The graveyard is marked only by numbers, and is the final resting place of those who were either shunned in death or who died with no one around them: AIDS victims in the 1990s, suicides, abandoned babies, and more recently, the bodies of drowned Afghan and Pakistani refugees. Her friends have no rights to bury her so they set about stealing her body from the graveyard. Leila is a lively character, and her life, particularly in Istanbul, isn't unrelentingly bleak. Instead, Leila's body is disposed of in a place known as The Cemetery of the Companionless, a real place in Istanbul. "Maybe the opposite of goodness is not evil. In August 2019, I spent some time visiting the largest one in Istanbul, the Kilyos Cemetery. Facts: The Cemetery of the Companionless in Kilyos is a real place, as is the street of brothels & historical events such as the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam in 1968 & the Massacre in Istanbul on International Workers' Day in 1977 where snipers from the roof of the Intercontinental Hotel opened fire on the crowds - which is today, the Marmara . "Maybe the opposite of goodness is not evil. I can't even begin to express how I felt reading the part about the "Cemetery of the Companionless" (It's a real cemetery in Istanbul, go read about it). It draws attention especially to the 'Cemetery of the Companionless' in Turkey, where hundreds of lives like Leila's lay unloved and unrecognised. I was invested enough in Leila that it felt out of place. I was invested enough in Leila that it felt out of place. Canal: Think Again - a Big Think Podcast. This story is simultaneously wonderful, poignant, funny and deeply sad. 3. Translated by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw. (from The Road - Epilogue) They fall into the grave. In one of its alleyways on the outskirts, the unusually named Tequila Leila has been murdered and dumped into a metal rubbish bin. She also mentions that though this is a work of fiction, many characters are inspired by the people she met in Istanbul. This is an ode to outsiders and to those who don't belong. Shafak recounts in an article for the NewStatesman article for the NewStatesman the Cemetery of the Companionless is-a real place in Istanbul where all "the undesirables" end up: people who die of Aids, victims of honour killings, suicides, alcoholics, drug addicts, members of the LGBT community, as well as hundreds of refugees who have drowned while trying to cross over to Europe. (from The Road - Epilogue) Istanbul. It is a graveyard where the marginalized are dumped without a proper burial or funeral. This story is simultaneously wonderful, poignant, funny and deeply sad. Shafak, through this novel, bring our attention to the sufferings of outcasts and the . Escucha y descarga los episodios de Think Again - a Big Think Podcast gratis. To everyone who has flitted through Istanbul, the novel will lay bare a grey underbelly that is usually brushed off. Share Elif Shafak (writer) - the cemetery of the companionless on LinkedIn There are so many questions we never ask. So many assumptions we make every second of every day because our minds and our lives are sealed off from one another, accessible only through time, patience, and the slow work of trustall of which are often in short supply . Bloomsbury, $27 (320p) ISBN 978-1-63557-447- The Cemetery of the Companionless is where 'undesirable' or 'unworthy' people . 2. Truly, a tender and sensual story. So many assumptions we make every second. In Turkish the literal translation is the cemetery of the companionless. Kilyos. As Leila, whose birth name was Leyla, has no family that wish to admit even knowing her, this is where her body has been taken. Early in the novel, having captured the minutiae of domestic and social life in the eastern province of Van, Shafak recounts a hair-raising scene when Leila is six, during a family picnic at a. A magician's trick gone . No name can be found on the tombstones here but only a number which will eventually disappear, being washed away by bad weather conditions. In a sense, the story shows the desolate destinies of those outcasts. They smash a bottle and attract the police's attention. I can't even begin to express how I felt reading the part about the "Cemetery of the Companionless" (It's a real cemetery in Istanbul, go read about it). A pall hangs over their efforts until the journey to the cemetery when the tone shifts into an almost antic, campy atmosphere. Read 220. My last novel was inspired by a place in Istanbul called the cemetery of the companionless. Cemeteries in Istanbul, Istanbul, a Find a Grave. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World Elif Shafak. In her Note to the Reader, Shafak writes 'The Cemetery of the Companionless in Kilyos is a real place. Maybe the opposite of goodness is, in fact, numbness." There are so many questions we never ask. I stanbul. In her most recent novel, 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Man Booker Prize, Shafak 'gave' a story to a murdered sex worker, Tequila Leila, from the Cemetery of the Companionless in skdar, Istanbul. Quotations: Elif Shafak's inspiration for this peculiar creative work came from visiting The Cemetery of the Companionless in Istanbul. In addition, 880 unmarked graves at Kilyos cemetery in Istanbul have not been included in the total because government officials could not verify how many were those of migrants who had died . Hardcover, 311 pages purchase STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: The Turkish British writer Elif Shafak has been writing of a city she loves. In Istanbul there is a cemetery known as the Cemetery of the Companionless where anyone without a family to claim them is buried with no headstone just a number on a wooden post to mark their passing from the world. But as soon as she reaches Istanbul, Leila realises "Istanbul was an illusion. As usual, Shafak provides a vivid depiction of Istanbul and some of the historical events, in this case the massacre in Istanbul on International Workers' Day in 1977, violent protests against the Sixth Fleet in 1969 and the inclusion of the "Cemetery of the Companionless" - a place that left a knot in the pit of my stomach. And Part 3, only several pages long, consists of Leila's taste of freedom as her corpse is released into the sea. "There are no names on the. I was also inspired greatly by an actual place that exists on the outskirts of Istanbul. the Cemetery of the Companionless, the Bosphorus . - Listen to 220. It looks like sugar and dissolves very well in water. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World Elif Shafak. I loved learning about Istanbul both then and now. Truly, a tender and sensual story. Maybe the opposite of goodness is, in fact, numbness." There are so many questions we never ask. In addition to coming to terms with the limits of the Gezi uprising in relation to its claims of inclusiveness, such a focus unravels the key tension between, on the one hand, progressive and left-wing calls to promote the . Among them are a dwarf, a gay, a trans, and a prostitute. The Elif Shafak of the post- Bastard novels has metamorphosed into a TED Talk-ing diva doling out wellness advice flavoured with dollops of mysticism to her adoring audience. This article focuses on the state confiscation of the Surp Hagop Armenian cemetery as more than just another fact about the famous 2013 protests in Gezi Park in Istanbul. To those who've never been to this breathtaking city, it will create a . Tiempo: 01:00:09 Subido 16/11 a las 12:47:23 44374972 The Cemetery of the Companionless (Kimsesizler Mezarl) in Kilyos where the "undesirable", "doomed", "unwanted", "unworthy" and "unidentified" are buried, is such a place of dehumanization. As a lover of Istanbul, I was particularly struck by Elif's descriptions of the city, in particular the Cemetery of the Companionless outside Istanbul. S. Programa: Think Again - a Big Think Podcast. . I had picked up reading or rather listening to this book on the Audible for the book prompt of the TBRCHALLENGE2020 - #6 a book picked up on the recommendation of a fellow blogger/reviewer. Elif Shafak (writer) - the cemetery of the companionless by Think Again - a Big Think Podcast instantly on your tablet, phone or browser - no downloads needed. Posted in Freedom of Speech, Interview, On Writing, Uncategorized | Tagged 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, Antonio Gramsci, Armenian genocide, Audre Lord, authoritarianism, Black and White for solidarity, Booker prize, Cemetery of the Companionless, dogma, Elif Shafak, Emma Graham-Harrison, Istanbul, language, Mahmoud Darwish . Translated by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw. For acknowledging the Armenian genocide in her 2006 novel "The Bastard of Istanbul" she was put on trial for "insulting Turkishness . Once again, Shafak has painted Istanbul with arresting colours- from deep fried muzzles to the Cemetery of the Companionless, from the opening of the grand Bosphorus bridge to the portrait of Sultan Abdulaziz behind Bitter Ma's desk. Cemeteries in other Turkish cities have also allocated specific sites to the burials of the unknown. Shafak describes the Istanbul these characters live in as not the one that 'the Ministry of Tourism would have wanted foreigners to see.' . And I wish I had read the author's notes first. The Yetikin siblings were initially going to be buried there as well. . I was also inspired greatly by an actual place that exists on the outskirts of Istanbul. I've been to this place and I've done research about this place. In that way, this is a novel determined to pay attention to the most alienated, those people discarded in Istanbul's Cemetery of the Companionless. Apparently, 10 minutes . Most of the book is based on facts from various sources, and there is a photograph of the Companionless Cemetery which still exists, and plays a part in the harrowing end of this book. The narrative opens up in surprising ways when Leila's five best friends, all outcasts like herself whose pasts are detailed in the book, decide to rescue her body from the "Cemetery of the Companionless," where it has been unceremoniously . She is fast dying, but her brain refuses to shut down. . For acknowledging the Armenian genocide in her 2006 novel "The Bastard of Istanbul" she was put on trial for "insulting Turkishness . The Cemetery of the Companionless - a real place on the outskirts of Istanbul - plays a significant role in the novel. This book has been shortlisted for the Booker award. The narrative opens up in surprising ways when Leila's five best friends, all outcasts like herself whose pasts are detailed in the book, decide to rescue her body from the "Cemetery of the Companionless," where it has been unceremoniously buried. "It's where outcasts are buried," says Shafak. . She also mentions that though this is a work of fiction, many characters are inspired by the people she met in Istanbul. Leila's ragtag friends, scorned and mocked by . Bloomsbury, $27 (320p) ISBN 978-1-63557-447- . So many as Unlike other graveyards there are no flowers, no visitors, no names engraved on marble tombstonesjust. . Happy to say I was not disappointed at all. The last section of the book is especially engaging where she talks about Leila lying as a corpse and being driven away by her friends from the 'cemetery of the companionless'. Many of Turkey's suicide victims are buried in the Cemetery of the Companionless in Kilyos, on the outskirts of Istanbul, a place I wrote about in my novel 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World. The Bastard Of Istanbul, refers to the death of Armenians in 1915 as genocide, perhaps the first Turkish novel to directly tackle the issue. . A pall hangs over their efforts until the journey to the cemetery when the tone shifts into an almost antic, campy atmosphere. "Maybe the opposite of goodness is not evil. Leila is the protagonist of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World; she has led a socially unacceptable life in the brothels of Istanbul and her end has been painful. The Unseen . by Roy Jacobsen. Istanbul is cramped underneath. There's a lot to sink your teeth into in Elif Shafak's 2019 Booker-shortlisted novel, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. There rest the "unwanted" (prostitutes, refugees . After Leila's death, with no living relatives willing to claim her body, the city consigns her to the 'Cemetery of the Companionless'. Jolie talks to the novelist about the people protesting the government's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, and what it means. the Cemetery of the Companionless, the Bosphorus . Maybe the opposite of goodness is, in fact, numbness." There are so many questions we never ask. So many assumptions we make every second of every day because our minds and our lives are sealed off from one another, accessible only through time, patience, and the slow work of trustall of which are often in short supply while we're running . Lately, an increasing number of refugees who drowned in the Aegean Sea . In Turkish the literal translation is the cemetery of the companionless. by a place in Istanbul called the cemetery of the . Shafak stands up for extremely brave and courageous portrayals of abuse and brutality and this indeed is a commendable commentary of a tabooed subject. Leila is a lively character, and her life, particularly in Istanbul, isn't unrelentingly bleak. So many assumptions we make every second.- Oua o 220. Dawn is breaking across the city of Istanbul. But as soon as she reaches Istanbul, Leila realises "Istanbul was an illusion. I've been to this place and I've done research about this place. Many of the graves have no headstones, only numbers. Elif Shafak (writer) - the cemetery of the companionless de Think Again - a Big Think Podcast instantaneamente no seu tablet, telefone ou navegador - sem fazer qualquer download. In a sense, the story shows the desolate destinies of those outcasts. Urban Istanbul, a stark contrast to traditional Van, binds Leila to forced prostitution. Mesopotamia. demonizing it on the other. Just the name saddens me. However, I struggled with The Bastard of Istanbul as I have also with this book - I just did not like . Once again, Shafak has painted Istanbul with arresting colours- from deep fried muzzles to the Cemetery of the Companionless, from the opening of the grand Bosphorus bridge to the portrait of Sultan Abdulaziz behind Bitter Ma's desk. She has been buried in the Cemetery of the Companionless - a real place in Istanbul where all "the undesirables" end up: people who die of Aids, victims of honour killings, suicides, alcoholics, drug addicts, members of the LGBT community, as well as hundreds of refugees who have drowned while trying to cross over to Europe. Her latest, 10 . The cemetery is home to the companionless sex workers, LGBTQ community, refugees, and babies those abandoned by families or fate, who have now turned into just numbers. Elif Shafak (writer) - the cemetery of the companionless by with a free trial. The Turkish novelist Elif Shafak spoke to the National Public Radio this year about the Cemetery of the Companionless in Istanbul, where "there are no tombstones, no surnames nothing personal on the graves, just numbers".