THE PRISONER OF ANKARA

A man reflects on the crime that sent him to prison—and on his uncertain future.

Turkish author Dervis’ novel, first published in 1957, is now available to Anglophone readers in Freely’s tautly paced translation. The title character is a former medical student named Vasfi who’s leaving prison after having spent more than 12 years there, sentenced for his role in a man’s death. Initially, his mood upon reentering the wider world is bleak: “To look at the people around him and think of himself as a murderer was a torment he could barely endure.” Eventually, he thinks back over the events that sent him to prison, which related to his infatuation with Zeynep, a woman who lived in his neighborhood. He longed to be with her, but fate had other plans, and she ended up engaged to his great-uncle. When he confronted her with his feelings, she rejected him and went on to reveal that there were aspects of the situation—including the fact that she had previously been married and divorced, and had a 4-year-old child—of which he was completely unaware. His unresolved feelings remained an issue, however, and he eventually got into a fight with his cousin Nuri when Nuri claimed that Zeynep had been unfaithful to her new husband. That fight resulted in Nuri’s death and Vasfi’s prison term. In her introduction, Freely accurately describes this book as “a social-realist page-turner.” It isn’t until the long flashback has ended that the book takes a more philosophical turn, as an increasingly destitute Vasfi wanders through the city overcome by desperation and self-loathing. And he gradually realizes something: “His Zeynep—the incomparable Zeynep of his youth—no longer existed.” It’s not until after this moment that he can find a path toward redemption.

A melancholy look at dashed illusions.