasan, Gökhan, Nazlı, and Cenk―who search for clarity, love, and acceptance amid social change. Set in a rich mixture of urban and rural locales, the stories take place from the 1980s through the 2010s against the backdrop of Turkey's transition from military-backed secularism to the rise of the religious right, local and global media representations of queer individuals and culture, and the emergence of affirming LGBTQ+ identities. Görkemli creates a complex, engaging network of plots about his characters' struggles and triumphs in navigating families, communities, and themselves. Braving discrimination, they strive to embrace their identities and find joy, solace, and approval within a society that marginalizes who they are and how they love.
In Sweet Tooth and Other Stories , Serkan Görkemli weaves together interconnected narratives of four Turkish characters―Hasan, Gökhan, Nazlı, and Cenk―who search for clarity, love, and acceptance amid social change. Set in a rich mixture of urban and rural locales, the stories take place from the 1980s through the 2010s against the backdrop of Turkey's transition from military-backed secularism to the rise of the religious right, local and global media representations of queer individuals and culture, and the emergence of affirming LGBTQ+ identities. Görkemli creates a complex, engaging network of plots about his characters' struggles and triumphs in navigating families, communities, and themselves. Braving discrimination, they strive to embrace their identities and find joy, solace, and approval within a society that marginalizes who they are and how they love.
141 pages, Paperback
Published April 19, 2024
146 people want to read
About the author
Serkan Görkemli
2 books1 followerSerkan Görkemli is the author of Sweet Tooth and Other Stories (University Press of Kentucky; 2024 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards silver winner in LGBTQ+ fiction and finalist in short stories; 2025 Housatonic Book Awards finalist in fiction) and Grassroots Literacies: Lesbian and Gay Activism and the Internet in Turkey (SUNY Press; 2015 Lavender Rhetorics Book Award winner). Originally from Türkiye, he is a professor of English at UConn.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 26, 2024
Rep: Turkish cast & setting, gay mcs, lesbian character
Galley provided by publisher
An enjoyable collection of stories which, as you read, it becomes clear that they're interlinked. It was a good read, although perhaps not one I felt was amazing. I liked that it followed (mostly) the same characters across their lifetimes and you got to see how they developed, grew up, and came to find each other again, but, like I said, not one I was amazed by.
Galley provided by publisher
An enjoyable collection of stories which, as you read, it becomes clear that they're interlinked. It was a good read, although perhaps not one I felt was amazing. I liked that it followed (mostly) the same characters across their lifetimes and you got to see how they developed, grew up, and came to find each other again, but, like I said, not one I was amazed by.
May 14, 2024
Content Warnings; Homophobia, Assault (Sexual, Physical)
This collection of short stories was strong from start to finish. The stories feature a related cast of characters that readers encounter throughout their lives in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Yet, each story can also stand alone, which made reading easier. Any important details would be repeated, so even if some time had passed between readings, I didn’t get confused.
What I loved most about these stories is that because we see characters in different time periods and situations, we get to see a showcase of different stages of comfort and understanding of queer identity in each character’s mind. The earliest story, for example, is about a boy’s surgery to get webbing removed from between his fingers so he can wear a wedding ring. While not explicitly about queerness, the fact that he is somehow “different” and must be made “acceptable” for a heterosexual world is clear. Other stories are more direct in discussing sex work, AIDs, love affairs, and different forms of oppression from family and society. Later stories depicted differences in how LGTBQ+ rights and representation differed between Turkey and the United States and generational differences in queer communities.
This collection of short stories was strong from start to finish. The stories feature a related cast of characters that readers encounter throughout their lives in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Yet, each story can also stand alone, which made reading easier. Any important details would be repeated, so even if some time had passed between readings, I didn’t get confused.
What I loved most about these stories is that because we see characters in different time periods and situations, we get to see a showcase of different stages of comfort and understanding of queer identity in each character’s mind. The earliest story, for example, is about a boy’s surgery to get webbing removed from between his fingers so he can wear a wedding ring. While not explicitly about queerness, the fact that he is somehow “different” and must be made “acceptable” for a heterosexual world is clear. Other stories are more direct in discussing sex work, AIDs, love affairs, and different forms of oppression from family and society. Later stories depicted differences in how LGTBQ+ rights and representation differed between Turkey and the United States and generational differences in queer communities.
June 20, 2024
Bittersweet...
This is a delightful set of vignettes about an interrelated group of people in a traditional culture coming to grips with gayness and family and love. Each of the protagonists copes in different ways living and loving imperfectly. Love the full circle ending! Highly recommended.
This is a delightful set of vignettes about an interrelated group of people in a traditional culture coming to grips with gayness and family and love. Each of the protagonists copes in different ways living and loving imperfectly. Love the full circle ending! Highly recommended.
December 24, 2023
My oh my am I looking forward to the pub of this one. Arc granted by Edelweiss in exchange for an unbiased review
January 15, 2024
I can’t even begin to describe the love I have for this book. I will be buying the physical book when it is out. So so so good!!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews