Kismet

Kayankaya #4

by Jakob Arjouni

It all began with a favor. Kayankaya and Slibulsky were only trying to protect their friend Romario from his protectors, men who were demanding hard cash for the service. It ended with two bodies on the floor of Romario's restaurant, their faces covered in ghostly white makeup. Kayankaya is determined to track down their identities, when he realizes that he himself is being pursued by a faceless and utterly ruthless criminal gang. A new element has broken into the established order of Frankfurt battle-hardened Croatian nationalists. And when Kayankaya rescues Bosnian teenager Leila from a refugee hostel, the stakes get even higher. This thrilling, utterly captivating novel is the perfect fix for fans of literary noir.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Germany, German Literature, Noir

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Jakob Arjouni (alias of Jakob Bothe) published his first novel Happy Birthday, Türke! (1985) at the age of 20.Later he wrote his first play Die Garagen. He became famous after publishing his criminal novel Kayankaya, which was then translated into 10 different languages.

In 1987, he received the Baden-Württembergischen Autorenpreis für das deutschsprachige Jugendtheater for his play Nazim schiebt ab. In 1992, he received the German Crime Fiction Prize for One Man, One Murder. He died, aged 48, in Berlin, after a long fight against pancreatic cancer.

Reviews

[Auntie Terror · Rating 4 out of 5]

For crime fiction, this was rather great for me. [Prtf]

[Negin Moradi · Rating 2 out of 5]

کتاب کاملا شانسی افتاد دستم. از لحاظ پلیسی و کارآگاهی بودن جالب بود، ولی عجیب بود که از هیچ‌کدوم از شخصیتا خوشم نیومد. یه جورایی از همه‌شون، حتی از شخصیت اصلی متنفر شدم😕

[Trilby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what the significance of the title is. In addition to meaning "fate" in Turkish, "kismet" is also a wireless network detector, a robot designed by MIT to assist research into social interactions between robots and humans, a 1920 film, and a musical. For simplicity's sake, I'll go with the first definition. It works because the narrator is a Frankfurter PI of Turkish descent. The most interesting aspect of the story is the anti-immigrant jive and flak the "Turks" (i.e. any immigrant from the East) get from those who think themselves "real" Germans. It doesn't matter that the narrator was born in Germany and speaks perfect Hessian German. To some Germans, he's a foreigner. The story revolves around an attempted takeover of protection rackets in Frankfurt by Croatian gangsters. Not surprisingly, the most prominent police character is a man who deals with immigration crimes. Arjouni keeps the pace moving; his style is economical and he conveys well the personality of the narrator without resorting to the lame wisecracks and slang bon mots plaguing so many detective novels.

[Zeynep Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a funny, engaging, fast read. I was confused at times, but I don't know if that was me, the translation, or the writing style. Overall really good characters, motivations, solid writing, and a smart plotline.

[Paul Niklaus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine tiefe Traurigkeit durchzieht mich bei dem Gedanken, dass das der vorletzte Fall für Kemal Kayankaya ist.
Gut geschrieben, schnell und witzig. Ein großartiges Talent.

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Private eye Kemal Kayankaya is a Turkish immigrant raised by Germans in Frankfurt, a city he is both fond of and acknowledges to be the ugliest city in Germany. One good result of the German Reunification that took place about a decade before the action of this novel is the new targets it has given local bigots for their racism. Kayankaya by no means gets a free ride from his fellow Frankfurters, but they can now complain about the Ossies, East Germans that are ruining the economy, the neighborhoods, and the overall quality of life.

Kayankaya lives in a ethnically diverse milieu. In the opening scene he has enlisted his Polish friend Slibusky, an reformed, small-time drug dealer turned ice cream entrepreneur, to provide some added muscle in a showdown with the new crew of protection racketeers bothering his Brazilian friend Romario. A small display of force should be enough to chase off these amateurs. Within a minute there are two dead racketeers to be dealt with. Later that night the building that houses Romario’s restaurant burns to the ground.

The plot will eventually involve a crooked health food tycoon, Bosnian refugees, and Serbian nationals plotting a triumphant return to power. Arjouni moves his protagonist through these worlds by staging scenes that capture a changing Germany where violence can erupt suddenly and viciously. With Kayankaya he has an engaging narrator – smart, funny, and willing to wade through sewage to get the job done.

The plot bogs down some in the middle of the novel, but I notice that Kismet is some fifty or more pages longer than Arjouni’s other books in the series. They are all bestsellers in Europe and deserve an American audience.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Kayankaya Quartet (of which this is the final book), was originally published in Germany between 1985 and 2001, the previous installments being Happy Birthday, Turk!, More Beer (which was previously released as And Still, Drink More), and One Man, One Murder. Set mainly in Frankfurt, they use the hardboiled detective genre to examine the changes underway in German culture, especially with regard to immigrants. Although private eye Kemal Kayankaya is the German-born son of Turkish guest workers, he comes across as a classic American PI: a guy whose smart mouth and streak of compassion lands him in plenty of trouble (and gets him roughed up quite a bit), and who wears weariness, cynicism, and disgust like beloved overcoat. His adventures often involve immigrants, and this one is no exception, as a Brazilian restaurateur asks him to help scare off a couple of weird gangsters demanding protection money. This small favor gets him entangled in the operations of a Croatian gang, an Albanian gang, and a young Bosnian girl whose mother is missing. The story is perfectly fine, quick paced, well translated, but for all that, feels somewhat stale. It's now been twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Kayankaya books are of the decade immediately after that (this last book is set in 1998, which is why the focus is on the Balkans). While they provide an interesting angle on Germany in the late '80s and '90s, they feel decidedly less relevant or fresh than when I originally read them. Still worth reading if you're interested in international crime fiction, and Germany in particular, but not vital.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

É um livro tão fácil de gostar. Os personagens são verossímeis, a história é rápida e de humor negro. Além disso, o enredo é surpreendente e emocionante! O primeiro livro que peguei na biblioteca do Instituto Goethe, e foi um ótimo começo. Ele não muda vidas, mas é envolvente. Quatro anos depois, ainda me lembro de muitas cenas e personagens. Gostaria de ler mais Jakob Arjouni nas minhas próximas férias.
*

It is such an easy book to enjoy. The characters are believable and the story is fast, dark humoured. Plus, the plot is surprising and thrilling! The first book I picked up from Goethe's Institut library, and it was a great start. This book is not life changing, but it is engaging. Four years after, I still remember a lot of its the scenes and characters. I will be happy to read more Jakob Arjouni on my next holiday.

[Fasan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Süddeutsche Zeitung Kriminalbibliothek, Band 39, "Kismet", der vierte Kayankaya Krimi von Arjouni. Zu sagen, ich hasse dieses Buch, reicht in diesem Fall nicht aus. Ich muss sachlich werden. Zunächst einmal lullt einen der Krimi mit seinen gerade einmal 186 Seiten, dem flotten Erzähltempo und dem schwarzhumorigen Tonfall ein. Dass im Noir Genre Protagonisten alles andere als gesund und nett und höflich leben, dürfte hinlänglich bekannt sein, und das stört mich auch nicht weiter. Die massiven Probleme treten woanders auf. Da wäre als Erstes der ungefilterte Sexismus. Am Anfang dachte ich noch, das liegt nur in den Charakteren selbst begründet, dann taucht es aber auch in Beschreibungen auf, die nun einmal nichts mit Dialogzeilen oder innerem Monolog zu tun haben. Das hier ist zum Beispiel die Einleitung vom zehnten Abschnitt des Buches auf S. 80: "Wäre Marilyn Monroe an der Seite einer kleinen, dürren, pickligen, ihr Leben lang Zahnspange tragenden Schwester durchs Leben gegangen, hätte man sagen können: Offenbach und Frankfurt wirkten nebeneinander wie die Monroe-Schwestern." Das war der erste Satz, der mich richtig rausgerissen hat. Es folgen noch weitere Stellen dieser Art. Die zahlreichen ungefilterten und derben Beleidigungen, Flüche und Drohungen, die in den Dialogen andauernd auftauchen, lasse ich an der Stelle mal unerwähnt. Privatdetektiv Kayankaya pöbelt erstmal jeden anderen Menschen unfreundlich an, droht, lügt, raucht ständig Zigaretten und ballert in Dirty Harry Manier auch ordentlich mit der Pistole herum. Daraus ergibt sich so ein Pulp-artiges Gefühl, dass alles wie in so einem richtig klischeehaften Comic überzeichnet ist. Zumindest in der Vorstellung eines 15 Jährigen, der es cool findet, wenn 'Popeye auf Koks' in die Szene springt, sich die Akustik anhört wie eine 'Folterkammer' und der Protagonist dann noch einer heulenden Frau Ohrfeigen verpasst, damit sie wieder zur Vernunft kommt. Der Krimifall an sich ist nicht sonderlich originell, sozusagen ein Kleinkrieg zwischen verschiedenen Mafia-Banden, einige Gebäudeteile werden gesprengt und viele Leute sterben. Was an sich aber auch egal ist, da dieser Roman ohne seelisch-psychologischen Tiefgang auskommt. Erst die Gegenüberstellung zwischen der 14 Jährigen Leila und Kayankaya scheint kurz in die Richtung zu gehen. Allerdings ist dann der Kurzroman nicht lang genug für tiefere zwischenmenschliche Ebenen und diese clownhafte, comicartig überzeichnete Plothandlung macht es dann sowieso zunichte. Mit den Logikfehlern will ich gar nicht erst anfangen. Fast jede einzelne Dialogszene wirkt unrealistisch. Kein Charakter mit Intelligenz, einer Motivation und bestimmten Absichten würde überhaupt auf die absurden Gesprächseinstiege von Kayankaya eingehen. Generell lesen sich die laut Klappentext "pointierten" Dialoge wie Sätze, die man auf der Theaterbühne sagen würde, aber mich haben die häufig verblüfft und ungläubig werden lassen. Wie viel vom Plot an sich möglich wäre oder nicht, ist wohl Geschmackssache, und man sollte mit dem Flow gehen und sich darauf einlassen. Mir fiel es spätestens nach 100 Seiten schwer, überhaupt noch irgendwas an dieser Geschichte ernst zu nehmen. Viele Situationen wirken auf mich unfreiwillig komisch. Als Freund von vielen Genres, darunter Fantasy, ist mir klar, dass man sich auf gewisse Seltsamkeiten einlassen sollte. Hier sind mir jedoch zu viele Ungereimtheiten in zu vielen Bereichen. Angefangen bei der Art von Verletzungen und wie wenig Auswirkung die dann tatsächlich haben, bis hin zur grundsätzlichen Abwesenheit von rudimentärer Intelligenz fast aller Nebencharaktere wie Frau Beierle, Höttges oder dem Gemüsehändler. Jeder Grundschüler hinterfragt doch das, was Kayankaya alles so an Geschichten erfindet, wenn er telefoniert. Für mich ein enttäuschender Krimi. Nichts zum Miträtseln und Raten, Charaktere, die sich unglaubwürdig verhalten und dann immer wieder derber Tonfall oder offener Sexismus an Stellen, wo es schlicht unnötig ist und den Leser kurz verwirrt inne halten lässt. Insgesamt für mich zu viel Blödsinn auf einmal.

[Cflack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very crisply written crime novel translated from German. Kemal Kayankaya is a Turkish German private investigator living in Frankfurt. He is the typical "hard boiled" cynical loner detective. As someone of Turkish descent living in Germany Arjouni uses many of the standard tropes of hard boiled detective fiction - murders, physical violence, women in distress - but updates them with the immigrant experience of an ethnic Turk trying to fit in to German culture. He also weaves in current events of the time, most specifically the aftermath of the war in the Balkans. A very well written straight forward detective novel.

[Peter Bayuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulp Fiction meets The Big Sleep or The Maltese Falcon. The private eye of a Chandler or Hammett novel but with a German twist. He's opinionated, cynical, sassy, and highly sarcastic. Also, he's Turkish, living in Frankfurt and boy does he have something to say about it. Kismet is a strange, funky, and hilarious detective noir that mixes the heavy (Bosnian War refugees) with the utterly absurd.

[Chad R · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I originally read this it was a challenge for my reading level, but the driven plot was enough to keep me going. I like 'Krimis' as the Germans call them. Now that my German is better, I may well put this back on my To-Read shelf.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kayankaya ist ein schlechter Detektiv, aber die Geschicte ist lustig.

[Victor Vilchiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok, you still have the funny banter of Kayankaya but i was not as excited as the first 3 books. Well one more and I will be caught up ... lets hope the next one is better.

[Odenigbo Ugwu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un gialletto carino. Ben tirato. Complimenti al traduttore !

[Dieter Warnke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hab mehrmals laut gelacht. Der Wortwitz und Kayankaya's schnoddrige Art machen einfach Spaß.

[neli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot war gut aber der Protagonist leider absolut unsympathisch

[Coco Picard · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! I came across this book on accident, it had a very nice cover and I had been looking for something kind of pulpy. It's perfect. Another detective novel, it perfectly fulfills the requirements of its genre, and yet while fitting in with Raymond Chandler, this Kismet felt much more contemporary--taking for granted the socio-politcal landscape of our times. Everything takes place in Frankfurt and a nearby, also shitty, landscape. Kismet is a Turkish immigrant raised by Germans, and as such he is often the subject of racial prejudice. Nevertheless that prejudice never seems directly personal, but rather an easy target for insult, which of course "bad guys" always need. Further there are occasions in which Kismet shows his sole-cement duplicitousness, and will participate in racial insult in order to get information. Most of the book centers on crime within immigrant communities; it's funny and tough and I ate it up with a spoon.

[M M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darkly witty writing doesn't get much better than by Jakob Arjouni, the German-Turkish author of Kismet. It stars the private investigator Kayankaya who wisecracks his way through a violent takeover of the streets of Frankfurt, possibly Germany's dullest city, by a bunch of Croat nationalists. There's butchery galore, mafiosi fall by the wayside. Kayankaya - an ethnic Turk - usually finds himself on the margins of German society, facing racism and occasional odd jobs from immigrants. When one, a Brazilian, asks his help in dispatching the new thugs in town, the case quickly escalates into a war between rival gangs, and rather unpleasant details about human trafficking and poisonous confectionary reveal themselves.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This hard-boiled mystery was set in Frankfurt soon after the fall of the wall. The detective, Kemal Kayankaya, is Turkish and the tension between Turks and Germans is palpable throughout the story. There are also East European (Albanian, Serbian, Croats) gangsters and the obligatory tough-but-gentle sidekick. The story was far-fetched, even by most "suspension of disbelief" standards, but compelling and very readable. This was the first of the authoer's four books re-published in English (original is in German) and part of an interesting subscription plan from the publisher, Melville House. It wasn't the best, but worth the read.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After my previous failed attempt to read More Beer, an earlier entry into the Kayankaya series, I tried this book at the urging of a friend. This time, however, I read the book in the original German, and that seemed to make a huge difference in the tone (note to translator: Arjouni is not Raymond Chandler). Despite the slow going (on my part with a dictionary at times), I am now won over on the merits of this series about a cranky Turkish detective in Frankfurt. I will go back and revisit the earlier novels. My one gripe about Kismet is that the conclusion was anti-climatic.

[MauroMC · Rating 2 out of 5]

A criminal story that wants to be like a splatter movie with some fun.
I found it trivial and not really funny.

[JBP · Rating 3 out of 5]

German crime novel set in Frankfurt around a Turkish private eye that hits on all the usual points--seedy, violent, detective getting the crap beat out of him as he doggedly pursues the truth. Short book, the first of Arjouni's books featuring this character to be translated into English--3 more coming in 2011--that has a solid anti-hero as the protagonist, but not super original. That's okay. Sometimes it's nice to go down a familiar, squalid path and I like reading something like this set in Germany.

[Kittaroo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se la notte è insonne uno che fa? Si mette a leggere per conciliare il sonno... Ma se il libro si rivela uno spasso, come in questo caso, lo finisci e sei più sveglio di prima.. In un "giallo" riuscire a fondere azione, humor, critica sociale e buona scrittura ( echi di Lansdale ) per me è un'impresa rara: qui l'autore ci riesce agevolmente e ci consegna davvero un bel libro!

[Stacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! Kemal Kayankaya is a tough Turkish-German PI who accidentally ends up in the middle of a turf war as a Croatian organized crime group tries to take over territory of Albanian & German mobs in Frankfurt. The setting was great & I liked the international flavor of the various groups in the book. It was also darkly funny & nicely paced.

[Nishant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Private eye of Turkish descent in Frankfurt... intriguing enough to pick up... the first chapter is great... and then it kind of dissolves into slight implausibility... and the ending would make Quentin Tarantino giggle with glee.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

fairly simple plot and development, but the narrator is quite unique and the setting quite uncommon too. i like the slightly schlubby approach to the private detective model, the minority perspective, and the stubbornness instead of grit.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, my first of this author . ..I'll read another. A good view into the multi cultural society in Europe . ..and the prejudices that often prevail , and all in a mystery thriller .

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun. Full review at: www.bookinwithsunny.com/posts/kismet/

[Catherine Woodman]

Kafka-esque detective novel set in Frankfurt...not much more to say..