A strangeness in my mind
Subtitle: a novel
By: Orhan Pamuk ; translated from the Turkish by Ekin Oklap
Edition: First American edition.
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 599
ISBN-13: 9780307700292; 9781101875834; 9780307361264
Subjects: Social life and customs; Roman; Street vendors; Social conditions; Text; Manners and customs; Fiction
Work titles: Kafamda bir tuhaflık
Description: "Since his boyhood in a poor village in Central Anatolia, Mevlut Karataş has fantasized about what his life would become. Not getting as far in school as he'd hoped, at the age of twelve he comes to Istanbul--"the center of the world"--And is immediately enthralled by both the old city that is disappearing and the new one that is fast being built. He follows his father's trade, selling boza (a traditional mildly alcoholic Turkish drink) on the street, and hoping to become rich, like other villagers who have settled the desolate hills outside the booming metropolis. But luck never seems to be on Mevlut's side. As he watches his relations settle down and make their fortunes, he spends three years writing love letters to a girl he saw just once at a wedding, only to elope by mistake with her sister. And though he grows to cherish his wife and the family they have, he stumbles toward middle age in a series of jobs leading nowhere. His sense of missing something leads him sometimes to the politics of his friends and intermittently to the teachings of a charismatic religious guide. But every evening, without fail, Mevlut still wanders the streets of Istanbul, selling boza and wondering at the "strangeness" of his mind, the sensation that makes him feel different from everyone else, until fortune conspires once more to let him understand at last what it is he has always yearned for."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes index.

Chronological dates of the author's life: pages 593-599.

Translated from the Turkish by Ekin Oklap.
Table of contents: title: Part I. Thursday, 17 June 1982. Mevlut and Rayiha. Elopement is a tricky business; title: Part II. Wednesday, 30 March 1994. Mevlut, every winter evening for the last twenty-five years. Leave the boza seller alone; title: Part III. September 1968-June 1982. Mevlut in the village. If this world could speak, what would it say?; title: Home. The hills at the end of the city; title: The enterprising individual who builds a house on empty land. Oh, my boy, Istanbul is a little scary, isn't it?; title: Mevlut begins to work as a street vendor. It's not your job to act superior; title: Atatürk boys' secondary school. A good education removes the barriers between rich and poor; title: Middle school and politics. There's no school tomorrow; title: The Elyazar cinema. A matter of life and death; title: The height of Duttepe mosque. People actually live there?; title: Neriman. What makes the city a city.; title: The consequences of sticking communist posters on mosques. God save the Turks; title: The war between Duttepe and Kültepe. We don't take sides; title: How to marry a girl from the village. My daughter is not for sale; title: Mevlut's mustache. The owner of unregistered land; title: Mevlut falls in love. Only God could have ordained this chance encounter; title: Mevlut leaves home. If you saw her on the street tomorrow, would you recognize her?; title: How to write a love letter. Your eyes are like ensorcelled arrows; title: Mevlut's army days. Do you think you're at home?; title: The military coup. The cemetery of the industrial quarter; title: Mevlut and Rayiha. Elopement is a tricky business; title: Part IV. June 1982-March 1994. Mevlut and Rayiha get married. Only death can tear us apart; title: Mevlut sells ice cream. The happiest days of his life; title: Mevlut and Rayiha's wedding. Only desperate yogurt sellers bother with boza; title: Rice with chickpeas. Food tastes better when it's got some dirt in it; title: Mevlut becomes a father. Do not get out of the van; title: Samiha runs away. Blood will be shed over this; title: A second daughter. It was as if his life were happening to someone else; title: Capitalism and tradition. Mevlut's blissful family life; title: The Ghaazi quarter. We're going to hide in here; title: Getting rid of city dust. My God, where is all this filth coming from; title: Girls who refuse to meet their suitors. We were just passing by; title: In Tarlabaşı. The happiest man in the world; title: Süleyman stirs up trouble. Isn't that what happened?; title: Mevlut finds a new spot. I'll go and pick it up first thing tomorrow morning; title: The holy guide. I am the victim of a grave injustice; title: The Binbom café. Let them know what you're worth; title: The café employees' big swindle. You stay out of it; title: Last days at the Binbom café. Twenty thousand sheep; title: Part V. March 1994-September 2002. The brothers-in-law boza shop. Doing the nation proud; title: In the little shop with two women. Other meters and other families; title: Ferhat's electric passion. Let's run away from here; title: A child is a sacred thing. Maybe you would be happier if I would just die and you could marry Samiha; title: Mevlut becomes a parking lot guard. Guilt and astonishment; title: After Rayiha. People can't get cross with you if you're crying; title: A history of electric consumption. Süleyman gets into a tight spot; title: Mevlut in the farthest neighborhoods. Dogs will bark at anyone who doesn't belong among us; title: Bringing down a nightclub. Is it right?; title: Mevlut at the police station. I've spent all my life on these streets; title: What our heart intends and what our words intend. Fatma continues her studies; title: Fevziye runs away. Let them both kiss my hand; title: Mevlut alone. You two are made for each other; title: New quarters, old faces. Is it the same as this?; title: Mevlut and Samiha. I wrote the letters to you; title: Home. We were doing things properly; title: Part VI. Wednesday, 15 April 2009. The twelve story building. You have a right to the city's rent; title: Part VII. Thursday, 25 October 2012. The form of a city. I can only meditate when I'm walking.