Кафе “Бессонница”

by M.K. Perker

Питер Колински работал в престижном аукционном доме и считался одним из ведущих мировых экспертов по редким рукописным книгам. Однажды он связался с опасными людьми, попал в серьёзный переплёт и чудом избежал тюрьмы. С тех пор он живёт в крохотной квартирке, полностью отгородившись от мира, ненавидит новую работу и страдает бессонницей. Однажды вечером Питер заходит в кафе под названием «Бессонница», где знакомится с Анджелой. После чего вокруг него закручивается круговорот странных, почти мистический событий, а роковые ошибки прошлого всплывают на поверхность и ведут к ещё более ужасным преступлениям, утягивая героя за собой в пропасть.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Comic Book, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Mustafa Kutlukhan Perker (2 Kasım 1972) çizgi roman sanatçısı, karikatürist ve illüstratördür. İlk karikatürü 1988 yılında Gırgır dergisinde yayınlandı. Dıgıl, Hıbır, Leman, Penguen mizah dergilerinde; Sabah, Yeni Yüzyıl, Milliyet, Vatan, Star ve Radikal gazetelerinde çalıştı. 2001 yılında ABD’ye yerleşen Perker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Progressive, MAD ve Heavy Metal gibi yayınlarda çizdi.

ABD’de yayınlanmış çizgi romanları arasında Cairo (DC Comics / Vertigo), dört albümlük Air serisi (DC Comics / Vertigo), iki albümlük Todd serisi (Image Comics) ve Insomnia Cafe (Dark Horse) yer alır. Society of Illustrators’ün ilk ve tek türk üyesidir.

Çizerliğin yanısıra müzik dergisi Rock Kazanı’nı (1992), çocuk çizgi roman dergisi Pilot’u (1998), aylık mizah dergisi Harakiri’yi (2011) ve tamamını kendi yazıp çizdiği çizgi roman dergisi Türk Mucizesi’ni (2014) yayınlamıştır.

2016 yılında Yelda Cumalıoğlu ile birlikte KaraKarga Yayınlarını kurdu. Halen Hürriyet gazetesinde günlük karikatürlerinin yanısıra Ece karakterini çizmektedir.

Reviews

[Burak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hikaye umduğumdan daha güzel çıktı, mutluyum. İki sıkıntım var sadece. İlk olarak bana kalırsa elindeki malzemeyi daha iyi kullanabilirmiş Perker. Karakterler daha da derinleştirilse, hikaye biraz daha dallanıp budaklansa daha uzun ve doyurucu bir çizgi roman olabilirdi. En azından fikir ve karakterlerin buna imkan sağlayacağını düşünüyorum. Bir de siyah beyaz çizgi romanları oldum olası sevmem, hani bazı durumlarda esere gerçekten yakıştığını kabul etmek gerekiyor ancak bana göre İnsomnia Cafe bu eserlerden değil. Renklendirilseydi daha güzel olabilirdi. Sonuç olarak bir oturuşta rahatlıkla bitecek güzel bir hikaye ve iyi çizimler görmek istiyorsanız İnsomnia Cafe doğru tercih olur. Umarım ileride bir şekilde sinemaya uyarlandığını görebiliriz, beyazperdede izlemenin de çok eğlenceli olacağına eminim.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Konusu ilginç, çizimlere zaten söyleyecek bir şey yok. Ama çok çabuk oldu bitti her şey. Ne olduğunu anlamaya çalışırken çoktan kitabın yarısına gelmiş oluyorsunuz. Kitap ilk önce bölümler halinde dergide yayınlanıp sonra biraraya getirildiği için sanırım, hikayenin ilerleyişinde teklemeler hissediliyor, bölümler sanki birbirine bağlanmıyor. Daha uzun, daha ayrıntılı olsaydı, okuyucuya soluk alması için izin verseydi gerçekten mükemmel bir kitap olurdu.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve been on a bit of a graphic novel kick lately (in part because I’m trying to work my way through Perdido Street Station), and this one caught my attention because it features a library of books that are copies of books as they are being written by their authors. Once the books are complete, they disappear from the library, but you can always come back later to see what else that author is working on. It reminded me a little bit of the library in Sandman, and I was curious to see where this story would take that idea.

Unfortunately, the library isn’t the central part of this story. It’s an aside, really, but to consider something as grandiose as that library an “aside” should give you a little bit of an idea as to where this story takes you. It’s about a man with insomnia who’s mixed up in the black market for rare books, and during one of his bouts of sleeplessness, he stumbles across a café that stays open late at night. It is, of course, the Insomnia Café, and it’s there that he meets a woman who introduces him to the library.

From there, the story stumbles into a surreal sort of sequence of events that I’m still not sure I understand, and there is where I think the story fails. The author attempts a sort of twist at the end of the story where you’re supposed to be asking whether or not the events really happened, or whether they were just a figment of the person’s imagination, and to be honest, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think. There are no clues anywhere in the story that suggest one interpretation over another, and that’s frustrating to me. If you can lead me up to that twist and then spring it on me in such a way as to where I can think back on the entire story and find the clues that would support that interpretation, then you’ve accomplished a great thing. Shirley Jackson did a remarkable job of that in “The Lottery,” but M.K. Perker just throws a few things together and expects that to wrap up the story.

The sad thing of it all is that there was a lot of potential in this story that didn’t really go anywhere. The story is one that will stick with you for a while, and some of the imagery lingers, but the end result felt like something was missing. In fact, it felt like a large part of the story was missing. Was it the editorial process? Was it the result of a first-time graphic novelist not getting it completely right? I don’t know, but ultimately it doesn’t matter. I just wish the author had taken more time to develop the characterization in the story.

[Muzaffer Gümüşsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biraz daha iyi bir final beklemiştim ama her şeyiyle başladığı hikayeyi sonlandıran, tatlı bir hikaye. Çizimlerin küçük karelerde bile aksiyonu hissettirebilmesi ve akıcılığı sayesinde akılda kalıyor. Perker'in ustalığından tekrar bahsetmeye gerek yok. Cilt olarak önce ABD'de basılsa bile yerli üretim adına önemli bir iş.

[Ill D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this novel is kinda like eyeing a piece of chocolate that looks really good and more importantly tastes really good, just as you expected, until you sink your teeth in and get to the center and it's some weird filling you didn't expect, and more importantly don't really enjoy (You know what I'm talking about, something weird along the lines of marmalade or strawberry. Some weird shit like that) and the entire experience is inexorably ruined.

Yup. This story starts off great. The protagonist is is eccentric- but, in an amusing and endearing way; think a Quentin Tarantino character- presented simply - but wholly human and complex on the inside, like Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs. He finds some people coming after him because of some sketchy shit he did in the past, and the plot takes off the runway. This noir-esque plot seems really cool and enjoyable until one reaches the middle and everything pretty much becomes lame because you've gotten to that nasty core and you don't really want to read anymore.

What a horrible feeling indeed!

Needless to say, and I'm not going to spoil the ending, but it's lame, disappointing, and you'll only find yourself continuing the read just so you can finish it and write yet another less than enthralling review on Goodreads just so people will hopefully avoid this. I don't feel like I'm even writing a review for this but, a cautionary tale so you don't waste your time reading this and so you can instead move onto something better and much more worth your time.

Because I'm such a good person. This is

This is altruism distilled.

Which is a real shame because Perker's earlier Cairo work, is a real fun and pleasant read. Insomnia Cafe is like a stumble backwards. Sure- some people will enjoy strawberry or marmalade in the middle and will savour the whole thing- but they're weirdos, just like anyone who would enjoy the totality of this work.

1 Thumb up.

Post-thoughts:

The only to enjoy this crap is to follow the simple steps:

Step 1: Chug a(n) (unnecessarily dark and equally disgusting) Starbucks coffee.

Step 2: Blaze through this book while your heart races like a goddamn champion horse that wins your betting friend an extra 250 Hong Kong dollars via the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Step 3: Vomit so profusely that you forget about it.

Step 4: Check out and reread Parker's Cairo. after you cleaned the acidic vomit from your mouth. (If you haven't, shame on you! Philistine! Ingrate!)

Final step: Find yourself pleasantly Blue-pilled because you have no idea Perker would never make such rubbish because Cairo is such a splendid work and any self-respecting author would never make anything less wonderful for his portfolio (existential and/or commercial).

[hasenecik · Rating 3 out of 5]

konu iyiydi ama daha derinlikli islenebilirdi sanki. cizgiler ondan da iyiydi, hatta harikaydi. siyah-beyaz olmasi da bence dogru bir secim olmus.

[Özgür Tekin · Rating 4 out of 5]

50'li 60'lı yılların gizemli suç filmlerini andıran bir kurgusu var. Çizeri Türk ama tarz gayet Amerikan. Suyu bir parmak fazla gelmiş Americano kahve gibiydi. Uykunuzu açıyor ama kolayca silinen aroması sizi talepkar bırakıyor. Kitabı fuarda yazarın bizzat kendisinden imzalı aldım. Hatta küçük bir karikatür de çizdi.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like reading a Twilight Zone episode...creepy ending...

[juan manuel torreblanca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part is the drawings, very unique and great quality. The characters really show emotion and subtle nuances in their faces. It really captures a film-noir vibe.

I like the mysterious beginning in-medias-res, you’re pulled into the plot before you can ask what hit you.

I also like that the anti-hero is a bit of a douchebag. It’s a nice challenge to be presented a protagonist that you won't necessarily like, but you'll be intrigued by his story.

The weakest part is the motivations behind his relationship to Angela, it is believable but by a thread… if there were such a HUGE thing as that “Archive” around… something on the scope of Borges or The Sandman, it feels a bit too flimsy, to easy, that she’d decide to risk herself and the library by taking this unknown man there… we get an explanation but it feels more like something that HAD TO HAPPEN to move the plot, than something that came naturally to her, the character.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is great but its presentation is awkward- the first few pages should not even exist because they are exactly repeated at the end and the plot should have developed more progressively with less "author subterfuge". When it ends a hidden factor is revealed so abruptly and then it's over. There was nothing that I was trying to solve or pick up on so I got no "Aha!" excitement because seeds hadn't been germinating- you just get the plant.

My favorite "part" of the book:
I fell drastically in love with the female lead. In personality and looks she was so perfect and charmingly unassuming that my heart hurts to trap her on my shelf.


The pseudo-Turturro on the cover made me think how well this would work as a Cohen Brothers movie. SERIOUSLY- the quirky characters in a plot with plenty of mystery and a murder would be ideal!

[Enis · Rating 5 out of 5]

böyle güzel işlerin çıkıyor oluşu beni sevindiriyor. Insomnia Cafe'nin dünyası hikayesi ve çizgileriyle o kadar iç içe ki başkahramanın başına neler geldiğini son sayfadan sonra bile düşünüyorsunuz. Kahve tiryakiliğinin tuhaflığı bir yana gecenin üçünde kahve içilebilen bu mekanın içindeki gizemli kütüphane gerçekten güzel bir ayrıntı. Olayın merkezinde zamanının görkemli yazarlarının devam romanları var. Salinger'ın ya da Kerouac'ın yeni romanını kim okumak istemez. Anlatılanların fetiş bir hal alması. Uykusuzsanız, bir kahve hazırlayın içine Bailey's dökün, hem sarhoş hem uyanık kalın ve Insomnia Cafe'nin kapısından içeri giri verin.

[Rouslan Saduov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad one. Quite interesting plot, nice references to book characters, great atmosphere of this craziness you have when you don't sleep long. However, the ending is a bit crunched up comparing to the development of the story.

[Umur · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Arşiv” kütüphanesi gibi muhteşem bir fikrin daha fazla kullanılmasını beklerdim. Perker bu kitabı elden geçirip bir 80 sayfa daha eklerse, çözüm kısmını biraz daha detaylandırırsa bence çok daha güzel olur.

[Morag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a quick read I didn't need a bookmark. Insomnia Cafe is a bit like an eposide from (the tv series) the twilight zone. A classic short story that could easily be part of a set or series.

[Deniz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Süper. Film izler gibi oldum. Çok akıcı bir hikayeyi harika çizgilerle ne güzel aktarmış. Ellerine sağlık.

[Ryan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting reality-bending take that makes the reader question what is truly happening and why.

[Merve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was an easy read,but didnt impress me at all

[Ravza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurgu çok başarılı. Ama keşke biraz daha detaylandırılabilseydi.

[Orhan Gülek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orijinal bir hikaye

[Rana Öztürk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Çizimler güzel ve roman potansiyeli oldukça yüksek başlıyor ama hikayedeki eksiklikler yüzünden parçalar oturmuyor, karakterler bir türlü gelişmiyor ve birçok soru işaretiyle sona eriyor.

[Camilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Insomnia Cafe is decent. The tale, not very well fleshed out, concerns a lonely insomniac named Kolinsky who is caught up in something magical and dangerous--the Archives, as shown to him by the barista at the Insomnia Cafe, Angela. The Archives have books in the process of being written, and not yet published. Meanwhile, Oblomov, a man who Kolinksy once greatly displeased during his time as a rare book expert, is out to ruin his life.

The story is too short. Nothing is fleshed out quite enough to make me really care, the way I do when reading a book with characters I have gotten to know and love. Kolinksy is the only character with more than one or two traits, and even he could use a little work. The dialogue is sometimes unnatural, too. Instead of showing the characters doing things in the artwork, it's told in the dialogue. This is pretty rarely done, and not horribly noticeable.

The artwork is very unique for a graphic novel--it seems more comic strip or New Yorker than graphic novel. M.K. Perker, author and artist, has done work for the New Yorker and Mad, which prints strips,explaining the style. I think it works very nicely, and is often quite impressive. Faces especially are very detailed and emotive.

In short: the story is good, but left me wanting much more. The black and white artwork is different from that of most graphic novels and shows a lot of talent on the part of the artist. The ending, without any spoilers, seemed like a bit of a cop-out and nearly a cliche, but it wasn't horrible. I'd recommend Insomnia Cafe to people who like quick mysteries and graphic novels.

[Page tranquility · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I heard of this graphic novel was in an article in Comic Shop News. The plot interested me immediately. An insomniac who is trying to stay out of a dangerous profession, who stumbles upon a 24 hour cafe where he befriends a waitress that soon introduces him to a library stocked with copies of all writer's works in progress. Then I made the mistake of searching out reviews which almost deterred me from buying the book. It seemed the opinions I found were mildly positive at best. During a trip to the comic shop I decided to seek out the book anyway and during a quick flip through was drawn to the illustrations. So I decided to go ahead and give it a try. When I noticed it was only 80 pages, I thought I'd be wanting for more at the end of the story if I indeed liked it. Which I did like it more than I imagined I would. Without giving away anything since there is an unexpected surpise toward the end, I have to say it is exactly the length it should be. The story ends in a place where it can keep the impact it has. The only thing I can't help but say is that it didn't take long from the start of the story for me not to like the main character all that much.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Hogan from Graphic Novel Reporter wrote about this one, and I noticed it was under my radar, so I gave it a try. The writer/ artist was known to me from his collaboration with G .Willow Wilson and their graphic novel Cairo. Willow went to school in Boulder where my store is, and she's super nice. I like her series Air also. M.K. Perker did all of Insomnia Cafe, and I was a little skeptical because his art is not always my favorite. Here his art really shines in this truly strange story. It ends in the same place it starts, but I'm still not sure I understand what happened, but the quirkiness was cool. The main character is a very strange guy, and you never know if you're supposed to like him or not. In between you have a beautiful girl ,an interesting coffee shop, the CIA, interesting co-workers and some nasty villains.All in all I would recommend it, but I might need to read it again .

[Buried In Print]

This review was deleted following Amazon's purchase of GoodReads.

The review can still be viewed via LibraryThing, where my profile can be found here.

I'm also in the process of building a database at Booklikes, where I can be found here.

If you read/liked/clicked through to see this review here on GR, many thanks.

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw M.K. Perker's work in an illustration for an article in the 1/31/10 Washington Post. It mentioned "Insomnia Cafe" - I liked his drawings for the article...will see. Now that I've read it, I'm disappointed...still like his drawing style, but found the story unappealing - and couldn't sympathize with Peter or Angela - even at the end. The characters were too "cartoonish". 2 stars.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perker has a cool concept here but he doesn't really go anywhere with it. The book is kind of magical realism, but he needs to put a little more emphasis on the magical part. Nice black and white art, realistic with just the right touch of comics-esque exaggeration.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A wonderful read! It's fantastically illustrated and the story kept me flying through the pages. The ending seemed a bit out of the blue at first, but the more I thought on it the the more it grew on me.

[Leslea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the idea of a graphic novel so gave this a go. The artwork was really fabulous and once I got into it forgot that it wasn't just a written page - just absorbed both picture and writing together. Interesting story.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was disjointed and the art was very reminiscent of all of his other work.
Different books require different mental and physical muscles.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lopsided. Great beginning and middle but the end was light weight. Great art and idea, though.