Brtisih daily The Guardian lists Yasar Kemal and Orhan Pamuk among the summer's best reads

The works of Turkish authors Yasar Kemal and Orhan Pamuk are among the summer’s “best reads,” according to British Daily The Guardian. The daily’s “best summer reads – and where to read them” list includes novels in English by authors from 10 countries; the Turkish portion of the selection was compiled by Maureen Freely, who has translated Pamuk’s books into English. Fifty years ago, Kemal was the premiere Turkish novelist, Freely said. “His first book, ‘Ince Memed’ [Memed, My Hawk], is set among the aghas and brigands of Southeast Anatolia and is one of the great modern epics.” Freely also said it was very unusual for any bookish person to head to Turkey these days without packing a few novels by Pamuk. The translator also recommended Pamuk’s Nobel Prize-winning memoir, “Istanbul: Memories of a City.” Freely also discussed her other favorite Turkish books. “Princess Musbah Haider had an English mother but grew up in the Ottoman court during the early years of the 20th century. Around her, the empire was crumbling, but she was one of the last to know. Her memoir, ‘Arabesque,’ is one of the most charming books I have ever read,” she said. Also speaking about Carla Grissman’s book “Dinner of Herbs,” Freely said, “Grissman is an American woman who spent a year in a remote and impoverished Anatolian village in the late 1960s; in ‘Dinner of Herbs,’ she describes her experiences with extraordinary insight.”