Asli Erdogan
Who said that reading a novel should be easy? That you should hit your comfort zone, cozy around the mansion in warm slippers enjoying the ride? Not me, and certainly not Asli Erdogan.
The turkish author, born 1967 and living in Istanbul, has made a great novel – The City in Crimson Cloak. It takes place in underclass Rio de Janeiro, were the young women Özgür walks the streets of the big and voilent sambacity. It´s surreal with the city as a head character and a novel within the novel.
It´s a dark tale, if you´re into the heavy stuff of Kafka and Dostojevskij you´re in for a treat. Her language is beautiful, it´s written with dispair. It´s misery and trouble .
Kirmizi Pelerinli was written twelve years ago and is now translated to swedish by Ulla Lundström. Staden i den röda kappan (The City in Crimson Cloak) is published by Rámus in Sweden and by Soft Skull Press in the States. Give it a read.
