Read more
Part one of the Anatolian Blues trilogyTold with great affection for his characters, Selim Özdogan's trilogy traces out the life of Gül, a Turkish girl who grows up in 1950s Anatolia and then moves to Germany as a migrant worker. Book one details her initially idyllic childhood, ruptured by her mother's early death. Ever close to her loving father, Gül grows into a warm-hearted, hard-working young woman. The Blacksmith's Daughter is a novel full of carefree summers and hard winters, old wives' tales and young people's ambitions - the melancholy beauty and pain of an ordinary life.
About the author
Selim Özdogan was born in Germany in 1971 and has been publishing his prose since 1995. He has won numerous prizes and grants and taught creative writing at the University of Michigan.
Ayça Türkoglu is a writer and literary translator based in North London. Her translation interests include the literature of the Turkish diaspora in Germany and minority literatures in Turkey.
Katy Derbyshire translates contemporary German writers including Olga Grjasnowa, Sharon Dodua Otoo and Heike Geissler. She teaches literary translation and also heads the V&Q Books imprint.
Report
'Fatih Akin says of Selim Özdogan's new novel: "If everyone read this book, the world would be a better place - more considerate, more liveable, more tolerant." Believe him!' Brigitte magazine 'It has epic simplicity. Özdogan's language is plain, but it carries with it the author's sympathy with his characters, including the contradictory ones.' Süddeutsche Zeitung 'The book's muted poetry all the way to its quiet ending warms the soul like later summer wind gently stroking through hair.' Sächsische Zeitung 'The novel enchants its readers with the sincerity and love with which it assesses the weight of the simple things in life.' Fachdienst Germanistik 'A mature, light, wise book' kreuzer magazine
