Please give me a few examples of truly excellent Turkish novels I can find in a store in the US.?

Question

in English! I have read "Snow" by Orhan Pamuk and found it to be excellent, though a bit heavy. What would be a really excellent NOVEL by another Turkish author. It must be very fine literature, not some political posturing - though a bit of political discussion is fine if it is incidental to the novel.

Answer 1

Hi Zelda,

Please chek that Novels;

Yaşar Kemal - Novels
İnce Memed (Memed, My Hawk) (1955)
Teneke (The Drumming-Out) (1955)
Orta Direk (The Wind from the Plain) (1960)
Yer Demir Gök Bakır (Iron Earth, Copper Sky) (1963)
Ölmez Otu (The Undying Grass) (1968)
Akçasazın Ağaları/Demirciler Çarşısı Cinayeti (The Agas of Akchasaz Trilogy /Murder in the Ironsmiths Market) (1974)
Akçasazın Ağaları/Yusufcuk Yusuf (The Agas of Akchasaz Trilogy / Yusuf, Little Yusuf) (1975)
Yılanı Öldürseler (To Crush the Serpent) (1976)
Al Gözüm Seyreyle Salih (The Saga of a Seagull) (1976)
Allahın Askerleri (God’s Soldiers) (1978)
Kuşlar da Gitti (The Birds Have Also Gone: Long Stories) (1978)
Deniz Küstü (The Sea-Crossed Fisherman) (1978)
Hüyükteki Nar Ağacı (The pomegranate on the Knoll) (1982)
Yağmurcuk Kuşu/Kimsecik I (Kimsecik I - Little Nobody I) (1980)
Kale Kapısı/Kimsecik II (Kimsecik II - Little Nobody II)(1985)
Kanın Sesi/Kimsecik III (Kimsecik III - Little Nobody III) (1991)
Fırat Suyu Kan Akıyor Baksana(Look, the Firat River is Flowing with Blood) (1997)
Karıncanın Su İçtiği (Ant Drinking Water) (2002)
Tanyeri Horozları (The Cocks of Dawn) (2002)

Yaşar Kemal - Epic Novels
Üç Anadolu Efsanesi (Three Anatolian Legends) (1967)
Ağrıdağı Efsanesi (The Legend of Mount Ararat) (1970)
Binboğalar Efsanesi (The Legend of the Thousand Bulls) (1971)
Çakırcalı Efe* (The Life Stories of the Famous Bandit Çakircali) (1972)

Ref :http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Yaar_Kemal_-_Bibliography/id/5600898

Cheers

Answer 2

I don't like Orhan Pamuk. I just think he has an excellent translator. But hey, that's just me. I am guilty of demanding higher (Turkish) language skills in the writers I read.

On the other hand, Yaşar Kemal is a literary genius, both in language and narrative. And his works are translated widely, too. If you cannot be sure, you can try a thinner book. I'm sure you'll get hooked.

Latife Tekin is a good writer, too. I like her style.

Answer 3

please visit this web:
http://www.turkish-lit.boun.edu.tr/default.asp?CharSet=Turkish
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my favorites:
1)Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar
2)Attila Ä°lhan
3)Ayla Kutlu
4)Aziz Nesin
5)Bekir Yıldız
6)Bilge Karasu
7)Cemil Kavukçu
8)Demir Özlü
9)Erendiz Atasü
10)Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca
11)Firüzan
12)Haldun Taner
13)Latife Tekin
14)Leyla Erbil
15)Melih Cevdet Anday
16)Nazım Hikmet
17)Necati Cumalı
18)Oğuz Atay
19)Onat Kutlar
20)Orhan Kemal
21)Özdemir İnce
22)Sevgi Soysal
23)Sunay Akın
24)Şükran Kurdakul
25)Talat Sait Halman
26)Tarık Dursun K.
27)Yusuf Atılgan

Answer 4

If you like Show, you should also read 'The Black Book' by the same author.

Answer 5

You should absolutely read Yasar Kemal.