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Songs My Mother Never Taught Me
After the death of his overbearing mother, the privileged Arda reclines in his wealth, reflecting on his young life, and on the life of his father, the famous mathematician Mürsel Ergenekon, who was murdered on Arda's fourteenth birthday. While on the other side of the city ‘your humble servant’ Bedirhan has decided to pack in his ten-year career as an assassin.
Their two lives become intrinsically bound in this remarkable thriller that takes us through the streets of Istanbul. We learn that Bedirhan in fact killed Arda's father, and that they share more in common than he or we could imagine.
Meanwhile, Selçuk Altun, a former family friend, is playing a deadly game, providing Arda with clues to track down his father's killer.
Selçuk Altun was born in Artvin, Turkey in 1950. He lives in Istanbul and is a retired banking executive and bibliophile.
Their two lives become intrinsically bound in this remarkable thriller that takes us through the streets of Istanbul. We learn that Bedirhan in fact killed Arda's father, and that they share more in common than he or we could imagine.
Meanwhile, Selçuk Altun, a former family friend, is playing a deadly game, providing Arda with clues to track down his father's killer.
Selçuk Altun was born in Artvin, Turkey in 1950. He lives in Istanbul and is a retired banking executive and bibliophile.
218 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
15 people are currently reading
501 people want to read
About the author
Selçuk Altun
18 books67 followersSelçuk Altun (born 1950) is a Turkish writer, publisher and retired banking executive.
Born in Artvin, Turkey in 1950, he graduated from the Management Department of Boğaziçi University. He began work in the finance sector in 1974 and was chairman of Yapi Kredi Bank and executive board director of the YKY (Yapı Kredi Publications), where he amassed a personal library of 9,000 volumes and published works by Louise Glück and John Ashbery, before he retired in 2004 to pursue his full timewriting career.
“My goal was to write a book by the age of 50,” he says. “Before that, I knew I needed to read, so I read some 4,000 books before I sat down to write. That, more than anything, gave me the confidence I needed.” His first novel Yalnızlık Gittiğin Yoldan Gelir (Loneliness Comes from the Road You Go Down) was published in 2001 and has been subsequently followed by four further novels, a book of essays and a regular monthly column titled Kitap İçin (For the Love of Books) in the Cumhuriyet.
“I regard myself as a ‘person who writes’ rather than a ‘writer,’”, “I do not make a living on what I receive from my books. I transfer all royalties from my books to a scholarship fund I've founded at the university I graduated from. It provides scholarships to successful university students who study literature.” “In any case, whenever I want to write, I feel the urge to read first.”
“I believe that in both Turkish and world literature, bibliophilic protagonists and narrators in particular do not appear as much as they should,” states the self confessed bibliophile, who maintains he reads far more than he writes, “Besides, these characters do not like showing up in trashy novels that sweep the book market. Yet I believe the elite group called ‘literary readers’ do embrace them.” “In my novels, the setting is as important as the central characters. For this reason, I go on special voyages. These voyages nurture me; each time, I set on the road wondering how that particular voyage will nurture me.”
In order to bring his books to an international audience, the author himself paid for the English translation of his fourth novel Songs My Mother Never Taught Me. This translation, by Ruth Christie and Selçuk Berilgen, was published by Telegram Books in 2008 and sold 3,000 copies in the UK, but while the English publisher opted to follow it with Many and Many a Year Ago in 2009 and various German, Swiss, Spanish and Portuguese houses have expressed an interested in buying rights, “the global economic crisis seems to have stopped the process,” and, “Three foreign publishing houses acquired the rights to publish Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, but that was it!”
“There are many reasons for the limited number of Turkish authors and poets translated into English,” Altun stated in an interview with The Guardian, “Sadly Nobel prize-winner Orhan Pamuk's success hasn't yet increased Anglo-American interest in Turkish authors and poets,” before going on to list works by Feyyaz Kayacan Fergar, Oktay Rifat, Yaşar Kemal, Sait Faik, Bilge Karasu, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Nazım Hikmet as well as Pamuk among his top 10 Turkish books.
Born in Artvin, Turkey in 1950, he graduated from the Management Department of Boğaziçi University. He began work in the finance sector in 1974 and was chairman of Yapi Kredi Bank and executive board director of the YKY (Yapı Kredi Publications), where he amassed a personal library of 9,000 volumes and published works by Louise Glück and John Ashbery, before he retired in 2004 to pursue his full timewriting career.
“My goal was to write a book by the age of 50,” he says. “Before that, I knew I needed to read, so I read some 4,000 books before I sat down to write. That, more than anything, gave me the confidence I needed.” His first novel Yalnızlık Gittiğin Yoldan Gelir (Loneliness Comes from the Road You Go Down) was published in 2001 and has been subsequently followed by four further novels, a book of essays and a regular monthly column titled Kitap İçin (For the Love of Books) in the Cumhuriyet.
“I regard myself as a ‘person who writes’ rather than a ‘writer,’”, “I do not make a living on what I receive from my books. I transfer all royalties from my books to a scholarship fund I've founded at the university I graduated from. It provides scholarships to successful university students who study literature.” “In any case, whenever I want to write, I feel the urge to read first.”
“I believe that in both Turkish and world literature, bibliophilic protagonists and narrators in particular do not appear as much as they should,” states the self confessed bibliophile, who maintains he reads far more than he writes, “Besides, these characters do not like showing up in trashy novels that sweep the book market. Yet I believe the elite group called ‘literary readers’ do embrace them.” “In my novels, the setting is as important as the central characters. For this reason, I go on special voyages. These voyages nurture me; each time, I set on the road wondering how that particular voyage will nurture me.”
In order to bring his books to an international audience, the author himself paid for the English translation of his fourth novel Songs My Mother Never Taught Me. This translation, by Ruth Christie and Selçuk Berilgen, was published by Telegram Books in 2008 and sold 3,000 copies in the UK, but while the English publisher opted to follow it with Many and Many a Year Ago in 2009 and various German, Swiss, Spanish and Portuguese houses have expressed an interested in buying rights, “the global economic crisis seems to have stopped the process,” and, “Three foreign publishing houses acquired the rights to publish Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, but that was it!”
“There are many reasons for the limited number of Turkish authors and poets translated into English,” Altun stated in an interview with The Guardian, “Sadly Nobel prize-winner Orhan Pamuk's success hasn't yet increased Anglo-American interest in Turkish authors and poets,” before going on to list works by Feyyaz Kayacan Fergar, Oktay Rifat, Yaşar Kemal, Sait Faik, Bilge Karasu, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Nazım Hikmet as well as Pamuk among his top 10 Turkish books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
September 7, 2010
Songs My Mother Never Taught Me is an unlikely and somewhat awkward title for a novel in which murder-for-hire plays such a prominent role and one of the narrators is a professional assassin, but the book is also far from any sort of conventional thriller.
In alternating chapters two narrators tell their stories. The one is the very well-to-do Arda, finally liberated from his incredibly overbearing mother's overwhelming grip by her death; the other is Bedirhan, who has made his fortune as a hitman after coming from much more humble circumstances. Both are bookish -- with Bedirhan even moonlighting in various small-time literature-related jobs, though he certainly has no need for the small amounts he makes there.
Arda's father was killed when the boy was fourteen, and after his mother's death Arda decides to try to get to the bottom of that unsolved crime; it's no surprise who is behind it -- or at least pulled the trigger.
The organisation Bedirhan works for is the Mecruh, or El Mekrub:
The fees are huge, the injuries of the sort that society generally frowns upon but often aren't illegal. So also in the case of Arda's father, a brilliant mathematician: his misdeeds turn out to be slightly shocking, but he didn't exactly have this coming. Eventually Arda learns more about his parents -- and the girl from next door he had a crush on as a child -- than he may have wanted to. Bedirhan, meanwhile, is more of a cool customer, though he also finds himself entangled in a more complicated web than he might have thought: hitman work turns out not to be quite as straightforward as it was made out to be.
The title of the novel refers to a piece by Dvořák, and the use of that for the title is at least appropriate in the sense that Songs My Mother Never Taught Meis full of reference and allusion. A very (but casually) literary thriller, its bookish protagonists read everything from the noir classics to the collected works of Thomas Bernhard and Paul Auster. With mention of books ranging from Iain Sinclair's Suicide Bridge to "Gerhard Köpf's dilemma-ridden novel There is No Borges", as well as quotes from a variety of Turkish sources (including Küçük Iskender's Rock Manifesto), it is full of (relatively) unforced border-defying literary play: at one level, Altun's audience is the modern European reader (meaning the cultured European who actually reads and keeps up with contemporary literature). [Altun does it well -- hence also the disappointment that they misspell W.S.Merwin's name .....] But it's fairly enjoyable on it's more fundamental, semi-psychopathic level too. And, yes, there's a lot of psychopathy, from Arda's insanely domineering mother to ... Bedirhan's mother, who killed his dad (and his mistress) and then herself when he was a boy. (There's also an Uncle, who is constantly going off (or, one should say regarding some of them: getting off) on some tour or quest, ranging from one: "exploring Californian landmarks which cropped up in William Saroyan's stories" to a considerably seedier one on the trail of Egon Schiele.
Slightly more forced, but also fairly entertaining is the shadowy presence of a family friend that Arda doesn't particularly like named ... Selçuk Altun. Arda hasn't really bothered with the guy's novels but finally does have a look at them and finds:
Yes, it's that kind of metafictional novel, too. Much of this presumably works better in a world where Altun's fictional world is better-known (this is the first of his works to be translated into English), but it's not made into too much of a weight for the book to bear.
Songs My Mother Never Taught Me is a somewhat loose and distracted search-for-answers, and the fact that both protagonists have it (at least materially) so effortlessly easy gives Altun a bit too much freedom with them, making their stories slightly less compelling than they probably should be. Altun twists them and his plot into a few too many knots, but his style is fairly appealing and there's good fun to be had here. The story (or stories) feel a bit lost here (in psychopathic excess, for one), and the book probably works better in a larger context (i.e. alongside Altun's other work, for a start), but it's an enjoyable (if twisted) ride -- and Altun is definitely an author to look out for.
In alternating chapters two narrators tell their stories. The one is the very well-to-do Arda, finally liberated from his incredibly overbearing mother's overwhelming grip by her death; the other is Bedirhan, who has made his fortune as a hitman after coming from much more humble circumstances. Both are bookish -- with Bedirhan even moonlighting in various small-time literature-related jobs, though he certainly has no need for the small amounts he makes there.
Arda's father was killed when the boy was fourteen, and after his mother's death Arda decides to try to get to the bottom of that unsolved crime; it's no surprise who is behind it -- or at least pulled the trigger.
The organisation Bedirhan works for is the Mecruh, or El Mekrub:
In exchange for a fee from injured clients we assist justice by restoring their rights.
The fees are huge, the injuries of the sort that society generally frowns upon but often aren't illegal. So also in the case of Arda's father, a brilliant mathematician: his misdeeds turn out to be slightly shocking, but he didn't exactly have this coming. Eventually Arda learns more about his parents -- and the girl from next door he had a crush on as a child -- than he may have wanted to. Bedirhan, meanwhile, is more of a cool customer, though he also finds himself entangled in a more complicated web than he might have thought: hitman work turns out not to be quite as straightforward as it was made out to be.
The title of the novel refers to a piece by Dvořák, and the use of that for the title is at least appropriate in the sense that Songs My Mother Never Taught Meis full of reference and allusion. A very (but casually) literary thriller, its bookish protagonists read everything from the noir classics to the collected works of Thomas Bernhard and Paul Auster. With mention of books ranging from Iain Sinclair's Suicide Bridge to "Gerhard Köpf's dilemma-ridden novel There is No Borges", as well as quotes from a variety of Turkish sources (including Küçük Iskender's Rock Manifesto), it is full of (relatively) unforced border-defying literary play: at one level, Altun's audience is the modern European reader (meaning the cultured European who actually reads and keeps up with contemporary literature). [Altun does it well -- hence also the disappointment that they misspell W.S.Merwin's name .....] But it's fairly enjoyable on it's more fundamental, semi-psychopathic level too. And, yes, there's a lot of psychopathy, from Arda's insanely domineering mother to ... Bedirhan's mother, who killed his dad (and his mistress) and then herself when he was a boy. (There's also an Uncle, who is constantly going off (or, one should say regarding some of them: getting off) on some tour or quest, ranging from one: "exploring Californian landmarks which cropped up in William Saroyan's stories" to a considerably seedier one on the trail of Egon Schiele.
Slightly more forced, but also fairly entertaining is the shadowy presence of a family friend that Arda doesn't particularly like named ... Selçuk Altun. Arda hasn't really bothered with the guy's novels but finally does have a look at them and finds:
I knew now why my mother hadn't steered me towards these works which, I had to admit, were absorbing. Unfortunately, this unattractive man, whom I had known since childhood, had -- when in trouble -- used me as a model for the protagonist and narrator in his novels.
Yes, it's that kind of metafictional novel, too. Much of this presumably works better in a world where Altun's fictional world is better-known (this is the first of his works to be translated into English), but it's not made into too much of a weight for the book to bear.
Songs My Mother Never Taught Me is a somewhat loose and distracted search-for-answers, and the fact that both protagonists have it (at least materially) so effortlessly easy gives Altun a bit too much freedom with them, making their stories slightly less compelling than they probably should be. Altun twists them and his plot into a few too many knots, but his style is fairly appealing and there's good fun to be had here. The story (or stories) feel a bit lost here (in psychopathic excess, for one), and the book probably works better in a larger context (i.e. alongside Altun's other work, for a start), but it's an enjoyable (if twisted) ride -- and Altun is definitely an author to look out for.
October 23, 2022
رواية غريبة، عن شخص يُقتل أباه على يد قاتل مأجور، ليصطدما في النهاية وتتكشف لنا تفاصيل حياتهما وتشابه التفاصيل فيما يتعلق بما عانى كلاهما بسبب أسرتهما
October 21, 2020
Selçuk Altun, bizi bu sefer İstanbul sokaklarında karış karış gezintiye çıkarıyor. İstanbul’un kenarda köşede kalmış güzel isimli sokaklarında kahramanımız yıllar sonra hem babasının katilini arıyor hem de kendi iç hesaplaşmasını gerçekleştiriyor. Polisiye kıvamında giden ama sonlarına doğru tarihin derinliklerine doğru sizi götüren bir roman. Özellikle Kariye Müzesi, Cellatlar Mezarlığı, Kıztaşı, İmrahor Camii, Atik Ali Paşa Camii ve Karacaahmet Mezarlığı ile ucundan da olsa sizlere buralarla ilgili gizemi aşılıyor. Kitabı okurken ve bittiğinde bu yapıların tarihini araştırınken kendimi buldum.
Selçuk Altun’un en sevdiğim özelliklerinden biridir; benim kitaplarım sadece roman değildir. Yazmak için yazılmamıştır. Bu kitabı ile de hem güzel kurgulanmış bir roman, hem de bilinmeyen tarihin içine yolculuk gerçekleştirdim. Açıkçası beni tatmin etti. Selçuk Altun yazdıkça ben okumaya ve araştırmaya devam edeceğim.
Selçuk Altun’un en sevdiğim özelliklerinden biridir; benim kitaplarım sadece roman değildir. Yazmak için yazılmamıştır. Bu kitabı ile de hem güzel kurgulanmış bir roman, hem de bilinmeyen tarihin içine yolculuk gerçekleştirdim. Açıkçası beni tatmin etti. Selçuk Altun yazdıkça ben okumaya ve araştırmaya devam edeceğim.
August 11, 2020
غريب هذا الكتاب، وهناك أمر جميل في غرابته
لم أتوقع أن أستمتع بقراءة رواية قد تصنف بأنها بوليسية وفيها شخصيتان رئيسيتان إحداهما قاتل مأجور. فكرة أن القاتل المأجور لديه توجهات دينية أشعرتني في البداية بالامتعاض، وقلت في نفسي: "أف، رواية أخرى فيها ترسيخ لصور نمطية خاطئة عن المتدينين". لكن أحداث القصة تبعث مشاعر مختلطة وتجعل القراء يميلون لهذه الشخصية خصوصاً بعد فهم الظروف التي مر بدرخان بها، والدوافع التي لديه والعلاقات الإنسانية التي يكونها مع من حوله.
أما بالنسبة للشخصية الثانية - أردا، وجدت نفسي متعاطفة منذ البداية مع شخصيته المضطربة، والتي هي نتاج لتربية خانفة في بيئة ليبرالية أرستقراطية. فعلى الرغم من كل الأفكار المشوشة والاضطرابات التي يمر بها، إلا أنه يبقى شخصية مسالمة ترتاح لسماع الأذان ولديه حنين دائم للماضي وتقدير لإرث مدينة اسطنبول التاريخي والمهمل أحياناً، كما أنه في مواضع عدة يعبر عن غضبه واستياءه من إساءة توظيف الدين واستغلاله. هذه الأفكار غير متوقعة لدرجة معينة من شخصية كأردا حيث أن نمط حياته متحرر ولا يوحي بأنه من الأشخاص الذين سيشعرون "بوقار المساجد عند دخولها" على سبيل المثال.
برأيي النص كثيف وفيه زخم جميل من التعابير والصور الفنية والتشبيهات، وحتى الحبكة قوية والطريقة التي تقاطعت بها شخصيتي أردا وبدرخان كانت ذكية.
كان من الطريف استخدام الكاتب سلجوق ألتون لاسمه في العمل وكأنه شخصية تستفز أردا على الدوام وتتدخل في حياته وتتطفل عليه وعلى وأفراد عائلته وتستغلهم كنماذج لبناء شخصيات روائية لألتون.
العمل مليء بالشخصيات الثانوية، ورأيت أن بعضها لم يضف قيمة على العمل وخصوصاً شخصية خال أردا الماجنة - لم تعجبني أبداً
لم أتوقع أن أستمتع بقراءة رواية قد تصنف بأنها بوليسية وفيها شخصيتان رئيسيتان إحداهما قاتل مأجور. فكرة أن القاتل المأجور لديه توجهات دينية أشعرتني في البداية بالامتعاض، وقلت في نفسي: "أف، رواية أخرى فيها ترسيخ لصور نمطية خاطئة عن المتدينين". لكن أحداث القصة تبعث مشاعر مختلطة وتجعل القراء يميلون لهذه الشخصية خصوصاً بعد فهم الظروف التي مر بدرخان بها، والدوافع التي لديه والعلاقات الإنسانية التي يكونها مع من حوله.
أما بالنسبة للشخصية الثانية - أردا، وجدت نفسي متعاطفة منذ البداية مع شخصيته المضطربة، والتي هي نتاج لتربية خانفة في بيئة ليبرالية أرستقراطية. فعلى الرغم من كل الأفكار المشوشة والاضطرابات التي يمر بها، إلا أنه يبقى شخصية مسالمة ترتاح لسماع الأذان ولديه حنين دائم للماضي وتقدير لإرث مدينة اسطنبول التاريخي والمهمل أحياناً، كما أنه في مواضع عدة يعبر عن غضبه واستياءه من إساءة توظيف الدين واستغلاله. هذه الأفكار غير متوقعة لدرجة معينة من شخصية كأردا حيث أن نمط حياته متحرر ولا يوحي بأنه من الأشخاص الذين سيشعرون "بوقار المساجد عند دخولها" على سبيل المثال.
برأيي النص كثيف وفيه زخم جميل من التعابير والصور الفنية والتشبيهات، وحتى الحبكة قوية والطريقة التي تقاطعت بها شخصيتي أردا وبدرخان كانت ذكية.
كان من الطريف استخدام الكاتب سلجوق ألتون لاسمه في العمل وكأنه شخصية تستفز أردا على الدوام وتتدخل في حياته وتتطفل عليه وعلى وأفراد عائلته وتستغلهم كنماذج لبناء شخصيات روائية لألتون.
العمل مليء بالشخصيات الثانوية، ورأيت أن بعضها لم يضف قيمة على العمل وخصوصاً شخصية خال أردا الماجنة - لم تعجبني أبداً
December 17, 2019
لم اقرأ لسلجوق ألتون قبل الآن. العنوان جميل جدا لفتني للغاية. والفكرة التي تدور حولها الرواية أيضا جيدة فيها شخصيات وأماكن ومشاعر وأفكار جميلة وعميقة. الأسلوب مثل الأساليب الكتابية التي ينتهجها مثلا أورهان باموق وهو أسلوب الروي المنفصل. الحبكات المتعددة والخيوط التي تنتشر ثم تجتمع في النهاية في صورة واحدة مفاجئة شيء جميل.
إنما ما حدث هو: تقرأ وتقرأ ولا تشعر بشيء إطلاقا يشد انتباهك أو يجعلك تتفاعل، الشعور الذي رافقني كان تماما مثل: أن ترى كل شيء بوضوح، كل لون وكل حركة وكل تفصيل إنما وأنت تقف خلف لوح سميك من الزجاج فلا تستطيع لمس ما ترى ولا التحقق منه.
أظن والعلم عند الله أن للترجمة دور في هذا، فهي تقذف العبارات قذفا وإن بترتيب إنما ترتيب أجوف.
إنما ما حدث هو: تقرأ وتقرأ ولا تشعر بشيء إطلاقا يشد انتباهك أو يجعلك تتفاعل، الشعور الذي رافقني كان تماما مثل: أن ترى كل شيء بوضوح، كل لون وكل حركة وكل تفصيل إنما وأنت تقف خلف لوح سميك من الزجاج فلا تستطيع لمس ما ترى ولا التحقق منه.
أظن والعلم عند الله أن للترجمة دور في هذا، فهي تقذف العبارات قذفا وإن بترتيب إنما ترتيب أجوف.
December 1, 2016
الرواية مختلفة و مفعمة بالمفاجآت الصغيرة ... والمترجمة ريم الطويل تستحق تحية لترجمتها
سيكون من الجميل أن نستمتع بوجود فيلم لها
سيكون من الجميل أن نستمتع بوجود فيلم لها
January 28, 2018
لو علمت مسبقًا بقصة الرواية أغلب الظن ما كنتُ لأقرؤها ، رغم إنني استمتعت بها كثيرًا حتى نقطة ما.
July 4, 2018
روايه ممتعه و اسلوبها جميل و محفز لاكمالها حتى النهايه
متنوعه بين لغزها البوليسي و معلوماتها الأدبي و التاريخيه
بدأت استمتع بأعمال الكتاب الأتراك
متنوعه بين لغزها البوليسي و معلوماتها الأدبي و التاريخيه
بدأت استمتع بأعمال الكتاب الأتراك
September 5, 2018
The story, set in Istanbul, is narrated by two protagonists (Arda and Bedirhan), two men with a completely different life and background, but they have a common point in love to the books and in the death of Arda's father. Interesting characters, readable prose, some general history of Turkey and Istanbul, lots of walking through the streets of Istanbul (reminiscent of a Pamuk) ... in short - readable, but forgettable.
December 30, 2020
Selçuk Altun, evvela Enis Batur’un bir yazısında övmesiyle sonra da Cumhuriyet Kitap Dergisi ekindeki düzenli yazıları ile dikkatimi çeken bir (emekli) bankacı yazar.
Evet, romandaki yazı dili, bazı okur eleştirilerinde bahsedildiği kadar itici gelebilir kimilerine. Neredeyse bazı anlarda ben de öyle bulur gibi oldum. Neredeyse deme nedenim, bu dile onun dergi yazılarından ötürü biraz hazırlıklıydım. Ve ukala dil, yarattığı roman karakterine uyuyor aslında.
Tek sorun; farklı bir konuşma dilini iki farklı karakterde de uygulaması. Bu denli tesadüf olamayacağına göre...
Onun haricinde; romanın akışındaki yer yer kara mizah elbette Oğuz Atay tarzını anımsatıyor ama işin bu kısmını Selçuk Altun bence başarıyla kotarmıştır.
Evet, romandaki yazı dili, bazı okur eleştirilerinde bahsedildiği kadar itici gelebilir kimilerine. Neredeyse bazı anlarda ben de öyle bulur gibi oldum. Neredeyse deme nedenim, bu dile onun dergi yazılarından ötürü biraz hazırlıklıydım. Ve ukala dil, yarattığı roman karakterine uyuyor aslında.
Tek sorun; farklı bir konuşma dilini iki farklı karakterde de uygulaması. Bu denli tesadüf olamayacağına göre...
Onun haricinde; romanın akışındaki yer yer kara mizah elbette Oğuz Atay tarzını anımsatıyor ama işin bu kısmını Selçuk Altun bence başarıyla kotarmıştır.
April 28, 2017
I have absolutely no idea why this book was ever written. It is promoted as a thriller but is simply full of meaningless violence. The two main characters are the unhappy son of an overinvolved mother who dies almost immediately and a hired assassin who is supposedly redeemed from total savagery because he loves books. It's full of bizarre mother/son relationships, trite and unpleasant sexual desires and, oddly, a tour of famous Istanbul sights while one of them tries to find the other. A total time waster.
November 26, 2016
I read a lot of translated fiction and a lot of crime fiction from around the world, and I regret to report that this semi-thriller from Turkey failed to connect with me. The story unfolds in chapters alternating between the first-person narrations of two very different characters. We meet a 27-year-old heir of a wealthy Turkish family leading s a meandering unfulfilled life of the mind until the death of his overbearing mother is the catalyst for him to dump his fiance and look into the murder of his father a decade and a half earlier. Meanwhile, the second is a poor orphan who grows up to be a moralistic contract killer. It's revealed in the early pages that the latter happens to be the killer of the former's father, and it's clear that the alternating chapters will eventually climax in a face to face meeting between the two.
However, before that happens, there is quite a bit of meandering around the forgotten landmarks, monuments, gravestones, and neighborhoods of old Istanbul, introspection, literary references galore, and even the postmodern appearance of the author as a fairly significant character in the story. The walking tour of Istanbul is likely to be of limited interest to readers who've not been to the city themselves. The introspection of the various characters is suffused with a kind of melancholy heaviness of spirit known in Turkish as "huzun" which weights the whole book down. The literary references (book titles, poems, authors, aphorisms, oh my!) accumulate in such profusion that they become rather obtrusive and overbearing. As for the author's appearance as a character in the story, well, that's either to your taste or isn't. In the end though, while bits and pieces are certainly interesting, there's nothing particularly thrilling about any of it. The author has written several other books, and at least one of these (Many and Many a Year Ago) is now available in English, but my appetite for more certainly wasn't whetted with this one.
However, before that happens, there is quite a bit of meandering around the forgotten landmarks, monuments, gravestones, and neighborhoods of old Istanbul, introspection, literary references galore, and even the postmodern appearance of the author as a fairly significant character in the story. The walking tour of Istanbul is likely to be of limited interest to readers who've not been to the city themselves. The introspection of the various characters is suffused with a kind of melancholy heaviness of spirit known in Turkish as "huzun" which weights the whole book down. The literary references (book titles, poems, authors, aphorisms, oh my!) accumulate in such profusion that they become rather obtrusive and overbearing. As for the author's appearance as a character in the story, well, that's either to your taste or isn't. In the end though, while bits and pieces are certainly interesting, there's nothing particularly thrilling about any of it. The author has written several other books, and at least one of these (Many and Many a Year Ago) is now available in English, but my appetite for more certainly wasn't whetted with this one.
October 12, 2015
Kafamda yazmak istediğim romana olan olası benzerliğini (İstanbul'a mekan olarak önemli rol verip cinayet(ler) içermesi itibarıyle) farkedip edindiğim bir kitap. Değerlendirmesi zor oldu. Yazar bir bibliyofil ve bu hissediliyor. Bunun iyi mi kötü mü olduğunu söylemek zor ama romanını popüler ve edebi kültüre ve İstanbul tarihine referansları sayesinde çok katmanlı hale getirmesinde önemli bir rolü var. Bu çok katmanlılık sadece görünürde mi var yoksa gerçekten derine mi iniyor, bunu pek çözemedim. Ne kastettiğini anlamadığım, görünürde daha derin bir mesajı da takip etmek için bir ipucu vermeyen cümlelerle karşılaştım sıklıkla. Finans sektöründe geçirdiği yılları da ekonomik verilere verdiği referanstan anlıyoruz. Hatta hatta kendisini de roman karakteri yapmış. Narsizm olarak değerlendirmememiz için mi ne, kendi adını taşıyan karaktere diğer karakterlerin ağzından sürekli "itici, ukala" gibi kötü laflar yapıştırıyor. Karakterlerin monologlarında bir miktar tekrarlama hissedip rahatsız olsam da dil kullanımı zayıf diyemeyiz. Kurgusu da fena değil.
Toplamda, bu nasıl değerlendireceğimiden emin olamadığım çok katmanlılık ve güçlü-zayıf özellikleri birarada bulunması itibarıyle okuma deneyimimde kopukluklar yarattı. Karakterler zihnime yapışıp bir hayat kazanamadı tam olarak. Yazarın diliyle aramda hep bir mesafe kaldı. Roman beni idealimdeki kadar sürüklemedi. Bir fırsat daha vermeyi düşünmek lazım zira yazarın romanı (galiba kendi imkanlarıyla) İngilizce'ye çevirtmesinden ne kadar büyük umutlarla ve emekle yazdığını sezmek mümkün.
Toplamda, bu nasıl değerlendireceğimiden emin olamadığım çok katmanlılık ve güçlü-zayıf özellikleri birarada bulunması itibarıyle okuma deneyimimde kopukluklar yarattı. Karakterler zihnime yapışıp bir hayat kazanamadı tam olarak. Yazarın diliyle aramda hep bir mesafe kaldı. Roman beni idealimdeki kadar sürüklemedi. Bir fırsat daha vermeyi düşünmek lazım zira yazarın romanı (galiba kendi imkanlarıyla) İngilizce'ye çevirtmesinden ne kadar büyük umutlarla ve emekle yazdığını sezmek mümkün.
July 13, 2010
Although described as a thriller, the pace is hardly thrilleresque; but it is a book of puzzles. Alternately told by Arda, who feels a great sense of freedom with his mother's death, and Bedirhan, an assassin for hire. Selcuk Altun, the author, is also a character in the book, and described as 'repulsive' by Arda. Following a series of clues that take him around Istanbul, Arda seeks his father's murderer. Almost dream-like in its images, and in its twists and turns, this is probably a richer read for those more familiar with Turkish culture as there are many references to accents, occupations, and origins that are used to place people in society.
May 9, 2014
This is a discovery for me! So addictive writing.
I found this book in the charity shop and got it for 20p. Now ordered other 2 published in English.
Peerless thoughts and the insight into Turkish culture I wasn't familiar with or, to tell the truth, I was convinced of it to be completely different.
Worth every minute of reading it.
I found this book in the charity shop and got it for 20p. Now ordered other 2 published in English.
Peerless thoughts and the insight into Turkish culture I wasn't familiar with or, to tell the truth, I was convinced of it to be completely different.
Worth every minute of reading it.
Read
October 7, 2019Beğendiğim bir bölüm: Cennet/ cehennem olgusunun en gizemli yanı, vize kurallarının kesinlikle bilinememesiymiş. "Tuzağa düşürülmüş bir katil cennete çıkarken; art niyetsiz ama bariz hatası yüzünden ülkesini milyarlarca dolar zarara sokan dürüst bürokrat cehenneme düşebilir." buyurmuştu aziz insan.
Kulunuz size "Çevresindeki sığlık kaosundan kurtulmak için bir hastanenin kadim hastaları arasına saklanan, kentin o en bilge insanının dostluğu yaşamının tek şansıydı"girişiyle biten bir günlük tuttuğunu arz etmiş miydi?
Kulunuz size "Çevresindeki sığlık kaosundan kurtulmak için bir hastanenin kadim hastaları arasına saklanan, kentin o en bilge insanının dostluğu yaşamının tek şansıydı"girişiyle biten bir günlük tuttuğunu arz etmiş miydi?
September 29, 2022
This is a better book than its overall rating suggests. It’s undoubtedly clever but appreciating it would have taken a lot more effort than I was able to give it and it wasn’t one of those books that ‘you could just enjoy anyway’ without plunging yourself wholeheartedly into its metafictional aspects. Interesting but not quite for me.
February 24, 2024
This is one of those books that requires effort to finish. Initially, I had high hopes for this novel after reading the title and the first few pages. However, as I continued reading, the plot became increasingly scattered and unorganized. Despite hoping my opinion would change, I found myself pushing through to the end without success.
February 17, 2021
Cinayet romanı içinde büyük bir. köye dönüşen İstanbul, çarpık yapılaşma, önemsenmedigi icin harabeye dönüşen tarihi anıtlar , ülkedeki ahlaki çöküş, yozlaşma, cehalet , kültür ve degerlerinden kopmuş insanlar, sosyo=ekonomik sorunlar gibi bir çok konuya değinmiş yazar.
Bazı kelimeler roman icinde surekli olarak kullanılmış, bazı kelimelerde harfler kelime çift anlama gelecek şekilde parantezle ayrılmış. Yazar kendisine de roman karakteri olarak hikayeye dahil ederek kendine has farklı bir yazım tarzı olusturmaya çalışmış
Ne yazık ki kötü bir kurgu, abartılı tesadüfler , dozu kaçan hiciv , bazı konularda yeterince arastırma yapılmadan sunulan yanlış bilgiler nedeniyle edebi bir eser olmaktan öte sığ bir polisiye roman
Bazı kelimeler roman icinde surekli olarak kullanılmış, bazı kelimelerde harfler kelime çift anlama gelecek şekilde parantezle ayrılmış. Yazar kendisine de roman karakteri olarak hikayeye dahil ederek kendine has farklı bir yazım tarzı olusturmaya çalışmış
Ne yazık ki kötü bir kurgu, abartılı tesadüfler , dozu kaçan hiciv , bazı konularda yeterince arastırma yapılmadan sunulan yanlış bilgiler nedeniyle edebi bir eser olmaktan öte sığ bir polisiye roman
February 27, 2021
Yazarın en sevdiğim üç kitabından biri. Bir kere bu kitabın ismi bile sevmek için yeterli. Dvorak’ın eserine atıfla. Çocuğunun hayatını yöneten despot ebeveyn karakteri bu kitapta da mevcut. Ama bu kitap da çok akıcı, okumaktan keyif aldım. Sanırım en çok Ardıç Ağacının Altında’yı hatırlattı bana.
March 13, 2021
Halife Harun Reşit, Selçuk beye “Annemin Öğretmediği Şarkılar’ı hiç saklamadan bana öyküyü tüm ayrıntılarıyla anlat!” demiş. O da bütün hikayeyi başından sonuna kadar anlatmış. Ama Bizans Sultanı veya Ayrılık Çeşmesi Sokağını burada yeniden anlatmanın hiçbir yararı yok.
November 21, 2023
Hayatımda ilk defa bir kitaba 1 puan veriyorum. Gereksiz yere anlaşılması güçleştirilmiş imajı veren, birbirini tekrarlayan cümle yapılarıyla dolu. Hiçbir cümlem sıradan olmasın diye bir karar vermiş sanki. Gereksiz şiirsellik kasan bir yazar olduğunu düşünüyorum.
February 8, 2017
Read this in 3 sittings I always find Turkish literature to be almost mystical in tone and this is no different. Great read
November 17, 2019
رواية جميلة، احببت وصف الكاتب لتركيا والأماكن السياحية والأثرية بها وكيف تحولت مع مرور الزمن كما يتحول كل شيء، وأحببت وصفه للشخصيات والقصة عموما.
December 14, 2021
struggled to remember all the characters, also suffered from over-description in parts
November 3, 2022
كتب رايقة نكتشفها بنفسنا رواية جميلة ومزعجة❤
March 28, 2023
Istanbul was a far more engaging character than any other.
December 24, 2023
رواية ممتعة ، فيها من تشويق الرويات البوليسية الكثير ولكنني لا اعتبرها رواية بوليسية فلها نكهة وطعم خاص والكثير من المفارقات
انصح بقراتها لمن يريد الاستمتاع بالقراءة
انصح بقراتها لمن يريد الاستمتاع بالقراءة
June 22, 2024
الكثير من الشخصيات الثانوية ، الكثير من المعلومات التاريخية ،والكثير من التفاصيل غير المهمة مما ادى لضعف الرواية .
October 14, 2024
قرأت كثيراً في الأدب التركي.. للصراحة وجدته مملاً ومشتتاً للغاية.. شيء أقرب إلى عقدة الوسَط.. سرد مسجون بين ثقافتي الشرق والغرب لا يجد له مستقرًّا.
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