Dawn
- Published: 25 April 2019
- ISBN: 9781473559905
- Imprint: Vintage Digital
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 160
Selahattin Demirtas is Turkey's most famous political prisoner. He is also that rarest of beasts, a liberal, a democrat and a feminist in a part of the world that is more frequently associated with coercion and intimidation. By turns playful, didactic and full of love for his native Kurdistan, Dawn is a ray of light in the penumbra of today's Middle East
Christopher de Bellaigue, author of The Islamic Enlightenment
Marvelous and deeply affecting, the imprisoned Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas brings to life the great heart and spirit of ordinary Kurdish people. His stories are horrific yet hopeful, heart-wrenching yet humorous, and offer much-needed insight into what everyday life is like in 21st-century Turkey
Christiane Bird, author of A Thousand Sighs, A Thousand Revolts: Journeys in Kurdistan
Selahattin Demirtas’ short stories are beautiful and full of surprises, especially in their bold portrayal of women. A new addition to Turkey’s tragic canon of literature written in prison
Jennifer Clement, author of Gun Love and President of PEN International
Imprisoned Kurdish lawyer and progressive politician Demirtas delivers a closely observed series of portraits of lives oppressed… A welcome debut collection. One hopes for more—and that Demirtas will not be silenced by his captors
Kirkus
[Demirtas’] visceral tales expose unfathomable darkness with an unshowy, fable-like straightforwardness as the book nonetheless subtly arcs toward hope… Already a publishing sensation with 200,000 copies sold in Turkey alone, Demirtas' empathic collection shines the light that its title promises
Booklist
Full of sharp humour, warmth and wit
Sarah Shaffi, Phoenix
[A] critical voice… Demirtas writes poignantly about the lives of ordinary people and his stories are memorable for the unvarnished simplicity of his prose… The fact that…[Demirtas] continue[s] to write, despite their confinement, is some measure of their courage and the indomitability of the human spirit
Lucy Popescu, Times Literary Supplement
Funny and heart-rending, shocking and amusing
Sarah Jessica Parker, Sunday Telegraph