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A review by lostyouth
Bliss by O.Z. Livaneli
4.0
The story begins in a village in Eastern Anatolia where ignorant customs and beliefs plague the population. A fifteen year old raped girl, Meryem, is believed to have committed a major 'sin' and stained the honor of the family whereas her rapist uncle remains pious as ever. According to the tradition, Meryem must commit suicide to restore the honor of family. But she defies the custom and wants to live.
Her uncle, who happens to be a sheikh in the village, is one of those men who preach virtues and morals to others and conceal their own sins and trashiness under the garb of piety and religiosity. Women are considered evil and lowly beings who must spend their entire lives behind the doors.
The ignorance and stupidity of the people is further aggravated by remaining secluded and clueless about the world outside the village.
Her twenty year old cousin, Cemal (i.e Jemal) is a commando in Turkish army fighting against Kurdish guerillas on the mountains. On his return to village after being discharged from the army service, he is commanded by his father to take Meryem to Istanbul and and murder her there.
Cemal learns violence instead of rationality and is deeply influenced by his father's preaching.
On the other hand, we follow the story of a 44 year old professor, Irfan, going through existential crisis after living a pretentious and pompous life among elite-class. He is described as being 'Don Quixote at night' and 'Sancho Panza in the morning'. Instead of becoming a creative thinker, irfan became a pretentious dandy who couldn't produce anything worthwhile - since he judged himself to be devoid of noteworthy thoughts or feelings.
The paths of these three characters collide and their lives change significantly.
Irfan, Meryem and Cemal - in Turkish film, Mutluluk (Bliss)
The novel is slow paced but a compelling read. The premise sounds much too grim but the book isn't always so. The character development in the story is excellent and each character serves a means to observe various point of views. There are various themes in the novel especially patriarchy and misogyny with underlying political and social commentary. The disparity existing among people of different class, culture and background is brought to light. A country torn into Eastern tradition and Western modernity. . There's religion, nihilism, secularism and people having different morals, traditions and customs reflecting their outlook on life.
The novel is about broadening one's horizon about world and people inhabiting it. Learning to shed the shell of prejudices and cherished beliefs. So do these characters, to some extent at least.
It's a story of courage amidst adversity with a ray of triumph and hope that will surely make you think at several points.
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Archive.org link to borrow the book:
https://archive.org/details/bliss0000liva
Her uncle, who happens to be a sheikh in the village, is one of those men who preach virtues and morals to others and conceal their own sins and trashiness under the garb of piety and religiosity. Women are considered evil and lowly beings who must spend their entire lives behind the doors.
The ignorance and stupidity of the people is further aggravated by remaining secluded and clueless about the world outside the village.
Her twenty year old cousin, Cemal (i.e Jemal) is a commando in Turkish army fighting against Kurdish guerillas on the mountains. On his return to village after being discharged from the army service, he is commanded by his father to take Meryem to Istanbul and and murder her there.
Cemal learns violence instead of rationality and is deeply influenced by his father's preaching.
On the other hand, we follow the story of a 44 year old professor, Irfan, going through existential crisis after living a pretentious and pompous life among elite-class. He is described as being 'Don Quixote at night' and 'Sancho Panza in the morning'. Instead of becoming a creative thinker, irfan became a pretentious dandy who couldn't produce anything worthwhile - since he judged himself to be devoid of noteworthy thoughts or feelings.
The paths of these three characters collide and their lives change significantly.
Irfan, Meryem and Cemal - in Turkish film, Mutluluk (Bliss)
The novel is slow paced but a compelling read. The premise sounds much too grim but the book isn't always so. The character development in the story is excellent and each character serves a means to observe various point of views. There are various themes in the novel especially patriarchy and misogyny with underlying political and social commentary. The disparity existing among people of different class, culture and background is brought to light. A country torn into Eastern tradition and Western modernity. . There's religion, nihilism, secularism and people having different morals, traditions and customs reflecting their outlook on life.
The novel is about broadening one's horizon about world and people inhabiting it. Learning to shed the shell of prejudices and cherished beliefs. So do these characters, to some extent at least.
It's a story of courage amidst adversity with a ray of triumph and hope that will surely make you think at several points.
---
Archive.org link to borrow the book:
https://archive.org/details/bliss0000liva