Have you read any Turkish novel?
Which Turkish novel do you like best?

Ince Memed by Yasar Kemal is my favourite

Yes, this novel (Memed, My Hawk (Turkish: İnce Memed) is a 1955 novel by Yaşar Kemal.
It is really a Turkish classical.
(She/He who loves novel and poetry is a good and cultured person)

Çalıkuşu by Reşat Nuri Güntekin is my favorite

The Great Betrayal” A Survey of the Near East Problem” by Edward Hale Bierstadt is an interesting read..

Adalet Agaoglu-Bir Düğün Gecesi(The Wedding Night) , Yaz Sonu(The End of Summer),Hayir (No)
Furuzan -Kirk Yedilier
Vedat Turkali-Mavi Karanlık

Yes, REŞAT NURİ GÃœLTEKİN is a most important novelist in the country.
His novels = YEŞİL GECE (GREEN NIGHT), ÇALI KUŞU, DUDAKTAN KALBE, YAPRAK DÖKÃœMÃœ, ACIMAK are Turkish Classicals as well.
Everybody in the world, should read these Turkish Classicals.

She/He who loves novel and poetry is a good and cultured person

My (all time) favourites are:

1) Oğuz Atay / Tutunamayanlar

Tutunamayanlar (in Eng. The Good for Nothing) is the first novel of Oguz Atay, one of the most prominent Turkish authors. It was written in 1970-71 and published in 1972. Although it was never reprinted in his lifetime and was controversial among critics, it has become a best-seller since a new edition came out in 1984. It has been described as “probably the most eminent novel of twentieth-century Turkish literature”[1]. This reference is due to a UNESCO survey, which goes on: “it poses an earnest challenge to even the most skilled translator with its kaleidoscope of colloquialisms and sheer size.” No translation has yet appeared in any language. It teases the well-established norms of the Turkish bourgeois world by a style which only "the disconnected" could empathize with. (From wikipedia)

2) Orhan Pamuk / Benim Adım Kırmızı

My Name Is Red (Benim Adım Kırmızı is a Turkish novel by Nobel laureate author Orhan Pamuk. The English translation won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2003,[1]. The French version won the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger and the Italian version the Premio Grinzane Cavour in 2002. The novel and its English translation established Pamuk´s international reputation and contributed to his winning of the Nobel prize. In recognition of its exceptional status in Pamuk´s oeuvre, the novel will be re-published in Erdag Goknar´s translation as part of the Everyman´s Library Contemporary Classics series in 2010. This is recognition of the novel´s status in the international canon of literature along with the novels of authors like Joyce, Kafka, Mann, Nabokov, and Rushdie whose influences can be seen in Pamuk´s work. BBC Radio 4 broadcast a radio play version of the novel in 2008. (From wikipedia)

3) Metin Kaçan / Ağır Roman ( It is impossible to translate it just watch the movie) (There is a movie by the same name adapted from it. I think it is the most succesful movie of turkish cinema.)(if we can count Gegen Die Wand, it is second then) (There are huge differences between book and movie.)

Orhan Pamuk - The museum of innocence

is about the main character´s debauchery of a much younger cousin and his life´s delusional ordeal of lust and desires that destroys his engagement and wedding plans to another. He spends 9 years in waning , wanting and crying about it. very hot writing and very emotional

Book overview

Reşat Nuri Güntekin / Acımak(Pitying)

Zehra kasabanın en tanınan kişisidir.

Zehra is the most well-known person in the town.

Çok iyi bir öğretmen olup sevilen birisidir.

She is a very good teacher and she is a loved person.

Fakat geçmişte yaşadılarından dolayı acıma duygusundan yoksundur.

But because of events in her past, she is deprived of the emotion of pitying.

Bir gün Maarif Bey gelip bir mektup verir.

One day director of education gave her a letter.

İstanbul’dan cağrıldığını ve babasının çok hasta olduğunu söyler.

He told that she was called from İstanbul and her father was very sick.

Ama o bunu kabul etmez

But she didn’t accept it.

.Çünkü küçükken annesinin ,ablasının ve kendisinin başına gelen bütün olaylar hep onun yüzündendir.

Because her father was the reason of every bad things happened to her mother, her sister and herself.

Belli bir süre sonra baskıya dayanamaz.İstanbul’a gitmek üzere trene biner.

After a time, she couldn’t stand to the pressure. And she got in a train to go to İstanbul.

Trende hep babasının annesine ,ablasına bağırmasını,sarhoş sarhoş eve gelmesini düşündükçe ona nefreti artar.

Her anger increased while she was thinking about shoutings of her father to her mother and to her sister and comings of her father to home drunken.

Üstelik komşuları olan Necip Bey ve ablasının o kadar iyiliğine karşın onlarlada kavga etmiştir.

Even he had fighted with their neighboor Necip Bey and her sister inspite of their all favors.

 İstanbul’a gelipte verilen adrese gittiğinde yaşlı bir adam ve kadın onu bekler

When she came to İstanbul and went to address given her, she found a old man and a women waiting for her.

Onlar babasının öldüğünü söylerler.

They told her that his father died.

Ondan kalan birkaç eşya ve sandık verirler.

They gave her a few belongings and a trunk of her father.

Akşam uykusu gelmeyince kutuyu açar.

She opened it when she couldn’t sleep.

Birkaç eşya ve bir günlük bulur.

She found a few belongings and a diary.

Günlüğü okumaya başlar.

She started to read the diary.

(from wikipedia) 

Okudukça babası hakkındaki gerçeği anlamaya başladı.

And she started to understand the truth about her father while she was reading.

Sonunda  Zehra acıma duygusunu kazanır.

In the end of the novel, Zehra gained the emotion of pitying.

[from me ]

(corrections needed)

İhsan Oktay Anar / Puslu Kıtalar Atlası (The Misty Continents)

Puslu Kıtalar Atlası, İhsan Oktay Anar´ın yazmış olduğu ilk romandır.

Puslu Kıtalar Atlası is the first novel written by İhsan Oktay Anar. 

Kitap ilk kez 1995 yılında İletişim Yayınları tarafından basıldı.

It was first published in 1995 by İletişim Yayınları. 

Yayınlandığı andan itibaren hem içerik hem biçim olarak ilgi gördü.

Since the day it was published it has been interested in by the the content and form. 

Birçok yeni baskısı yapıldı ve eleştirmenler tarafından olumlu değerlendirmelere tabi tutuldu.

It has published many times and it has been criticized positively by critics.

Bu kitap dolayısıyla Anar için "edebiyatın yeni soluğu" tanımlaması yapıldı.

Anar has been defined as "the new breath of literature" because of this novel.  

Kitap, İhsan Oktay Anar´ın bir felsefeci olduğunu göstermiş ve okuyucuya bu derinliği iletebilmiştir.

The novel had showed what a philosopher Ihsan Oktay Anar was and it has been able to deliver this depth to reader.

Ayrıca kitaptaki düzgün ve akıcı anlatımın okuyucu üzerindeki tesiri sayesinde tarihe olan ilgi artmıştır.

By the way,the interest in history has been increased by the affect of smooth and fluent telling on people.

(from wikipedia)

From the novel

Yeniçeriler kapıyı zorlarken Uzun İhsan Efendi hala malum konuyu düşünüyor, fakat işin içinden bir türlü çıkamıyordu...

While janissaries was forcing the door, Uzun Ihsan Efendi was still thinking about that known matter, but he wasn´t able to work out a solution. 

´Rendekar doğru mu söylüyor?

Is Rendekar(Rene Descartes) telling the truth? 

Düşünüyorum, öylese varım.

"I am thinking then I exist."

Oldukça makul.

It is pretty reasonable.

Fakat bundan tam tersi bir sonuç, varolmadığım, bir düş olduğum sonucu da çıkar: Düşünen bir adamı düşünüyorum.

But we can get a opposite result  from it, it is "I don´t exist, i am a dream." I am thinking a man who is thinking.

Düşündüğümü bildiğim için, ben varım.

I exist because i know i am thinking. 

Düşündüğünü bildiğim için, düşlediğim bu adamın da varolduğunu biliyorum.

Because i know i am thinking, i know also this man who i am imagining exists. 

Böylece o da benim kadar gerçek oluyor. Bundan sonrası çok daha hüzünlü bir sonuca varıyor.

So he is real as myself. After that he came to a more sad decision.

Düşündüğünü düşündüğüm bu adamın beni düşlediğini düşlüyorum.

 I am imagining this man who i think that he is thinking me, is imagining me

Öylese gerçek olan biri beni düşlüyor.

Then a real person is imagining me. 

 O gerçek, ben ise bir düş oluyorum.

If he is real, i am becoming a dream. 

Kapı kırıldığında Uzun İhsan Efendi kitabı kapandı.

When the door was broken down, Uzun İhsan Efendi closed the book. 

az sonra başına geleceklere aldırmadan kafasından şunları geçirdi:

He tought those by not paying attention what would happen to him shortly after:

´Dünya bir düştür. Evet, dünya..Ah! Evet, dünya bir masaldır.´
"The world is a dream. Yes, the world... Ahh! Yes, the world is a fairy tale."

(corrections needed)

i didn´t understand a thing if you did, explain it to me simply please.

Solution: It doesn´t mean if you imagine a man who is thinking that this imaginary man is really thinking. You are the one again who is thinking by imagining a man who is thinking not the imaginery man. So imaginary man isn´t thinking then he doesn´t exist. Is my logic correct? Or is it really a dilemma?

[It is like a tongue twister ]

“TUTUNAMAYANLAR”, by Oğuz Atay 

Yes, it is one of the best Turkish novels.

A Turkish classical.

2) Yusuf Atılgan / Aylak Adam

3) Vedat Türkali / Bir Gün Tek Başına

4) Sabahattin Ali / Kuyucaklı Yusuf

5) Nahit Sırrı Örik / Sultan Hamid Düşerken

My list... (top 5)

Elif Şafak / Aşk (Love)

Ya ortasındasındır AŞK’ın merkezinde; ya da dışındasındır, hasretinde...

Either you are in the middle of the center of love or you are out of it in the longing of it. 

Ella Rubinstein ( 40 ) Amerikalı bir ev kadınıdır.

Ella Rubenstein ( 40 ) is a typical American house wife.

Tipik burjuva değerlerinin hâkim olduğu oldukça varlıklı bir ailesi, düzenli ve görünüşte “sorunsuz” bir evliliği vardır.

She has a very wealthy family which is dominated by bourgeois merits and a neat and in appearence "troubleless" marriage.

Üç çocuğunu da büyüttükten sonra bir yayınevinde editör-asistanı olarak iş bulur; görevi A. Z. Zahara adlı tanınmamış bir yazarın tasavvuf felsefesini konu alan tarihi romanını değerlendirmektir.

After she had raised her three children, she found a job as an editor assistant in a publishing house. His first job was to judge a novel of a unknown author named A. Z. Zahara about sufism philosophy. 

Ancak hayatının kritik bir döneminde eline aldığı bu kitap, hiç beklemediği bir şekilde Ella’yı derinden sarsacak, dünyevi aşkı keşfetmek adına zorlu ve tehlikeli bir yolculuğa çıkmasına neden olacaktır.

But this book which she took in her hands in a critical time of her life would affect her deeply unexpectedly and it would cause her to go on a difficult and dangerous  journey to find wordly love.

Hayatlarımızın durgun gölünü dalgalandıran taş misali, yüzleşmek zorunda olduğumuz sıkıntılar, acılar… ve aşkın peşinde kat etmek zorunda olduğumuz zorlu yollar, ödediğimiz bedeller...

 The troubles and the pains which we have to face like a stone that undulates the standing lake of our lives... and the hard roads which we have to walk in search of love and the prices which we paid

Aşk... kitap içinde bir kitap, hayatın anlamı peşinde bir aşk macerası…

Aşk... a book in a book, a journey of love in search of the meaning of life... 

 Aşk... Elif Şafak’tan arayışa, gerçeğe ve keşfetmeye dair bir roman.

Aşk... A novel about search, truth and discovering by Elif Şafak.

(from wikipedia)

(corrections needed)

Yes I agree with scalpel .

1- “AYLAK ADAM” , by Yusuf Atılgan

A Turkish novel classical.

This novel must be translated into English.

World must recognize this literature man.

A Yusuf Atılgan Legend.

Orhan Pamuk was influenced by Atılgan.

Yusuf Atılgan lived in Manisa and İstanbul and my father recognized him.

He was truly a literature man.

2- “KUYUCAKLI YUSUF” by  Sabahattin Ali

A Turkish Novel Classical.

Sabahattin Ali is also good poet and good story writer.

World also must recognize this literature man and his tragic short life.

Vedat Türkali / Bir Gün Tek Başına ( One Day Alone)

27 Mayıs 1960 Harekatına yaklaşırken, son 5-6 aylık bir zaman dilimi...

It is the period of time of 5-6 months while it is coming close to 27 May 1960 opperation. 

Parlamenter diktatörlüğün karanlığında, umutsuzcasına; el yordamıyla direnmeye çalışan bir toplum...

In the darkness of parliamentarian dictatorship, a society standing without hope, by rule of thomb

Yıllar önce ´Müdüriyet´te yediği iki tokatla yılıp sinen;

Kenan who was daunted by two slaps and cowered in fear in directory, years before,

Beyazıt´ta öğrenci kitlesinin eylemi içine düşüverince tabanları yağlayan bencil, ürkek, kuşkulu ve kaypak Kenan...

Kenan who is egoist, jumpy, doubtful man who ran away when he found himself in a student mass act.

Evinde olabildiğince ağır iki çeki taşı; karısı Nermin ve kızı Zeynep...

A burden which is heavy as much as it could be at home; his wife and his daughter Zeynep. 

Devrimci ateşi sönmüş Kenan´ın karşısına, devrimci ateşi yeni yeni alevlenmeye başlayan bilinçli, gözüpek ve dirençli Günsel çıkıyor.

Günsel who is a conscious, brave and tough woman whose revolutionary fire started to flame, meets Kenan whose revolutionary fire has died down.

Günsel´le Kenan´ın aşkının perde arkasında kıvıl kıvıl kaynayan bir toplum...

A society which is vigorously boiling in the backstage of Günsel´s and Kenan´s love

Kenan´ın iki tokatta yüzgeri ettiği yolun yiğit savaşçıları ´Baba´ ve Hasan´ın yılmaz mücadeleleri...

"Baba" and Hasan who are the brave fighters of the way which Kenan turned back because of two slaps

 
´Bir Gün Tek Başına´,25 yıldır artık Türk klasikleri arasında yerini almış Vedat Türkali´nin ilk romanı...

"Bir gün Tek Başına" which is a novel that it has taken its place in the Turkish classics for 25 years is Vedat Türkali´s first novel.  

(from Antoloji.com)

(corrections needed)

My advice : " Read Ayn Rand"   

Yusuf Atılgan / Anayurt Oteli (The Homeland Hotel)

Yusuf Atılgan (27 June 1921, Manisa - 9 October 1989, İstanbul) was a Turkish novelist and dramatist, who is best known for his novels Aylak Adam (The Loiterer) and Anayurt Oteli (Motherland Hotel).

Atılgan finished middle school in Manisa, then high school in Balıkesir. He graduated in Turkish language and literature from İstanbul University. He finished his thesis titled Tokatlı Kani: Sanat, şahsiyet ve psikoloji under the eye of Nihat Tarlan. Atılgan then began teaching literature at Maltepe Askeri Lisesi in Akşehir. In 1946, he settled down at a village named Hacırahmanlı near Manisa where he took up writing. His novel Aylak Adam was published in 1959 which dealt with psychological themes such as loneliness and obsession. This was followed in 1973 by Anayurt Oteli. In 1976, he began working in İstanbul as an editor and translator. With his wife Serpil he had a son in 1979 named Mehmet.

Atılgan died of a heart attack in 1989 while in the middle of writing a novel titled Canistan

(From Wikipedia)

"Ne ölü, ne sağ" bir yaşamın kahramanı Zebercet.

Zebercet the hero of a life which is neither dead nor alive. 

Gözünü ilk açtığı ve yaşadığı Anayurt Oteli´yle aynı kaderi paylaşıyor:

He has shared same faith with The Homeland Hotel which he has first opened his eyes and has lived in it.

Birbirine benzeyen geçici ilişkilerle geçen günler, yalnız ve tek başına sürüklenen bir hayat.

The days passing with similar temporary relations, a life which has been dragged isolated and alone. 

Gecikmeli Ankara treniyle gelen - adını bile bilmediğimiz- kadın, otelde bir gece kalır ve Zebercet´in de, Anayurt Oteli´nin de sessiz akıp giden günlerinin içeriği değişir.

The women - even we don´t know her name- who had come with an delayed train,stayed in the hotel for one night and then the content of the days of Zebercet and The Homeland Hotel which passing silently has changed.

Küçük ayrıntıların tekdüze şaşmazlığında neredeyse takıntılarla sürüklenen bir yaşamın öfkesi de, çaresizliği de büyük oluyor.

In the infallibility of the small details, the anger and the despair of a life which has been almost dragged with obsessions becomes great.

Türk edebiyatının unutulmaz bir tipi ve unutulmaz bir mekanı.

An unforgettable character and a unforgattable place of Turkish Literature.

(from back cover) 

(corrections needed) 

Yes I agree.

Yusuf Atılgan, a real Turkish novelist, has written four books in his whole life:

1-Aylak Adam (The Loiterer) (Novel)

Yusuf Atılgan tells his psychological themes such as loneliness and obsession in the streets of Istanbul.

2-Anayurt Oteli (Motherland Hotel) (Novel)

Yusuf Atılgan tells Zebercet’s psychological  and tragic story, as a hotel clerk, in this  novel.

This hotel  was on the train station road in Manisa.

He was from Manisa.He lived in Manisa, Hacırahmanlı Village and İstanbul with his family.

He had a farm in this village.

3-Bodur Minareden Öte (Stories)

4-Canistan (Stories)

we have his books on our family library.

Orhan Pamuk, a Turkish novelist,  was influenced greatly by Yusuf Atılgans books.

I think Yusuf Atılgan is an important novelist like Jean Paul Sartre, Franz Kafka, Albert Camus in the world literature.  

His two novels must be translated into English Language by an experienced novel translator soon.

 In my opinion Pamuk´s best works are Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları (Cevdet Bey and His Sons) [1983 Orhan Kemal Novel Prize (Turkey)], and Sessiz Ev (The House of Silence) [1984 Madarali Novel Prize (Turkey)] which are two of his first three novels. Benim Adım Kırmızı is one of two books that I was not able to finish, even if he says it´s his most colorful and optimistic novel. The other was an Ahmet Altan novel but I can´t remember its name.   

 Benim Adım Kırmızı is a some kind of detective story occurs in the past. It is very fluent and easy to understand. I don´t understand how you couldn´t finish it. I wasn´t also able to finish the only book i read written by Ahmet Altan : Kristal Denizaltı. It bored me so much even i couldn´t describe it to you. But some believes he is the author who understands a woman´s soul most in Turkish literature. So this means i don´t know anything about a woman soul. And i gladly accept it and i don´t want to know such a soul which Ahmet Altan describes so boringly. Maybe the soul itself is boring. 

 I think the one that I couldn´t finish was "Sudaki İz". I´ve stopped reading him since then.

I´ve read 3 Orhan Pamuk novels: İstanbul, Yeni Hayat, Kar. My favourite was İstanbul because of its highly personal tone. It´s about the experiences, inspirations and thoughts of a sensitive child written in first person singular. The memoir is spiced with the history and cultural heritage of the city.

          One of my favourites :

          Yusuf Atılgan / Aylak Adam (The Loiterer)

          Her şeye “karşı” duran, “karşı” çıkan, “karşı” olan bir adam…Aylak Adam…. Bir adı bile yok. “C.” diyor Yusuf Atılgan kısaca.

          A man who opposes to, objects to, is against to everything….The Loiterer…. He hasn’t got even a name. Yusuf Atılgan calls him C. shortly.

          İnsan her şeye bunca “karşı”yken kendine de “karşı” olmadan nasıl sürdürebilir bir “karşı” yaşamı?

          When a man is so against to everything, how he can keep a counter life without being against to himself?

          C., sıradanlığa, tekdüzeliğe, alışılmışın kolaycılığına hiç mi hiç katlanamıyor. Hem farklıyı, hem doğru olanı arıyor. Çabasının boşuna olduğunun da farkında üstelik.

          C. can never bear to monotony, easiness of routine. He searches for also different and also right one. He knows even his effort is in vain.

          Zor bir karakter, zor bir yaşam, yalın bir roman.

          A difficult character, a difficult life, a plain novel.

          (from back cover)

          (corrections needed)

Ahmet Mithat Efendi/ Çingene (The Gipsy)

Ahmet Mithat Efendi who is struggling to  enlighten his people with a humanist approach by bringing a different view point against all prejudgments and superstitions of his period at every turn, is drawing attention to a subject which is unpleasant but important, in this work of his which is named The Gipsy.

This work which is presented to present day reader for the first time after it was written with a great mastery by Ahmet Mithat  exactly 122 years ago, is a work that one should read it by holding it up as an example

(from idefixe)

An anti-racist work and it tells how our people saw gypsies 122 years ago. Our approach to them wasn´t so brilliant like now. You should read it.

I have ordered this book because it came highly recommended.  I enjoyed Pamuk´s "Istanbul", which I read a few years ago.  I have hesitated to read his novels, but recently decided to take the plunge.  The first one I read was "The Black Book" which was quite heavy going (for me), in that it needed a great deal of concentration to read it.  I still am not sure what I think about it.  It´s one of those works that makes me wonder whether or not I managed to understand what the author intended.  Having said that, I did get something personal out of it and maybe that´s all that matters.  I can´t say I enjoyed it a lot, it was just OK for me.

I recently read about a quarter of "Museum of Innocence" but decided I didn´t want to read further.  It didn´t appeal to me.

After that I read "Kar" and enjoyed it very much, so now I am looking forward to "My Name is Red".  I think there´s another of Pamuk´s called "The White Castle", but I´m not sure I want to read it.  There are other works of his mentioned in this thread that I think I may try though so thanks everyone.

Please can anyone recommend any Turkish authors that have been translated into English?

Thanks

Find our list here:

http://www.greenhousekitap.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=32&Itemid=49

you asked for corrections - its a bit late as you posted this over a year ago but I´m bored today so thought I would point a couple of small ones out to you for future reference

It seems gokuyum tends TO put ´TO´ anywhere he wants TO 

What about my TO´es? Are they correctly used?

"To" be or not "to" be?

goku, it´s all because they don´t like dative thing. They say "give me more" (Britney Spears) , but "give it to me" (Madonna)

 Your toes???? Your feet toes?

I´ll keep an eye on your ´to´es´ and let you know!! 

Thanks Marion .  That´s really useful.

peacetrain :  “Please can anyone recommend  any Turkish authors that have been translated into English?”

I want to recommend Yusuf ATILGAN but his 2 novels have not been translated into English. 

(I think Yusuf ATILGAN is an important novelist like Jean Paul Sartre, Franz Kafka, Albert Camus in the world literature.His two novels must be translated into English Language by an experienced novel translator soon.But It is too hard to find good translators.People, nowadays, do not regard translated books as good enough in terms of translation quality.It is emphasized that the number of real translators has decreased to the level that they can be counted on fingers.So it is better to read a novel in original language.) 

You can read this one that has been translated into English.

" LAST TRAIN TO İSTANBUL "

By  Ayşe KULİN

Translated by John W. Baker

( Everest Publications )

Fethi Naci (he was the most influential literary critic in Turkey) listed "Aylak Adam" as one of best ten novels ever written in Turkish. I would put it (together with "Tutunamayanlar" by Oğuz Atay) on the top of the list. 

True. I agree. Fethi NACİ was the most influential literary critic over novel and poetry. Fethi NACİ has written  a lot of essays and literary criticism  books over the world literature and Turkish literature.And also Nurullah ATAÇ, Emin ÖZDEMİR, Memet FUAT, Özdemir İNCE, Asım BEZİRCİ, Sevgi ÖZEL, Tahsin YÜCEL, etc. are most important literature authors in Türkiye.