Sevgi Soysal (Book order)

Sevgi Soysal Book order

Sevgi Soysal was a masterful critic of social injustice, gender inequality, and militarism, whose writings are essential to understanding Turkey since the 1960s. Her early works possessed an existentialist bent, emphasizing the anxiety of the individual vis-à-vis society. In later works, her focus shifted to the relationship between the individual and society and to various social issues. Soysal stands out as an author who refused to meet the constricting social demands of her time, most especially those concerning gender. She fearlessly challenged the conformism she observed in society, using sharp intelligence and scathing irony to reveal loopholes and glitches in the dominating system. Her protagonists, unafraid to reckon with themselves or question societal dictates, often embark on adventures and live life fully, even when aware it might lead to pitfalls.

Dawn

350 pages
13 hours of reading

4.0(100)Add rating

"In Dawn, translated into English for the first time, legendary Turkish feminist Sevgi Soysal brings together dark humor, witty observations, and trenchant criticism of social injustice, militarism, and gender inequality. As night falls in Adana, köftes and cups of cloudy raki are passed to the dinner guests in the home of Ali - a former laborer who gives tight bear hugs, speaks with a southeastern lilt, and radiates the spirit of a child. Among the guests are a journalist named Oya, who has recently been released from prison and is living in exile on charges of leftist sympathizing, and her new acquaintance, Mustafa. A swift kick knocks down the front door and bumbling policemen converge on the guests, carting them off to holding cells, where they'll be interrogated and tortured throughout the night. Fear spools into the anxious, claustrophobic thoughts of a return to prison, just after tasting freedom. Bristling snatches of Oya's time in prison rush back - the wild curses and wilder laughter of inmates, their vicious quarrels and rapturous belly-dancing, or the quiet boon of a cup of tea. Her former inmates created fury and joy out of nothing. Their brimming resilience wills Oya to fight through the night and is fused with every word of this blazing, lucid novel."-- Provided by publisher