The Bridge of the Golden Horn [Paperback]

Emine Sevgi Ozdamar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

“There is something about the way she tells a story that would make her words sparkle under any circumstances, and in any tongue.”—Financial Times

“Ermine Sevgi Ozdamar writes with wisdom and humor…(The Bridge of the Golden Horn) is an appealing tale about a young immigrant who discovers herself through politics, sex and the arts.”—Foreword Magazine

In 1966, a sixteen-year-old girl leaves Istanbul and signs up as a migrant worker in Germany. The Bridge of the Golden Horn is a witty, picaresque account of a precocious teenager refusing to become wise and the story of a young woman who is obsessed with theater, poetry, and left-wing politics.

Emine Sevgi Özdamar was born in Turkey and now lives in Berlin, where she has directed in the theater and written plays. Her other books include the novel Life is a Caravanserei.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Ozdamar glides through the ocean of stories: between archaic myths and modern slang, between inner and outer worlds, between gravity and humour, between Orient and Occident' Neue Zurcher Zeltung 'Quite simply a great book... With it German literature has crossed the Bosphorus - and returned bearing gifts' Frankfurter Rundschau 'A wonderful novel of marvellous invention' Das Literarische Quartett 'If the world looks different after reading a book and the things in it bear new names, then a considerable author must have been at work... an author like Emine Sevgi Ozdamar' Suddeutsche Zeltung"

About the Author

Emine Sevgi Özdamar was born in Turkey and now lives in Berlin. She attended drama school in Istanbul and has appeared in major theatrical productions in Germany, Vienna, Avignon and Paris as well as in films. She has also directed in the theatre and written plays. Her other books include the novel Life is a Caravanserei.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852429321
• ISBN-13: 978-1852429324
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great autobiographical fiction, April 29, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bridge of the Golden Horn (Paperback)

The Bridge of the Golden Horn
Emine Sevgi Ozdamar
Serpent's Tail, May 2009, $15.95
ISBN: 9781852429324

In 1966 sixteen years old, she lies about her age so no one can prevent her from being a "guest worker" while she studies the Berlin theatre. Her Turkish middle class upbringing is probably more of a handicap than her age as that has left her naïve because she is used to protection. However, she begins to expand her experiences when she meets members of the Turkish Workers' Association and starts to read the works of German Prime Minister Nietzsche, Shakespeare, Gorky, Engels, and others. The young woman already overcame the typical Turkish education of dumping down females so that they remain obedient of their male family members or she would not live across from the theater. Yet the older women tell her to treasure her virginity while a friend insists that leaves her ignorant of men who control art.

When she returns to Istanbul, she is considered modern because she pays her way, but continues her study of movies under a drama teacher who wants art to imitate real life like street peddlers who work the Bridge of the Golden Horn. However, belonging to a Marxist group proves dangerous as they are beaten and his works tossed into the Sea of Marmara. With toilets stopped up with leftist literature, the woman vows to leave Turkey after being jailed for allegedly abetting Kurdish separatists.

This is a fabulous translation of a great autobiographical fiction novel that brings to life tumultuous Turkey in the late 1960s when being left meant being left out as well as the role women were allowed. The story line follows the escapades of the heroine who learns so much about life in Berlin, but realizes how much when she returns to Istanbul. Apparently THE BRIDGE OF THE GOLDEN HORN is the second of three autobiographical fictions; Emine Sevgi Ozdamar provides an entertaining profound historical novel.

Harriet Klausner