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