Hatice Akyün

Among the book cluster that tries to explain the strange behavior of its Turkish immigrants, Hatice Akyün fills the Bridget Jones spot, although her search of Mr. Darcy is less successful in the end. The author achieved a certain notoriety when she managed to convince the Swiss ambassador in Berlin to showcase his trophy wife in a pictorial showing her scantily clad on a horse within the new Swiss embassy. The ambassador managed to combine two faux pas. Firstly, he actually married a Texan cheerleader. Switzerland and Texas, both famous for their cowboys, are polar opposites. Pushing the big, loud, dumb and bigoted Texan style is not what is expected of a Swiss ambassador. Neither are the embassy's rooms truly suitable for horses. The author is thus not really an expert in inter-cultural understanding. Her specialty lies in shock journalism.

Like the Americans sometimes use the antiquated name of Fritz to refer to Germans, Turks call Germans Hans and Helga. People with those names tend to be senior citizens today. Hatice Akyün's search for her Hans proved to be a cultural challenge. Despite growing up in Germany, it was her Turkish surroundings that influenced her expectations the most. Her ideal partner is a liberal and rich German with Turkish manners. As such loud behavior would be considered stalking by most Germans, she failed in her pursuit. Her twin conditions that her suitor should both cut off his foreskin and convert to Islam were also not increasing her chances. While she manages to convince a candidate to go through with the circumcision, her candidate bolts before the conversion. Overall, an amusing superficial read.… (more)