But as the original title, Heba-which means “waste” in Turkish-foreshadows, Ziya’s inner turmoil, suffering, and angst will follow him everywhere, and his move to the Edenic village of Yazikoy will not save him.Īs a prolific and versatile Turkish writer, Toptas is known to cultivate his own style as a novelist, but this does not mean his craftsmanship is comparable to Tanpinar, Pamuk, or Yaşar Kemal, and structurally and stylistically, the novel presents the reader with challenges. Toptas’s compelling narrative of trauma depicts the silent erosion of Ziya’s soul in a chaotic world governed by mob mentality, poverty, ignorance, and a cruel, hypermasculine military culture.Īt the center of the novel is Ziya’s final and tragic attempt to find peace in life. It tells the story of a middle-aged Turkish antihero, Ziya Kül, who is haunted by the tragic death of his wife and unborn child and the terrorizing military experience on the Syrian border. Reckless is the latest novel by the award-winning Turkish writer Hasan Ali Toptas and the first of his books to be translated into English.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |