Oğuz Atay

Oğuz Atay was a pioneer of the modern novel in Turkey. His first novel, Tutunamayanlar, appeared in 1971–72. Never reprinted in his lifetime and controversial among critics, it has become a best-seller since a new edition came out in 1984. It has been described as “probably the most eminent novel of twentieth-century Turkish literature”: this reference is due to a UNESCO survey, which goes on: “it poses an earnest challenge to even the most skilled translator with its kaleidoscope of colloquialisms and sheer size.” In fact three translations have so far been published: into Dutch, as Het leven in stukken, translated by Hanneke van der Heijden and Margreet Dorleijn ; into German, as Die Haltlosen, translated by Johannes Neuner ; into English, as The Disconnected, translated by Sevin Seydi : an excerpt from this won the Dryden Translation Prize in 2008.