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uhambe_nami's review against another edition
5.0
They Burn the Thistles is a tale from the Anavarza plain in southern Anatolia, Turkey, a tale in which a rich landowner has set his eyes on a little village and the farmland around it. Ali Safa Bey feels he must have all the land and extend his domain, even if he has to burn the villagers' houses and steal their horses and bully them into settling elsewhere. The villagers need something to hang on to, someone to lead them, someone to help them resist. Every oppressed community needs a Slim Memed.
Yashar Kemal's writing is on par with Juan Rulfo's [b:El Llano en Llamas|2075382|El llano en llamas|Juan Rulfo|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1266519159s/2075382.jpg|2080630] and Guimarães Rosa's [b:Grande Sertão|2363958|Grande Sertão Veredas|João Guimarães Rosa|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1230531047s/2363958.jpg|2370725]. The issues are real, and the farmers' struggle to hold on to their land is universal.
As McKibben writes in the introduction, "half the world is explained in these pages, the half that we need very badly to understand."
Yashar Kemal's writing is on par with Juan Rulfo's [b:El Llano en Llamas|2075382|El llano en llamas|Juan Rulfo|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1266519159s/2075382.jpg|2080630] and Guimarães Rosa's [b:Grande Sertão|2363958|Grande Sertão Veredas|João Guimarães Rosa|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1230531047s/2363958.jpg|2370725]. The issues are real, and the farmers' struggle to hold on to their land is universal.
As McKibben writes in the introduction, "half the world is explained in these pages, the half that we need very badly to understand."
dedication's review against another edition
5.0
Kahramanın kendini ve sistemi derinden sorguladığı serinin ikinci kitabında, yazarın şahane betimlemeleri yine göze çarpıyor. İlk kitap kadar heyecan dorukta okunmasa da sürükleyici anlatım devam ediyor.
eliathereader's review against another edition
3.0
Bu seride köylülerin asalaklığı beni bunaltıyor. Ayrıca oldukça ilginç hakaret unsuru cümleleri de köylüler bana bu seride öğretti. Güzel bir hikaye ama hayatımı değiştiren, beni derinden etkileyen bir kitap değil.
lunay's review against another edition
4.0
İlk kitapla karşılaştıracak olursam bazı bölümler gereğinden fazla yerinde saydı diyebilirim. Olayların gelişmesi çok uzun sürdü, bazı kopukluklar yaşandı, kitabın içine tam olarak girebildiğimi söyleyemem. Ama tüm bunlara rağmen yine çok beğendim, son kısım o kadar güzeldi ki, inanılmaz bir anlatış vardı kitabın climax kısmında, iyi ki beklemişim dedirtti. Kesinlikle üçüncü kitabıyla devam edeceğim ama fark ettiğim bir şey, İnce Memed kitaplarını üst üste okumak biraz insanı mental olarak yoruyor, o yüzden İnce Memed arası vereceğim :). İnce Memed yine hayal kırıklığına uğratmadı. <3
jacoboner's review against another edition
5.0
Önemli olan nasıl bir kitap görmek istediğimizdir.Çünkü İnce Memed serisini okuduğumuzda, macera yüklü bir destansı Anadolu hikayesini mi görmek istiyoruz yoksa alttan üste doğru Türkiye'deki köylü sınıfının, Anadolu halkının duyguları,iç çelişkilerini,toplumsal yapılarını,küçük hoş olmayan çıkarcı kurnazlıkları ile erdemlerini keşfedip tüm sosyal yapısının çözümlenmesiyle bir fikir edinmektir asıl olan. Bununla birlikte bizim nasıl bir feodal yapımızın olduğunu verir, çünkü her kültürün feodalite yapısı farklıydı.Aslında kitapta sosyal yapıyı çözümlediğimizde neden bir köylü devriminin Anadolu'da olmadığını ve olamayacağını görebiliriz.
wishanem's review against another edition
4.0
A slower, more mature sequel to "Memed, My Hawk", with a very insightful perspective on how petty tyrants can oppress people even within a nominatively democratic society.
The translation probably contributed to the effect, but there was a fairytale quality to many of the passages of this book. The extended descriptions of the geographical and natural features of the setting reinforced the tone and themes of the book, especially the idea that the world is largely unchangeable to any one person, and that any changes one might make to it are temporary.
Memed, the hero of this story, finds himself continually frustrated by the state of things and by his own failure to live up to the stories about himself. He has used violence to effect change, but it took a heavy toll on him. More importantly, the changes didn't stick.
Memed overthrew a man who was oppressing a village, but after he left an even worse man came and the villagers suffered more than ever. An old woman of the village said to Memed, "If I'd been made of iron I couldn't have borne what had happened. I should have melted away, rotten to pieces. I became stone and so I bore it." "I became earth and I endured... I became earth, earth, earth, and I endured."
Frustrated by the fact that despite his best efforts the plight of the villagers only got worse, Memed is wracked with guilt and ennui.
One of his friends, encouraging him to keep fighting, says, "Not to oppose tyranny is against our religion. Not to protect one's children's bread and one's parents' hearth, but to leave and go to strange lands is wrong. Not to oppose tyranny is to become an accomplice of the tyrant. To be afraid, and to give in from fear is wrong."
"If it never comes to an end, is it worthwhile struggling against tyranny?"
"Nothing in the world is useless. Nothing is in vain. It is right to struggle. It is right to give battle."
Though persuasive, these arguments aren't enough to overcome Memed's ennui. Only by being loved, and by developing relationships with people and with nature is he able to overcome his doubts and to take action against the oppressors.
While ultimately hopeful, this is an even more melancholy book than "Memed, My Hawk". The characters have answers to their moral quandaries, but it is clear that they and the book's readers won't always be satisfied by those answers. The important thing is to keep struggling with them.
Unfamiliar words I encountered in this book:
abase - to reduce or lower
Abdal - a member of a tribe known as traveling minstrels, usually employed at weddings, in Turkey and the surrounding area.
asphodel - a Eurasian plant of the lily family, in Greek mythology an immortal flower said to grow in the Elysian Fields
beestings (food) - Colostrum
burdock - a plant with burrs and an edible root that is no longer popular in Europe but is still used in Asian cuisine.
chaste-trees - A decorative tree with long upright spikes of pink, lilac, or white flowers, that blooms from late spring to early fall.
francolin - a type of partridge-like bird with varieties in Africa, and Asia
germander - a type of shrub common around the Mediterranean
goosegrass - a name for several grasses
kirtle - a tunic, coat, or outer garment
kurush - the standard unit of currency in the Ottoman Empire
mastic tree - an evergreen shrub cultivated for its aromatic resin
narcissi - the genus of flowering plants that includes daffodils, characterized by their six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup or trumpet shaped corona.
plover - a subfamily of wading birds found everywhere but the Sahara and polar regions.
roister - to celebrate or enjoy oneself in a noisy boisterous way
serge - a durable twilled woolen or worsted fabric
sheat fish - a large freshwater catfish native to Central Europe
spate - a large number of things, or a sudden flood in a river
tamarisk - a shrub with very small scalelike leaves on thin branches
The translation probably contributed to the effect, but there was a fairytale quality to many of the passages of this book. The extended descriptions of the geographical and natural features of the setting reinforced the tone and themes of the book, especially the idea that the world is largely unchangeable to any one person, and that any changes one might make to it are temporary.
Memed, the hero of this story, finds himself continually frustrated by the state of things and by his own failure to live up to the stories about himself. He has used violence to effect change, but it took a heavy toll on him. More importantly, the changes didn't stick.
Memed overthrew a man who was oppressing a village, but after he left an even worse man came and the villagers suffered more than ever. An old woman of the village said to Memed, "If I'd been made of iron I couldn't have borne what had happened. I should have melted away, rotten to pieces. I became stone and so I bore it." "I became earth and I endured... I became earth, earth, earth, and I endured."
Frustrated by the fact that despite his best efforts the plight of the villagers only got worse, Memed is wracked with guilt and ennui.
One of his friends, encouraging him to keep fighting, says, "Not to oppose tyranny is against our religion. Not to protect one's children's bread and one's parents' hearth, but to leave and go to strange lands is wrong. Not to oppose tyranny is to become an accomplice of the tyrant. To be afraid, and to give in from fear is wrong."
"If it never comes to an end, is it worthwhile struggling against tyranny?"
"Nothing in the world is useless. Nothing is in vain. It is right to struggle. It is right to give battle."
Though persuasive, these arguments aren't enough to overcome Memed's ennui. Only by being loved, and by developing relationships with people and with nature is he able to overcome his doubts and to take action against the oppressors.
While ultimately hopeful, this is an even more melancholy book than "Memed, My Hawk". The characters have answers to their moral quandaries, but it is clear that they and the book's readers won't always be satisfied by those answers. The important thing is to keep struggling with them.
Unfamiliar words I encountered in this book:
abase - to reduce or lower
Abdal - a member of a tribe known as traveling minstrels, usually employed at weddings, in Turkey and the surrounding area.
asphodel - a Eurasian plant of the lily family, in Greek mythology an immortal flower said to grow in the Elysian Fields
beestings (food) - Colostrum
burdock - a plant with burrs and an edible root that is no longer popular in Europe but is still used in Asian cuisine.
chaste-trees - A decorative tree with long upright spikes of pink, lilac, or white flowers, that blooms from late spring to early fall.
francolin - a type of partridge-like bird with varieties in Africa, and Asia
germander - a type of shrub common around the Mediterranean
goosegrass - a name for several grasses
kirtle - a tunic, coat, or outer garment
kurush - the standard unit of currency in the Ottoman Empire
mastic tree - an evergreen shrub cultivated for its aromatic resin
narcissi - the genus of flowering plants that includes daffodils, characterized by their six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup or trumpet shaped corona.
plover - a subfamily of wading birds found everywhere but the Sahara and polar regions.
roister - to celebrate or enjoy oneself in a noisy boisterous way
serge - a durable twilled woolen or worsted fabric
sheat fish - a large freshwater catfish native to Central Europe
spate - a large number of things, or a sudden flood in a river
tamarisk - a shrub with very small scalelike leaves on thin branches
elifonatree's review against another edition
5.0
My favourite quote from the book, ‘It is right to struggle. It is right to give battle. To struggle is not in vain, it is right’
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