Labyrinth: A Novel

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

From a prize-winning Turkish novelist, a heady, political tale of one man's search for identity and meaning in Istanbul after the loss of his memory. A blues singer, Boratin, attempts suicide by jumping off the Bosphorus Bridge, but opens his eyes in the hospital. He has lost his memory, and can't recall why he wished to end his life. He remembers only things that are unrelated to himself, but confuses their timing. He knows that the Ottoman Empire fell, and that the last sultan died, but has no idea when. His mind falters when remembering civilizations, while life, like a labyrinth, leads him down different paths. From the confusion of his social and individual memory, he is faced with two questions. Does physical recognition provide a sense of identity Which is more liberating for a man, or a society- knowing the past, or forgetting it Embroidered with Borgesian micro-stories, Labyrinth flows smoothly on the surface while traversing sharp bends beneath the current.

Reviews

"As this book opens, a blues singer attempts to take his life by jumping five hundred feet off a bridge into the Bosphorus. He survives but his memory is shattered--he knows the last Sultan has died, but the rest is a maze. This short, elliptical novel by the author of Istanbul, Istanbul follows him into its pathways, conjuring the ineluctable entanglement of place and person." --John Freeman, Literary Hub "A provocative and beautifully written story of the weave and tears of memory and identity worthy of Borges's own Labyrinths. Long after finishing this marvelous book, I still think every day of the questions it raises." --Eric Lax, author of Start to Finish Praise for Istanbul, Istanbul "A writer of passion, memory, and heart, Soenmez revives not only the stories of a land but also its bruised conscience." --Elif Shafak, author of The Bastard of Istanbul "Istanbul, Istanbul turns on the tension between the confines of a prison cell and the vastness of the imagination; between the vulnerable borders of the body and the unassailable depths of the mind. This is a harrowing, riveting novel, as unforgettable as it is inescapable." --Dale Peck, author of Visions and Revisions "A wrenching love poem to Istanbul told between torture sessions by four prisoners in their cell beneath the city. An ode to pain in which Dostoyevsky meets The Decameron." --John Ralston Saul, author of On Equilibrium; former president of PEN International

Author Bio

Burhan Sonmez is the author of four novels, which have been published in more than thirty languages. He was born in Turkey and grew up speaking Turkish and Kurdish. He worked as a lawyer in Istanbul before moving to Britain as a political exile. S nmez's writing has appeared in various newspapers, such as The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, and La Repubblica. He now divides his time between Istanbul and Cambridge. Umit Hussein, of Turkish Cypriot origin, was born and raised in London, where she grew up speaking both Turkish and English. In 1998 she returned briefly to the UK, where she completed an MA in Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia. She lived and worked in Japan, Portugal and France, before settling in Seville, where she is now based.