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Black Sky, Black Sea
A Turkish political refugee has published this dramatic portrait of an idealistic young revolutionary confronting the terrifying reality of his former country's brutal suppression of a dissident minority.
- GenresFiction
338 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 15, 2012
Istanbul, 1977: a May Day parade is brutally suppressed in Taksim Square. Fingers are pointed at the conservative government, at fascists, at competing left-wing factions. The scent of revolution is mixed with gunsmoke. It is a city braced for violent change.
Oak, eighteen, a boarding school student, has gone along for the ride. Bewildered when the parade turns nasty, he is plucked from danger by a girl two years older than himself, with a pistol and a revolver and 'dark and angry' eyes. Her name is Zuhal. As Turkey escalates towards a military coup, her fleeting presence in his life will obsess Oak, shaping his ideas and values, challenging his political beliefs, and luring him deeper into an invariably violent world.
'Black Sky, Black Sea' is Izzet Celasin's first novel. One would assume it lends heavily from personal experience: a left-wing activist, Celasin was imprisoned after the 1980 coup, and moved to Norway in 1988 as a political refugee (incredibly, he first wrote this novel in Norwegian, from which is was subsequently, faultlessly translated by Charlotte Barslund).
If you're wondering at this point whether a novel about internal conflict in seventies Turkey can really cut a swathe through your reading pile, let me assure you: this is a book that mocks preconceptions, unfurling into a zappy, racy and above all extremely human story of urban guerrillas, and yet, for all its deceptive simplicity, one which begs fundamental questions about the very nature of revolution itself: the contradiction between genuine idealism and a desire simply to belong; the hypocrisy in using a gun to promote peace and harmony.
Zuhal's convictions gradually lure Oak from his quiet home life, where he lives with his mother and assumes he will one day marry Ayfer, a sweet, quiet girl from an opposite tenement block. Zuhal remains tantalisingly out of reach, and while she kindles a political flame in Oak, it is one increasingly at odds with her own, more aggressive vision of the path to a socialist Utopia.
'I was just one person on the planet who wanted to live in eternal peace, surrounded by poetry, music and love,' declares Oak, and yet at the same time: 'I fantasised about.. being an urban guerrilla in the back seat of a car on a murky day, pistol by my side, waiting impatiently to strike at a target. Or in the mountains, resting around a campfire with a Kalashnikov in my lap. I could see how the romanticism of this would appeal to most of my peers because such fantasies always ended before any blood was spilt.'
Therein lies the heart of a contradiction which will pull Oak in Zuhal's wake, immersing him further in the deadly world of fascist thugs and military prisons as the regime imposes curfews and flexes its muscles for the coup that is to follow. At the same time, Oak's story becomes increasingly personal as, if you like, his own internal revolution takes place: torn between regular girls and the absent guerrilla just as much as he struggles with two distinct political dogmas; flooded with feelings of jealousy, inadequacy and most of all rage at a society that has nourished such turmoil.
'Black Sky, Black Sea' is a superb book on so many levels. I loved it: it is without doubt one of the contenders for my book of the year. In some respects, it is only after you shut it that its real cleverness becomes apparent, as those questions about the dichotomies in political activism refuse to dissipate; lingering in corners of your mind like wisps of gunsmoke over a battered city square.
Oak, eighteen, a boarding school student, has gone along for the ride. Bewildered when the parade turns nasty, he is plucked from danger by a girl two years older than himself, with a pistol and a revolver and 'dark and angry' eyes. Her name is Zuhal. As Turkey escalates towards a military coup, her fleeting presence in his life will obsess Oak, shaping his ideas and values, challenging his political beliefs, and luring him deeper into an invariably violent world.
'Black Sky, Black Sea' is Izzet Celasin's first novel. One would assume it lends heavily from personal experience: a left-wing activist, Celasin was imprisoned after the 1980 coup, and moved to Norway in 1988 as a political refugee (incredibly, he first wrote this novel in Norwegian, from which is was subsequently, faultlessly translated by Charlotte Barslund).
If you're wondering at this point whether a novel about internal conflict in seventies Turkey can really cut a swathe through your reading pile, let me assure you: this is a book that mocks preconceptions, unfurling into a zappy, racy and above all extremely human story of urban guerrillas, and yet, for all its deceptive simplicity, one which begs fundamental questions about the very nature of revolution itself: the contradiction between genuine idealism and a desire simply to belong; the hypocrisy in using a gun to promote peace and harmony.
Zuhal's convictions gradually lure Oak from his quiet home life, where he lives with his mother and assumes he will one day marry Ayfer, a sweet, quiet girl from an opposite tenement block. Zuhal remains tantalisingly out of reach, and while she kindles a political flame in Oak, it is one increasingly at odds with her own, more aggressive vision of the path to a socialist Utopia.
'I was just one person on the planet who wanted to live in eternal peace, surrounded by poetry, music and love,' declares Oak, and yet at the same time: 'I fantasised about.. being an urban guerrilla in the back seat of a car on a murky day, pistol by my side, waiting impatiently to strike at a target. Or in the mountains, resting around a campfire with a Kalashnikov in my lap. I could see how the romanticism of this would appeal to most of my peers because such fantasies always ended before any blood was spilt.'
Therein lies the heart of a contradiction which will pull Oak in Zuhal's wake, immersing him further in the deadly world of fascist thugs and military prisons as the regime imposes curfews and flexes its muscles for the coup that is to follow. At the same time, Oak's story becomes increasingly personal as, if you like, his own internal revolution takes place: torn between regular girls and the absent guerrilla just as much as he struggles with two distinct political dogmas; flooded with feelings of jealousy, inadequacy and most of all rage at a society that has nourished such turmoil.
'Black Sky, Black Sea' is a superb book on so many levels. I loved it: it is without doubt one of the contenders for my book of the year. In some respects, it is only after you shut it that its real cleverness becomes apparent, as those questions about the dichotomies in political activism refuse to dissipate; lingering in corners of your mind like wisps of gunsmoke over a battered city square.
June 16, 2020
This is fascinating book about the politics of Turkey in the late 1970s and early 1980s - a period about which I knew nothing. It's a story, apparently based on the author's life, about a young man and his relationships with family, teachers, friends and his passion for an activist. It's curious because at the same time I was reading it, I started to watch the UK TV series Guerilla which also has a passionate female activist at the heart of it. I'm slightly ambivalent about my response to the actual story even though I found the context interesting. Why? Was it something about the main character's obsession? Anyway, glad I read it.
January 19, 2025
Fascinating work of fiction based around one individual, and his family and friends, in the build up to and aftermath of the 1980 coup in Turkey, which I previously knew nothing about. The author fled Turkey after being imprisoned for left wing activism around this time - one of the most remarkable facets for me was that this work was translated from Norwegian - the authors adopted language since fleeing Turkey for Norway in 1988. Not perfect, but a very interesting read!
January 14, 2014
"I thought about all the tragedies that occurred every day without us being aware of them."
Despite having lived in a Turkish area of London for maybe 10 years, I knew nothing of the events in this book before reading.
The book follows a young man through his education, who is thinking about becoming a revolutionary. However, I was much more intrigued by the various female characters who range from very passive characters to guerilla warriors!
I'd be interested to know how much of this book is based on the authors own experiences, as he left Turkey as a refugee himself.
Overall, a very enjoyable story and a lot of history learnt along the way.
Despite having lived in a Turkish area of London for maybe 10 years, I knew nothing of the events in this book before reading.
The book follows a young man through his education, who is thinking about becoming a revolutionary. However, I was much more intrigued by the various female characters who range from very passive characters to guerilla warriors!
I'd be interested to know how much of this book is based on the authors own experiences, as he left Turkey as a refugee himself.
Overall, a very enjoyable story and a lot of history learnt along the way.
Want to Read
December 16, 2012KOBOBOOKS
Reviewed by The Independent (15 Dec 2012)
Reviewed by The Independent (15 Dec 2012)
June 17, 2014
Well there can't be many novels about Turkey translated from Norwegian! This was one of those books that you buy just because they look intriguing. From what I remember it was quite an intriguing page turner - I didn't feel it was necessary to understand the political situation in Turkey at the time - I read it as the tale of an exile looking back at his youth.
October 6, 2013
this book was so involving i repeatedly missed my stop on public transport because of it. absolutely loved it. fantastically written, fascinating story, interesting and real characters. definitely deserved the best political award that it got and that made me pick it up.
March 19, 2016
dragged on a little. I really enjoyed Baris' point of view, but didn't appreciate Zuhal's all that much, mostly because I couldn't relate to her. Ending was a bit of a let down.
November 28, 2016
A beautiful book. Adventurous, political and love in it's realest form.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews