Burhan Sonmez – författare

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. 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?

NAMED A LIT HUB MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEARFrom 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.

Longlisted for the Dublin Literary AwardThis gorgeous, haunting saga tells the story of modern Turkey and its diverse communities through the life of a gravestone maker.In the city of Mardin, near Turkey’s border with Syria, the orphaned Avdo finds purpose when an old mason takes him on as an apprentice. From Master Josef, he learns the importance of their art, which looks after the dead and bears witness to their lives. Avdo then travels the country and meets a woman he loves wholeheartedly, only to lose her through a tragic crime. Resigned to a lonely existence, he retreats from the world into his cemetery workshop, but even there, life, with all its sorrows, joys, injustices, and gifts, draws him in unexpected directions.    An intimate, indelible epic, Stone and Shadow melds fragments not only from twentieth-century Turkish history, but also from the Ottoman Empire, the wider Middle East, and Europe. Together they form a breathtaking picture of a rich, complex society that encompasses Christians, Sunni Muslims, Alawites, Turks, Kurds, and Armenians.

Winner of the EBRD Literature Prize 2018. Istanbul is a city of a million cells, and every cell is an Istanbul unto itself.After a military coup, four prisoners - the doctor, Demirtay the student, Kamo the barber and Uncle Kuheylan - sit below the ancient streets of Istanbul awaiting their turn at the hands of their wardens. Between violent interrogations, the condemned share parables and riddles about their beloved city to pass the time. From their retelling of stories, both real and imagined, emerges a picture of a city that is many things to many different people. Their fears and laughter show us that there is as much hope and suffering in the city above as there is in the cells below. Istanbul, Istanbul is a poignant and uplifting novel about the power of human imagination in the face of adversity.

A thriller of love and revenge, and an imaginative literary obituary for Kafka, bringing the Cold War to life, from Paris and Istanbul to West Berlin and Tel Aviv. West Berlin, 1968. As a youth uprising sweeps over Europe in the shadow of the Cold War, two men face each other across an interrogation table. One, Ferdy Kaplan, has shot and killed a student. Kommissar Muller, the other is trying to find out why. As his interrogation progresses, Kaplan's background is revealed piece by piece, including the love story between him and his childhood friend Amalya, their shared passion for Kafka, and the radical youth movement they joined. When it transpires that Kaplan's intended target was not the student but Max Brod, Franz Kafka's close friend and the executor of his literary estate, the interrogation of a murderer slowly transforms into a dialogue between a passionate admirer of Kafka's work, who is attempting to protect the author's final wish to have his manuscripts burned, and a police commissioner who is learning more about literature than he ever thought possible from a prisoner in his custody. In this gripping, thought-provoking tribute to Kafka, Burhan Sonmez vividly recreates a key period of history in the 1960s, when the Berlin Wall divided Europe. More than a typical mystery, Lovers of Franz K. is an exploration of the value of books, and the issues of anti-Semitism, immigration, and violence that recur in Kafka's life and writings.

Gluboko pod drevnimi ulicami Stambula v odnoj kamere sidyat chetyre plennika: student Demirtaj, Doktor, parikmaher Kamo i dyadya Kyuhejlan. V ozhidanii svoej uchasti, tomyas'' ot skuki, oni rasskazyvayut drug drugu zabavnye i strannye istorii. Postepenno iz ehtih podzemnyh skazanij rozhdaetsya kartina inoj zhizni, nedostupnoj zaklyuchennym. Odnako stradaniya i nadezhdy lyudej iz tekh istorij malo chem otlichayutsya ot stradanij i nadezhd chetyrekh plennikov, siloj svoego voobrazheniya soedinivshih v odno celoe dva velikih Stambula: tot, chto skryvaetsya v nedrah zemli, i tot, chto lezhit na ee poverhnosti. Vpervye na russkom!

Autorul bestsellerului Istanbul IstanbulIn mijlocul protestelor studentesti din Europa anilor 1960, cel mai bun prieten al lui Kafka, Max Brod, se trezeste in postura de victima a furiei tinerilor revoltati: impotriva dorintei scriitorului exprimata pe patul de moarte, el publicase texte care nu ar fifi trebuit sa faca parte din mostenirea kafkiana. Dupa ce Brod e ranit intr-o tentativa de asasinat, Ferdy Kaplan, atentatorul, este prins si interogat de comisarul Muller de la politia din Berlinul de Vest. Pe masura ce interogatoriul avanseaza, prin dialoguri la sectia de politie, in sala de judecata si in inchisoare, trecutul lui Kaplan este dezvaluit frantura cu frantura, de la povestea de dragoste dintre el si prietena lui din copilarie, Amalya, pana la pasiunea lor comuna pentru Kafka, care ii determina sa se alature unui grup radical. In acest omagiu captivant si provocator adus lui Kafka, Burhan Sonmez recreeaza o perioada-cheie a istoriei, cand Zidul Berlinului scinda Europa, iar femeile luptau pentru libertate si impotriva traditiei, adoptand tunsoarea scurta a lui Jean Seberg din A bout de souffle. A comis Max Brod o infractiune nerespectand ultima dorinta a lui Kafka, aceea de a-i arde toate operele? Burhan Sonmez nu e judecator. El este doar un functionar la Judecata de Apoi, care consemneaza declaratiile partilor. Si o face ireprosabil."e; - Mihail Siskin Interogatoriul are un aer kafkian... dar autorul kurd Sonmez este cu adevarat interesat de o intrebare: Cine face regulile in literatura...? Perspectiva dialogala confera cartii un ritm alert si dinamic si aduce cateva rasturnari de situatie surprinzatoare chiar inaintea sfarsitului."e; - The Guardian Ceea ce incepe ca o insiruire de proceduri dintr-un policier noir, cu dialoguri muscatoare si rotocoale de fum de tigara invaluind becul, devine in curand o poveste care are pe fundal dileme de ordin moral si mecanisme ale suspansului... Cu toate acestea, ambitia intelectuala a textului nu-i depaseste niciodata farmecul narativ."e; - Wall Street Journal Sonmez extinde cu umor universul lui Kafka intr-un experiment literar care ii incurajeaza pe cititori sa reimagineze opera neterminata a eroilor lor."e; - Natalie PermanBurhan Sonmez (n. 1965) a studiat Dreptul la Istanbul, unde a si profesat o vreme ca avocat. A colaborat la mai multe reviste si ziare, cu articole pe teme culturale si politice. A fost membru al Societatii pentru Drepturile Omului (IHD) si fondator al Fundatiei pentru Cercetare Sociala, Cultura si Arta (TAKSAV). In 1996 a fost grav ranit in timpul unui asalt al politiei turce si s-a refugiat pentru o perioada mai lunga in Marea Britanie. In 2009 i-a aparut primul roman, Miazanoapte, urmat in 2011 de Pacate si inocenti. Cel de-al treilea roman, Istanbul Istanbul, publicat in 2015, i-a adus EBRD Literature Prize in 2018. Pacate si inocenti a fost recompensat cu Premiul Sedat Simavi, una dintre cele mai prestigioase distinctii literare din Turcia. Labirint, cel de-al patrulea roman, a fost publicat in 2018. Cartile lui au fost traduse in peste 50 de limbi. In prezent, Burhan Sonmez isi imparte viata intre Cambridge si Istanbul, iar din 2021 este presedintele PEN International. In Anansi. Contemporan au aparut romanele Labirint (2021), Piatra si umbra (2023) si Istanbul Istanbul (2024).

Tancats dins d''una cel·la subterrània d''Istanbul quatre homes esperen els seus interrogadors. Per fer més suportable el temps combaten el silenci compartint històries plenes de tendresa i dolor, bastint un relat coral que gira sempre al voltant de la ciutat que els empresona. Durant deu dies s''expliquen contes i vivències personals, desitjos i temors, anhels de futur i penes del passat; somnis. A poc a poc converteixen la ciutat en la protagonista real de la història, creant una paràbola lluminosa on conviuen el patiment i la il·lusió amb totes les seves contradiccions.Aquesta novel·la és un homenatge a la creació i a la compassió, una obra que barreja la perspicàcia i l''humor amb la tragèdia. Un triomf rotund de la imaginació i una carta d''amor a Istanbul, escenari de tota esperança i de tota desesperança, convertida per l''autor en una font de relats incontenible.

En una aldea de Anatolia, un hombre mata por error a sus propios hermanos y desaparece. La historia no se cierra y se repite, cambia de forma, de voz, de tiempo, y pasa de generación en generación como una herida abierta. Años después, en el exilio, un joven intenta reconstruir ese pasado a partir de una fotografía y fragmentos de relatos que no encajan del todo. Cuanto más se acerca a la historia, más se deforma; los recuerdos se contradicen, los culpables se diluyen y nadie parece del todo inocente.Los inocentes no busca esclarecer lo ocurrido, sino mostrar cómo se construye la memoria. Cómo la violencia se transmite, cómo el amor se confunde con la culpa y cómo una vida puede quedar atrapada en una historia que nunca termina de contarse bien.Porque a veces no heredamos los hechos, tan solo la forma de recordarlos.