772:, published in 2021, received Orhan Kemal Novel Award in 2022. It was shortlisted for the Premio Strega Europeo in 2023, and is currently on the long-list of Dublin Literary Award (2024). It is the story of Avdo, a tombstone craftsman, whose life tells the social history of modern Turkey. His life journey gets involved with many other lives that reflects different cultural backgrounds including Christians, Sunni Muslims, Alawites, Turks, Kurds, Armenians. Avdo's story starts in the city of Mardin as an orphan. He is being protected by an Assyrian man who teaches him the art of sculpting tombstones. He travels from city to city and comes across Elif, the only love of his life, in a small Anatolian village. Avdo's dreams get shattered there when he has to kill two village men.
741:, the novel has ten chapters. Each chapter is narrated by one of the occupants of the cell. “Istanbul was a city of a million cells and every cell was an Istanbul unto itself.” In every piece, person and event, the novel evokes Istanbul as a city in its entirety. It is a novel that appears political but is in reality about love. It appears to focus on the stories of individuals but is in reality about the city of Istanbul. Rather than being about capital production, the focus is on the city's spatial and spiritual reproduction. In modes of thought suggested by Althusser and Manuel Castells, the city of Istanbul is the site of reproduction for pain, misery, melancholy and hope. There are two Istanbuls, one below ground and one above. Yet in reality both are one and the same.
755:
confuses their time. When he sees the figurine of Jesus and the Virgin Mary he recognises them but he cannot work out whether they lived thousands of years ago or just few years ago. He knows the
Ottoman Empire fell, and that the last sultan died, but has no idea when. From the confusion of his social and individual memory, he is faced with two questions. The first is related to the body. Does physical recognition provide a sense of identity? The second question concerns the mind. Which is more liberating for a man, or a society: knowing the past, or forgetting it?
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734:, was published in 2015. It is the story of four prisoners in the underground cells in Istanbul. When they are not being subjected to torture, the four tell one another stories about Istanbul to pass the time. The underground narrative gradually turns into the narrative of the above ground. Initially centered around persons, the novel comes to focus on the city of Istanbul. There is as much suffering or hope in the Istanbul above ground as there is in the cells underground.
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25:
867:"Yes, our country is turning into hell and it is getting more and more difficult to find any light here. That's why you should leave this novel in the public places, forget it in the cafes, read it out loud on the ferries. Let everyone hear Burhan Sönmez’s voice, and get everyone to resist pain and sorrow." Ümran Küçükislamoğlu,
519:
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that is a prominent literature award in Turkey. It tells a story of two people whose paths come across on a foreign land. A woman carries a "book" and believes in poetry. A man, suffering from insomnia, struggles to survive through graves. Each of them has got a secret and a sin. On the day they meet
573:
Sönmez was arrested and detained by the
Turkish authorities while a student in 1984, and again while working as a human rights lawyer. In 1996, he was seriously injured following a violent murder attempt by the Turkish police. Following the attack he left Turkey, eventually ending up in Britain where
798:
is a thriller of love and literary revenge in the map of Paris-Istanbul-West Berlin and Tel Aviv, set in the midst of the Cold War in 1968. While the youth uprising sweeps across Europe, a debate about Franz Kafka appears in student magazines in Paris. There is a secret group that punishes ex-Nazi
754:
was published in 2018. It is the story of
Boratin, a blues singer, who attempts suicide by jumping off the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, but opens his eyes in hospital. He loses his memory and can't remember why he wished to end his life. He remembers only things that are unrelated to himself, but
775:
The story opens in the 1980s, during the times of military coup, in
Istanbul. The story-line constantly shifts between the past and future. Alongside the contemporary period, the story of different times like Ottoman era, and of different places in the Middle East and Europe eventually creates an
581:
Even though he was interested in poetry and won awards in two national poetry competitions in Turkey, he turned his hand to writing novels. His interest in writing, storytelling and modern literature is rooted in the traditional stories and legends he was brought up with. His unique experience of
835:
has already taken place in the history of the novel as an important work. Burhan Sönmez creates his own original canon with his epic-modern narrative works. He is moving towards being the same for Turkey as
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is for Colombia, Naguip Mahfouz for Egypt, Carlos Fuentes is for
789:(2024) is Burhan Sönmez’s first novel he wrote in his mother tongue Kurdish, after writing five novels in Turkish. Kurdish is a language that has been suppressed and despised as a “mountain language” for a hundred years in the region.
854:, like many fictional works written in reaction to political oppression, is an allegory that explores the fractured nature of the individual in a society suspended between a rich, complicated past and an uncertain future."
978:
564:, where he worked for a time as a lawyer. He was a member of Human Rights Society (IHD) and a founder of TAKSAV (Foundation for Social Research, Culture and Art). He was one of the founders of daily
881:"If Yasar Kemal wrote this novel he would keep the same way of wording but it would last hundreds of pages. Burhan Sönmez can be regarded as Yasar Kemal's tight-lipped son." Metin Celal,
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490:
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874:"Burhan Sonmez opens the door of wounded memory of Kurds. He doesn't have a proclivity for questions of 'Who am I?' or 'What am I?' He asks: Where am I?" Dervis Aydin Akkoc,
776:
encompassing historical map of many different societies. By moving from one scene to another, the story collects all fragments one by one to form a whole picture in the end.
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536:(2024) at the University of Cambridge, where he presented the idea of "Homo Artifex", focusing on the meaning of art and its place in the history of human civilisation.
582:
growing up in a remote village with no electricity, and having a talented storyteller for a mother, has provided perspective, inspiration and material for his writing.
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692:
and legends of the East in a realistic fashion, and is based around philosophical debates on existence and love that have a central importance in solving the
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815:, reads like a fever dream. Boratin is a listless existential hero who often drifts through his days with an alienation befitting a Camus protagonist."
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670:. In trying to solve the mystery of his father's death, our hero embarks on a journey to the North in search of his father's
759:, embroidered with Borgesian micro-stories, flows smoothly on the surface while traversing sharp bends beneath the current.
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and legends have been woven into the story, which questions and reflects the nature of identity, reality and existence.
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842:“His novels are steeped in imprisonment and memory, with echoes of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and George Louis Borges.”
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437:, elected at the Centennial Congress in 2021. He is also Senior Member and a By-Fellow of Hughes Hall College,
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criminals, and they begin to argue that they should also protect the dead writers and act for their spirit.
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tells the story of two people whose lives have been running through
Haymana Plain, Tehran and Cambridge ...
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in 2024 that is his first novel he wrote in his mother tongue
Kurdish after writing five books in Turkish.
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into
Turkish. He was a member of the judging panel for the 2014 Cevdet Kudret Literature Prize, 2020
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979:"The last station: Burhan Sönmez on gentrification, fire and protest in Istanbul"
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the woman reads his fortune in the "book" and he sings the songs of desert.
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he learnt
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529:(2024). His novels have been published in more than forty countries.
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He has written for various newspapers and magazines including
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from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially
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662:, is the story of a young man whose father leaves when the
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is a story of love and a creative obituary for Kafka.
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is two years old, and returns twenty years later as a
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He received the "Disturbing the Peace" award given by
460:(Masumlar), was published in 2011. His third novel,
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860:"Sonmez’s words are conquering the whole world."
631:. He lectured in Literature and the Novel at the
823:"One of the most exciting, innovative voices."
578:. He is now a dual Turkish-British national.
444:Sönmez is the author of six novels. His first
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8:
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53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
674:, which at times becomes his own. Eastern
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97:about living persons that is unsourced or
1062:Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni
248:Learn how and when to remove this message
230:Learn how and when to remove this message
168:Learn how and when to remove this message
974:Trinity Global Humanities Lecture Series
919:internationales literaturfestival berlin
534:Trinity Global Humanities Lecture Series
193:This article includes a list of general
16:Kurdish human rights lawyer and novelist
949:PEN International pen-international.org
904:, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.
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552:, Turkey, in 1965. He grew up speaking
489:in New York (2017). He was awarded the
1032:t24.com.tr -Stone and Shadow a classic
856:Washington Independent Review of Books
684:could be described as a philosophical
711:, published in 2011 and received the
570:, a left-wing opposition newspaper.
532:Sönmez was the inaugural lecturer of
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1012:Interview with Burhan Sonmez in Rome
613:. He translated the poetry book of
625:Geneva International Film Festival
478:, published in 2021. He published
452:(Kuzey), was published in 2009 in
199:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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954:Official Website burhansonmez.com
34:This article has multiple issues.
1037:Hurriyet daily -Stone and Shadow
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616:The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
493:in London (2018) for his novel
487:Vaclav Havel Library Foundation
42:or discuss these issues on the
836:Mexico, Mo Yan is for China."
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713:Sedat Simavi Literature Prize
658:Burhan Sönmez's first novel,
503:Sedat Simavi Literature Prize
75:biography of a living person
285:1965 (age 58–59)
102:must be removed immediately
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544:Burhan Sönmez was born in
317:Vaclav Havel Library Award
466:, was published in 2015.
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1007:www.dw.com -Our society
511:Orhan Kemal Novel Award
439:University of Cambridge
214:more precise citations.
629:Inge Feltrinelli Prize
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560:, then later moved to
517:was nominated for the
89:Please help by adding
526:Dublin Literary Award
520:Premio Strega Europeo
491:EBRD Literature Prize
320:EBRD Literature Prize
576:Freedom from Torture
456:. His second novel,
95:Contentious material
994:European Literature
989:BBC World Book Club
985:, 11 November 2016.
276:Burhan Sönmez, 2017
960:The New York Times
902:"Mr Burhan Sonmez"
845:The New York Times
818:The New York Times
801:Lovers of Franz K.
787:Lovers of Franz K.
781:Lovers of Franz K.
737:Like the tales in
718:Sins and Innocents
709:Sins and Innocents
707:His second novel,
701:Sins and Innocents
499:Sins and Innocents
480:Lovers of Franz K.
458:Sins and Innocents
1067:PEN International
1017:Pen Ten interview
1000:Asymptote Journal
732:Istanbul Istanbul
730:His third novel,
725:Istanbul Istanbul
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1052:1965 births
1027:Book review
962:book review
811:"The book,
664:protagonist
594:Der Spiegel
523:(2023) and
398:Preceded by
297:Nationality
212:introducing
1046:Categories
1002:-Labyrinth
889:References
883:Cumhuriyet
703:(Masumlar)
686:fairy tale
676:folk tales
305:Occupation
220:April 2020
195:references
158:April 2020
128:newspapers
39:improve it
885:(Turkey)
878:(Turkey)
871:(Turkey)
862:ADNKronos
852:Labyrinth
813:Labyrinth
793:Lovers of
757:Labyrinth
752:Labyrinth
746:Labyrinth
640:Cambridge
540:Biography
469:Labyrinth
377:Incumbent
341:Labyrinth
80:citations
45:talk page
924:19 April
869:T24 News
864:(Italy)
838:T24 news
796:Franz K.
672:identity
601:Die Zeit
562:Istanbul
291:, Turkey
106:libelous
807:Reviews
694:mystery
654:(Kuzey)
558:Kurdish
554:Turkish
546:Haymana
427:Kurdish
208:improve
142:scholar
668:corpse
567:BirGün
550:Ankara
505:, and
454:Turkey
431:Turkey
349:(2021)
343:(2018)
337:(2015)
308:Author
197:, but
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690:myths
682:North
660:North
652:North
548:near
450:North
446:novel
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149:JSTOR
135:books
73:This
926:2023
633:METU
556:and
282:Born
121:news
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