Snow (2002)

The last of my self imposed punishment of reading only good books!

This is set in a black and white Turkey some time in the past when everything was black and white and people had philosophies about life and passion.

All the characters have names like Kcirtap and Nivek and Enaj and the main character keeps getting released by his captors while his fellow captors get shot.

It is hard if not impossible to work who are the bad guys, if anyone, while death is everywhere.

I cannot remember if I finished it or not but I still have an indelible impression of snow covered streets that are only black and white.

Not for the faint hearted or busy. ( )

In this novel the Turkish poet Ka, who has spent 12 years in Frankfurt, returns to Turkey for his mother's funeral and to do research for an article on the situation in Kars in far eastern Turkey. A friend from Istanbul now lives there, and is recently divorced. And through a mysterious narrator (who is...the actual author inserting himself into his novel) and Ka's own perspective, we learn about the Islamists, the Nationalists, the Kurds, the communists, and leftists that are trying to coexist in this city.

Cut off from the rest of the country by a snowstorm, a theatrical coup occurs--and Ka has somehow found himself as a go-between. And for the first time in years, he is writing poems again. Really all he wants is to take Ipek back to Germany with him, so they can live happily ever after and he can publish his new book of poems.

I know there is a lot in this book that I missed. The poet's name (nickname) is Ka. The city is Kars. The title of the book in Turkish is Kar (snow). Obviously this all means something, but what, exactly, I don't know. Do "Kar", "Kars", and "Ka" sound alike in Turkish? The city of Kars has a very different history than most Turkish cities, as it had a Russian garrison in the past, and has a lot of Armenian architecture. Does the setting of a Turkish city with a different history than most Turkish cities to explain the various factions in modern Turkey mean anything? What?

So, then story itself is interesting, but I am certain I missed a fair amount due to lack of cultural and historical knowledge about Turkey. ( )

Interesting to read now that it is clear that the "head scarf" faction has won in Erdogan's Turkey. I preferred My Name is Red, but a good read nevertheless. ( )

DNF ( )

Read the first fifty pages of this, but just couldn't get into it. Maybe its the problem of trying to read a book featuring snow in the middle of July. Will try again in winter.