Bilge Karasu (1930–1995)

‪Surreal in the vein of Jorge Luis Borges or Italo Calvino. An experimental narrative that comprises a collection of stories interspersed with a framing narrative about a man traveling in a foreign country in which the town’s traditional human chess game is about to take place. The collection defies easy interpretation: Like a faint star, meaning can only be gathered by glancing at the stories together obliquely. The overall effect is strange and sad. No cats die, but love is like a cat show more and may depart.‬ show less

Each chapter is told from a different perspective and in a different style with little to anchor the reader on continuity. Too often, I was unclear about who "he" or "she" in a particular section was. In the end, I didn't find the characterizations interesting enough to work through the obfuscations.

Gece'de anlatılan tek tek, bölük pörçük durumların, konumların, gerçek yaşamla somut ilişkisi sürekli seziliyor satır aralarında. Okurun yakın geçmişte tanığı olduğu birçok toplumsal, tarihsel, kültürel deneyden yankılar var metinde sözgelişi. Alışılmış tarihsel mantığın işleyişi bile sorguya çekiliyor. Ama bütün bu gerçek durumlardan soyut bir çıkarım olan yaşantı, insan umutlarıyla korkularının bütünleyici imgeleriyle dile getiriliyor.

I read Night in English, and perhaps I should read it in Turkish, too. Even in the English, the language of the book is certainly beautiful, arresting, and sometimes eerie. With that said, I did not "get it," I am afraid. I got that most of it was one big collection of symbols and all those other literary terms one can use... But what did it all mean in the end, I am not sure. It was a book I finished and said, "Yeah, I guess I should read it again. I have no idea what happened." It is show more exactly the opposite of what can happen with some books you read and you cannot describe them or what happened in plain words to someone else, but you somehow *understand* what happened. So, yeah, I'll have to read it again, maybe in Turkish this time. show less