Turkey

The Aziz Bey Incident by Ayfer Tunç, translated from Turkish by Stephanie Ates and published by Istros Books in 2013.

Stories about performers, particularly musicians, give such a rich and varied impression of a country, its musical traditions and instruments, the changes in entertainment, nightlife and attitudes. As I read more books I find overlapping themes fascinating. This contrasted well with Kazakh author, Talasbek Asemlukov's novel A Life at Noon, thought it was shorter and less expansive. Both describe the lives of men, their mistakes, their backgrounds, familial and romantic relationships.

"The only thing he knew how to do properly in this life was to play the tambur. And so he began playing in taverns."

This novella, published in an edition with some of Tunc's other work, was concise, well written and provided a real window into Turkish culture.