Hello!
Let’s start our series with the first book of “My Life” from
Ayşe Kulin: “Veda” also known as “Farewell”
"About Book"
* Written by Ayşe Kulin & in 2007 / İstanbul
* Dedicated to Sitare Kulin & Ahmet Reşat Bey ( Kulin’s
mother and grand-grandfather)
* Genre: Biographic & Fictional Novel
* Publisher: Everest Press
* ISBN Number: ISBN 9752895102
* Language: Turkish
* Page: 328
* Translation: English, "Farewell"
"Theme"
* From a family's view, İstanbul's situation in the last years of Ottoman Empire, painful years of a country, a family, a nation and a world. Takes place in 1920's.
"Plot"
* Ahmet Reşat Bey is the last chancellor of exchequer of Ottoman Empire. He
tries not to shadow out the pain of country and the famine.
Also he cannot his side between reformists and stretchers. He is looking after a big family which contents
His beautiful and self-sacrificing wife, Behice Hanım, his two daughters, Leman
and Suat, their maid, an Independence War veteran , phthisic nephew, Kemal.
Kemal is hiding on the top of the roof because he is a
nationalist and he helps confidential nationalist groups. He is ill since his returning from Sarıkamış Front in
Independent War. Home’s maid Mehpare is looking after him and they fall in love
with each other
Ahmet Reşat Bey and Kemal are sometimes contrary to each
other because of generation gap and disagreements. Also Ahmet Reşat Bey secretly
helps the army in Anatolia, even he has a position in government.
After İstanbul’s occupancy, Kemal and Mehpare decide to stay
at a friend’s, Azra Hanım’s place. But occupation forces find this house, too
so they return to Reşat Bey’s house again. Azra Hanım wants to join army and
national forces. After the raid, until she joins the army, she stays at Ahmet
Reşat Bey’s house. Then she goes to Antep and loves a French soldier. This new
drops like a bombshell to the Reşat Bey’s house.
Kemal starts to get better. He goes to Anatolia with his
friend, Mahir, in order to be more active in struggle. But before this, Mehpare and Kemal marry. Then
he goes to Eskişehir for installing phone network. After a while, a knell arrives
to Reşat Bey house.
National Struggle ends with avoiding country from occupying
forces. Ottoman Sovereign leaves the country. The new government declares
people who were not with army as a traitor. Ahmet Reşat Bey comes across with
this event. He has to leave the country,
too.
Before his escape, he resigns his house and family to Mahir.
Mahir loves Leman, Ahmet Reşat Bey’s elder daughter and he marries her. Ahmet
Reşat Bey leaves the country with a broken heart and tears.
"Characters"
* Ahmet Reşat Bey
* Ahmet Reşat Bey is
the last chancellor of exchequer of Ottoman Empire. He is husband of Behice
Hanım, fathers of Leman and Suat, uncle of Kemal, nephew of Saraylıhanım,
father-in-law of Mahir and grandfather of Sitare. Also he is grand-grandfather
of the author, Ayşe Kulin. He is indecisive between two sides of country, his commitment
to Empire and sovereign, or his own country and national struggle. He suffers
from poverty and famine but he shouldn’t shadow out these problems and his own
weakness to his family because they are accustomed to live in wealth and
solemnity. He should be a powerful leader and figure to his family.
* Behice Hanım
* Behice Hanım is the wife of Ahmet Reşat Bey, mothers of
Leman and Suat and grandmother of Sitare. Also she is author Ayşe Kulin’s
grand-grandmother. She is a very
self-sacrificing woman. She loves her husband and family, especially her
daughters. She is a classical housewife. She always tries to hold together her
families and takes care of everything in house. She is fighting with her
husband’s aunt, Saraylıhanım, but she is bearing to her in order to please her
husband. She knows that everything is starts to falling down and she is aware
of the situation and poverty but she cannot tell this to Ahmet Reşat Bey.
Because she knows that if Ahmet Reşat Bey understands that the familycan
realize the situation, he will be very depressed.
* Saraylıhanım
*Saraylıhanım is aunt of Ahmet Reşat Bey but she assumes him
as her son, of course she assumes Behice Hanım as her daughter-in-law. She is
very old, senile and lunatic. She loves Ahmet Reşat Bey but she always fights
with Behice Hanım because of generation gap. Her origins are very noble and stand
up to Circassia Empire so she never saw any poverty and hardship. So she couldn’t
understand why the clothes and food is decreasing. She attributes this collapse
to Behice Hanım.
* Leman
*Leman is the elder daughter of Ahmet Reşat Bey and Behice Hanım.She is very beautiful. She can play piano very well and she is an obsessive precise girl. She is wife of Mahir and mother of Sitare.
* Suat
*Suat is second daughter of Ahmet Reşat Bey and Behice Hanım. She is short and fat. She is a very cheerful and lovely girl.
* Kemal
*Kemal is the young nephew of Ahmet Reşat Bey. He is hiding because he is a natio-nalist and helps army and national forces. He is phthisic and he loves Mehpare.
* Mehpare
* Mehpare is the maid of the house. Also she is a relative of Reşat Bey family. She is very beautiful, long and auburn. She is looking after Kemal and she loves him.
* Mahir
* Mahir is the husband of Leman and he is a doctor. Ahmet Reşat Bey loves and trusts him very much.
"Comments"
My Comments-Advise or Not
"When I
was reading this book, I feel very lucky and I saw that how can a family be
dragged to a chaos and how can a republic rise from an old empire. It was a really nice book that I can recommend
it to everyone. Ayşe Kulin wrote that book with a fluent and impressive
language so you can easily enter inside of the book. Sometimes you have fun,
sometimes you become so sad and sometimes you testify a really strong love. You
can learn mother feelings, you can learn the Ottoman Empire’s collapse, and you
can learn everything about a family. I can recommend this book to everyone that
curious about Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic."
Other Comments
Mustafa Çetinel:
“I
found this book from a friend and I have to confess that I read that book
without any stop. In my all spare times, I become addicted to this book.
Sometimes I missed the bus stop while I was reading this book on the road. The
book is kind of historical. Novel takes place in Independence War years. You
can easily understand the way that people think in these years. You can see all
the events clearly. The book is very impressive that sometimes you want to join
army or live with that family. I recommend that book to everyone.”
-Extra-
***Veda" was adapted to a TV serie by Medyapım, but unfortunately, it has been cancelled after 8 episodes because of low ratings.
***Veda" was adapted to a TV serie by Medyapım, but unfortunately, it has been cancelled after 8 episodes because of low ratings.
Sources:www.aysekulin.org
www.dr.com.tr
www.milliyet.com.tr
www.edebiyatsorulari.com
www.kanald.com.tr
www.hermeskitap.com
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