Faruk Ahmet read and liked Eyoki's review of Mediterranean Waltz:

"An enjoyable novel which is set in Kuzguncuk, a picturesque area of Istanbul which was historically very ethnically mixed. The book contains two interconnected story both built around the central character Duna. One is the Kafka-esque tale of him w...more An enjoyable novel which is set in Kuzguncuk, a picturesque area of Istanbul which was historically very ethnically mixed. The book contains two interconnected story both built around the central character Duna. One is the Kafka-esque tale of him waking to discover that war has been declared and he has been drafted into the army. The other is a simple love story involving Duna, Ada (the daughter of two film stars who move into Kuzguncuk) and Duna's elder brother.

Neither of these stories is especially original and each taken on its own is very obviously flawed: the "war story" is pretentious and just too obviously a Kafka copycat; the "love story" is emotionally overwrought and its heroine doesn't ring true as a human being. Yet somehow, intertwined together, the stories make a larger tale which does work.

But to me the great achievement of the book has nothing to do with the narrative: it is that Uzuner captures the special atmosphere of Kuzguncuk. I'd read the book again just for that.(less) "