Reckless

Turkish writers are, with the possible exception of Orhan Pamuk, largely unknown to English readers. This is, of course, in large due to the paucity of translations, so the availability of Hasan Ali Toptaş's Reckless – his first in English – is a rare opportunity.

Ziya, the protagonist of the story, relocates from Istanbul to a small and at least superficially bucolic village in the hills, a retreat organized by his companion during compulsory military service some three decades before. His two years in the army were horrific, with beatings and firefights along the border with Syria, filth, lice and inedible food. In an unrelated incident, his wife and child later perish in a terrorist attack in Istanbul well before the story opens; Ziya himself hardly survives.