Latife Tekin – författare

The cast-offs of modern urban society are driven out onto the edges of the city and left to make a life there for themselves. They are not, however, in any natural wilderness, but in a world of refuse and useless junk - a place which denies any form of sustainable life. Here, the unemployed, the homeless, the old and the bereft struggle to build shelters out of old tin cans, scavenge for food and fight against insuperable odds. And yet somehow they survive: it seems that society thrives on the garbage hills because it has always been built on one. In this dark fairy tale full of scenes taken from what has increasingly become a way of life for many inhabitants on this planet, Latife Tekin has written a grim parable of human destiny.

A strange magical story of a young girl growing up in modern Turkey, from her birth in a small rural village haunted by fairies and demons to hertraumatic move to the big city. It concentrates on the daughter''s struggle gainst her overbearing mother and is both fantastic and hallucinatory.

Halilhan Sunteriler, would-be entrepreneur, rescues a red Volvo from the scrap heap, which he believes will lead him to big money in business ventures. So he solicits the help of his staunch friend Gogi, the most ''cultured'' man of the neighbourhood, and gradually, Halilhan''s two younger brothers, Hazmi and Mesut, are also drawn into the project. Hazmi is aggressive and fights Halilhan whenever he gets a chance, Mesut lives too much in the shadow of his wife to confront his elder brother, and as for Halilhan, he is too busy having affairs to take much notice of either of them - or his wife Rübeysa.

A nihilistic wit reminiscent of Samuel Beckett.?Independent on SundayThe cast-offs of modern urban society are driven out onto the edges of the city and left to make a life there for themselves. They are not, however, in any natural wilderness, but in a world of refuse and useless junk?a place which denies any form of sustainable life. Here, the unemployed, the homeless, the old and the bereft struggle to build shelters out of old tin cans, scavenge for food and fight against insuperable odds.And yet somehow they survive: it seems that society thrives on the garbage hills because it has always been built on one. In this dark fairy tale full of scenes taken from what has increasingly become a way of life for many inhabitants on this planet, Latife Tekin has written a grim parable of human destiny.A major best seller in her native Turkey, Latife Tekin maintains a politically active presence and has written a number of literary works.Saliha Paker translates Turkish poetry and is a member of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Birmingham. Ruth Christie is a translator of Turkish poetry and prose."A provocative and enjoyable work."?Times Literary Supplement"A small masterpiece of beauty."?Women's Review of Books