Mehmet Sait Abasıyanık (1906–1954)
Author of A Useless Man: Selected Stories
About the Author
Works by Mehmet Sait Abasıyanık
Seçme hikâyeler 2 copies
HAVADA BULUT 1 copy
SIMDI SEVISME VAKTI 1 copy
Birtakım İnsanlar 1 copy
SEMAVER - KUMPANYA 1 copy
Şahmerdan 1 copy
Seṁe hikýeler 1 copy
Az Şekerli & Tüneldeki Çocuk 1 copy
Associated Works
Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East (Words Without Borders) (2010) — Contributor — 222 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Abasıyanık, Mehmet Sait
- Birthdate
- 1906-11-23
- Date of death
- 1954-5-11
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Sakarya Adapazarı Rehber-i Terakki Okulu
İstanbul Erkek Lisesi
Bursa Lisesi
İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Türkoloji Bölümü - Occupations
- writer
- Awards and honors
- Honorary member of the International Mark Twain Society of St. Louis
- Short biography
- 23 Kasım 1906'da Adapazarı'nda doğmuştur. Asıl adı Mehmet Sait'tir. İlköğrenimini Adapazarı'nda Rehber-i Terakki Okulu'nda, ortaöğrenimini İstanbul Erkek Lisesi ve Bursa Lisesi'nde görmüştür. 1928-1930 yılları arasında İstanbul Üniversitesi,Edebiyat Fakültesi Türkoloji Bölümü'nde okumuştur. Babasının isteği üzerine iktisat öğrenimi için İsviçre'ye gitmiş ancak hemen buradan edebiyat okumak üzere Fransa'ya geçmiş ve gerek doğal çevresi, gerek kültürel yapısıyla kendisine ilginç gelen Grenoble'da üç yıl kalmıştır (1931-1935). Grenoble'da sürdürdüğü dağınık yaşam tarzı nedeniyle babası onu geri çağırmış ve yüksek öğrenimini yarıda bırakarak yurda dönmüştür. Türkiye'ye dönünce babasının yanında ticaretle uğraşmayı denemiş, başarılı olamamıştır. Kısa bir süre için Haber Gazetesi'nin adliye muhabirliğini yapmıştır. Sadece yazılarıyla uğraşmaya karar vermiştir. Babasının ölümünden sonra (1939) onun bıraktığı gelirle annesiyle Burgaz Adası'ndaki evinde yaşamıştır. Hayatında yazmaya ara verdiği üç dönem olmuştur. Birincisi 1939'da babasının ölümü, ikincisi 1946'da kendisine siroz teşhisi konması, üçüncüsü ise 1951'de Kayıp Aranıyor romanının toplatılması olmuştur. 1953 yılında Amerika'daki Mark Twain derneğine onur üyesi seçilmiştir. 1954 yılında İstanbul'da, şimdi müze olan Burgaz adasındaki evinde (Sait Faik Müzesi) siroz hastalığından hayata gözlerini yummuştur. Annesi ölümünden sonra bu evi Darüşşafaka Lisesi'ne bağışlamıştır. Ölümünden sonra anısını yaşatmak için annesi tarafından adına bir öykü ödülü (Sait Faik Hikaye Armağanı) konmuştur.
- Nationality
- Turkey
- Birthplace
- Adapazarı, Sakarya, Turkey
- Place of death
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Associated Place (for map)
- Turkey
Members
Reviews
Sait Faik Abasiyanik is a well-known and beloved author in Turkey, but this collection could be difficult reading at times. I am sure a lot of that was due to the fact that I’m not very familiar with the culture of the time (early-mid 20th c. Turkey), but the stories have also been described as random and occasionally surreal. The first story in this collection started off promising enough–a nicely described portrait of a man living a simple but contented life who finds himself at loose show more ends after his mother dies. However, several of the stories after that seemed very random and occasionally confusing. The prose was also tense and choppy. The collection is organized in chronological order, and at first, I didn’t like the writing style. Later on, however, the writing was much smoother. I started to enjoy the stories more with “Who Cares?” and “On Spoon Island”, which had more development and an arc compared to the earlier ones. Still, I was sometimes confused about what had happened. This wasn’t due to the writing being especially confusing–it was more of me wondering “Why are people behaving this way? Is this…normal?” and wondering about the background of some things that were described but not explained.
Some of the more enjoyable stories, like the first one, are detailed character portraits. The title story is about an isolated man who follows the same routine every day. Other stories had a quixotic or humorous but not comic feel. “Who Cares?” is about a woman who is attempting to deal with her dead husband’s body, which is stuck in their isolated house. “I Just Don’t Know Why I Keep Doing These Things” finds the narrator accused of stealing the prayer beads of a coffee house patron. He didn’t steal them but keeps taunting the man anyway. The author spent his life in the family home on an island, and many of the stories are about fishermen, fish and islands. Two of the best are “Sinagrit Baba”, which is told from the fish’s point of view, and “Death of the Dulger”, about a dying fish. There are also a number of stories capturing a slowly vanishing lifestyle, what with encroaching modernism and Western influences. One of my favorite stories was “The Last Birds”, a lovely and lyrical tale about the declining bird population on the island. This collection wasn’t difficult to read but I never felt the urge to pick it up, as with some collections. show less
Some of the more enjoyable stories, like the first one, are detailed character portraits. The title story is about an isolated man who follows the same routine every day. Other stories had a quixotic or humorous but not comic feel. “Who Cares?” is about a woman who is attempting to deal with her dead husband’s body, which is stuck in their isolated house. “I Just Don’t Know Why I Keep Doing These Things” finds the narrator accused of stealing the prayer beads of a coffee house patron. He didn’t steal them but keeps taunting the man anyway. The author spent his life in the family home on an island, and many of the stories are about fishermen, fish and islands. Two of the best are “Sinagrit Baba”, which is told from the fish’s point of view, and “Death of the Dulger”, about a dying fish. There are also a number of stories capturing a slowly vanishing lifestyle, what with encroaching modernism and Western influences. One of my favorite stories was “The Last Birds”, a lovely and lyrical tale about the declining bird population on the island. This collection wasn’t difficult to read but I never felt the urge to pick it up, as with some collections. show less
Abasıyanık is identified as one of the giants of Turkish literature, a master of short stories. I have to admit I was long curious about him and found the stories (there are about three dozen in the book) varied enormously…from one I just gave up on it was so difficult to follow to several that moved me quite a bit. All in all, nevertheless, I have to say I was disappointed. He has a unique voice that surfaces irregularly: some stories are told in a “straightforward” manner and some show more are so oblique and so symbolic that I had difficulty. I won’t go so far as to say that you have to be Turkish to “get” them (or at least some of them), but there is no doubt in my mind that I missed more than I understood in too many of them. I have never been to Turkey, don’t know enough about life there or the culture and although the references in the writing aren’t clear, I have the distinct feeling that much depends on a sympathetic knowledge for the power in these stories. show less
(I love getting to write the dotless ı in Turkish. When I'm done Irish on Duolingo, I might learn Turkish just because of that letter.)
Translators' Afterword
Sometimes you don't know what to say, and then the Translators' Afterword says it for you. Most of what we have in this collection are odd little scenes with, from a plotting perspective, leave one show more saying So what? but from a mood perspective, give one a clear sense of Turkey from the 1930s to the 1950s. There are scenes of his neighbourhood, his island, fishermen, night watchmen, thieves, young boys in love (sometimes rather homo-erotically). There are a few stories just about fish, one from the fish's perspective, one from a man watching a fish die. The stories skip lightly but at fairly earthy, concerned as they are with the minutiae of existence. If I were to pick a colour for this book, I'd pick a mundane sort of light brown, like soil a bit wet, but not drenched.
I don't really mind reading no-plot little scenes, so I didn't really mind reading A Useless Man, but a fair number of stories start with a few paragraphs that seem to have minimal consequence to the rest of the story. I guess they're building the scene, but having to go back after a page or two because the transition to the actual story was so awkward, made me a sad and confused panda. Strangely, one needs focus for stories without traditional notions of plot, and I kept losing mine.
Line of awesome dotless ı's: ıııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııı.
A Useless Man: Selected Stories by Sait Faik Abasıyanık went on sale January 6, 2015.
I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less
Though his stories are often opaque, fragmentary and oddly plotted, they never fail to conjure up a mood that lingers in your mind for days.
Translators' Afterword
Sometimes you don't know what to say, and then the Translators' Afterword says it for you. Most of what we have in this collection are odd little scenes with, from a plotting perspective, leave one show more saying So what? but from a mood perspective, give one a clear sense of Turkey from the 1930s to the 1950s. There are scenes of his neighbourhood, his island, fishermen, night watchmen, thieves, young boys in love (sometimes rather homo-erotically). There are a few stories just about fish, one from the fish's perspective, one from a man watching a fish die. The stories skip lightly but at fairly earthy, concerned as they are with the minutiae of existence. If I were to pick a colour for this book, I'd pick a mundane sort of light brown, like soil a bit wet, but not drenched.
I don't really mind reading no-plot little scenes, so I didn't really mind reading A Useless Man, but a fair number of stories start with a few paragraphs that seem to have minimal consequence to the rest of the story. I guess they're building the scene, but having to go back after a page or two because the transition to the actual story was so awkward, made me a sad and confused panda. Strangely, one needs focus for stories without traditional notions of plot, and I kept losing mine.
Line of awesome dotless ı's: ıııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııııı.
A Useless Man: Selected Stories by Sait Faik Abasıyanık went on sale January 6, 2015.
I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less
Sarnıç bitti. İlk defa Sait Faik Abasıyanık kitabı okuduğum için kitaptan fazla bir şey beklemiyordum ama kitaptaki öykülerin çoğunu beğendim.
Sarnıç, Kalorifer ve Bahar, Gaz Sobası, Park, Loğusa, Kim Kime, Beyaz Altın gibi hikayeler çok iyiydi. Geri kalan hikayelerden birkaç tanesi yine iyi sayılabilecek seviyedeyken, sevmediğim hikayeler ise yurt dışında geçen hikayelerdi.
Sait Faik'in yazım tarzını çok güzel buldum ama çok dinç bir şekilde okumayınca show more yazarın uykumu getirdiğini hissettim. Yazarın her yıl 2-3 tane kitabını okumayı planlıyorum ama eğer kafam eserse, hazır kütüphane de Delta Tüm Öyküler baskısını da bulmuşken tek seferde yazarın tüm yazdıklarını da okuyabilirim. show less
Sarnıç, Kalorifer ve Bahar, Gaz Sobası, Park, Loğusa, Kim Kime, Beyaz Altın gibi hikayeler çok iyiydi. Geri kalan hikayelerden birkaç tanesi yine iyi sayılabilecek seviyedeyken, sevmediğim hikayeler ise yurt dışında geçen hikayelerdi.
Sait Faik'in yazım tarzını çok güzel buldum ama çok dinç bir şekilde okumayınca show more yazarın uykumu getirdiğini hissettim. Yazarın her yıl 2-3 tane kitabını okumayı planlıyorum ama eğer kafam eserse, hazır kütüphane de Delta Tüm Öyküler baskısını da bulmuşken tek seferde yazarın tüm yazdıklarını da okuyabilirim. show less
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 79
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 639
- Popularity
- #39,444
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 7
- ISBNs
- 97
- Languages
- 6
- Favorited
- 1