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Rıfat Bey Neden Kaşınıyor

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Paperback. 13,00 / 19,50 cm. In Turkish. 168 p.

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

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About the author

Aziz Nesin

387 books1,003 followers
Aziz Nesin was a Turkish humorist and author of more than 100 books.
Nesin was born in 1915 on Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands of Istanbul, in the days of the Ottoman Empire. After serving as a career officer for several years, he became the editor of a series of satirical periodicals with a socialist slant. He was jailed several times and placed under surveillance by the National Security Service (MAH in Turkish) for his political views. Among the incriminating pieces of evidence they found against him during his military service was his theft and sale for 35 Lira of two goats intended for his company—a violation of clause 131/2 of the Military Penal Code. One 98-year-old former MAH officer named Neşet Güriş alleged that Nesin was in fact a MAH member, but this has been disputed

Nesin provided a strong indictment of the oppression and brutalization of the common man. He satirized bureaucracy and exposed economic inequities in stories that effectively combine local color and universal truths. Aziz Nesin has been presented with numerous awards in Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria and the former Soviet Union. His works have been translated into over thirty languages. During latter parts of his life he was said to be the only Turkish author who made a living only out of his earnings from his books.

On 6 June 1956, he married a coworker from the Akbaba magazine, Meral Çelen.

In 1972, he founded the Nesin Foundation. The purpose of the Nesin Foundation is to take, each year, four poor and destitute children into the Foundation's home and provide every necessity - shelter, education and training, starting from elementary school - until they complete high school, a trade school, or until they acquire a vocation. Aziz Nesin has donated, gratis, to the Nesin Foundation his copyrights in their entirety for all his works in Turkey or other countries, including all of his published books, all plays to be staged, all copyrights for films, and all his works performed or used in radio or television.

Aziz Nesin was a political activist. After the 1980 military coup led by Kenan Evren, the intelligentsia was oppressed. Aziz Nesin led a number of intellectuals to take a stand against the military government, by issuing the Petition of Intellectuals (Turkish: Aydınlar Dilekçesi).

He championed free speech, especially the right to criticize Islam without compromise. In early 1990s he started a translation of Salman Rushdie's controversial novel, The Satanic Verses. This made him a target for radical Islamist organizations, who were gaining popularity throughout Turkey. On July 2, 1993 while attending a mostly Alevi cultural festival in the central Anatolian city of Sivas a mob organized by radical Islamists gathered around the Madimak Hotel, where the festival attendants were accommodated, calling for Sharia and death to infidels. After hours of siege, the mob set the hotel on fire. After flames engulfed several lower floors of the hotel, firetrucks managed to get close, and Aziz Nesin and many guests of the hotel escaped. However, 37 people were killed. This event, also known as the Sivas massacre, was seen as a major assault on free speech and human rights in Turkey, and it deepened the rift between religious- and secular-minded people.

He devoted his last years to fighting ignorance and religious fundamentalism.

Aziz Nesin died on July 6 1995 due to a heart attack, after a book signing event in Çeşme, İzmir. After his death, his body was buried in an unknown location in the land of Nesin Foundation without any ceremony, as suggested by his will.

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for İlhanCa.
909 reviews7 followers
March 31, 2022
Klasik bir Aziz Nesin eseri..müthiş iğnelemeler..memleket manzaraları..acı dolu gerçekler..
Profile Image for eliftech.
16 reviews
July 15, 2015
Aziz Nesinin ülke gerçeklerini hiciv yoluyla gözler önüne seren bir başka eseri daha .
Profile Image for guclu gozaydin.
103 reviews2 followers
December 8, 2025
Çok uzun zaman önce, taa ilkokul yıllarımda okuduğum bir kitaptı "Rıfat Bey Neden Kaşınıyor". Aradan 40 yıldan uzun süre geçti ve acaba kitabı nasıl bulacağımı merak ederek tekrar okudum. Öykülerin çoğunu okurken hatırladım, kitaba adını veren öyküyü zaten hiç unutmamıştım.

Tazeliklerinden tabi ki belli şeyler kaybetmiş öyküler var içlerinde ama 1965'de yayınlanmış bir kitap için bu normal. Okurken bazı öykülerde gerçekten çok güldüm, hemen hepsinde de yüzümde bir tebessüm oluştu kendiliğinden.

Zamanında çok iyi anlaştığınız, çocukken oyunlar oynayıp güzel vakit geçirdiğiniz bir mahalle arkadaşınızla tekrar görüşmek gibi bir deneyimdi benim için. Böyle birkaç kitap daha var, onları da tekrar okuyacağım.

Hiç okumayanlara tabi ki tavsiye ediyorum, geçmişte okuyanlarsa tekrar bir bakabilirler bence.
Profile Image for Utkuhan.
59 reviews1 follower
June 7, 2022
This is the book that made giggle most while reading it. It is truly a masterpiece with its' aphorisms and satirical storytelling. The story that gave the book it's name is crafted so beautifully I think I memorized the entire 9 page story from reading it over and over. The story has no apparent political or sociological context but the hidden details and references to the comical and smart aleck characteristic of Turkish people is portrayed masterfully. The other 15 short stories are great in their own sense as well so if you manage to get a English copy of the book it is definitely worth a read.
Profile Image for Volkan Yaşarlar.
31 reviews7 followers
September 2, 2014
Coğrafyamız insanlarının yaşayışlarına, hayatı kavrayışlarına dair, Aziz Nesin'in mizahi üslubuyla kaleme aldığı keyifli bir kitap.
Profile Image for Tugbadursun.
530 reviews
March 8, 2021
Kitaba ismini veren Rıfat Bey Neden Kaşınıyor? isimli öykü dışında hikayelerin hepsi güzel. Yine bize bizi anlatan bir kitap Nesin'den.
Profile Image for Çiçek.
140 reviews56 followers
August 29, 2021
Kısa kısa skeç gibi komikli hikayeler, çok ekstrem bi şey yok, kolayca okunacak yazılar.
Profile Image for Sinem Gömeç.
62 reviews1 follower
March 25, 2023
Ayten'in Kocası öyküsü çok güzeldi.. Peşimizi bırakmayan insan ilişkilerinden edindiğimiz sıfatlar, sorumluluklar.. Daha bir çuval şeyi getirtiyor akla..🙄😇
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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