Dawn

April 8, 2019
Demirtas (Seher) explores resistance, persistence, and perseverance in modern-day Turkey in these 12 perceptive stories. Demirtas, a former Turkish parliament member for the People’s Democratic Party, has been controversially imprisoned since 2016 for spreading propaganda, and writes in the collection’s introduction, “What readers or voters expect from the writer and politician are, in essence, the same: to be inspired.” Through such characters as Nazan, a mechanic’s son; Bêkes, a student who has won the chance to attend a conference in America; and an unnamed lawyer traveling across country by bus, Demirtas constructs lively personalities who envision a greater, more open Turkey. Throughout, Demirtas finds optimism in dire situations. In the collection’s standout, “It’s Not What You Think,” one man’s failed suicide attempt becomes a spiritual moment of revelation after he walks to the local market with a new sense of meaning: “this ray of light completed a journey that had lasted millions of years. Who could have known when it set out all that time ago that it would turn the rest of my life upside down?” Demirtas shares an optimistic vision for Turkey’s future with these neatly constructed, affecting stories of dreamers from all walks of life.