Description
Book Synopsis"Motherland Hotel is a startling masterpiece, a perfect existential nightmare, the portrait of a soul lost on the threshold of an ever-postponed Eden."—Alberto Manguel, author of Homer''s Iliad and Odyssey: A Biography
Zeberjet, the last surviving member of a once prosperous Ottoman family, is the owner of the Motherland Hotel, a run-down establishment near the railroad station. A lonely, middle-aged introvert, his simple life is structured by daily administrative tasks and regular, routine sex with the hotel''s maid. One day, a beautiful woman from the capital comes to spend the night, promising to return "next week," and suddenly Zeberjet''s insular, mechanical existence is dramatically and irrevocably changed. The mysterious woman''s presence has tantalized him, and he begins to live his days in fevered anticipation of her return. But the week passes, and then another, and as his fantasies b
Trade Review
"Orhan Pamuk has written of Atilgan's work, 'I love Yusuf Atilgan; he manages to remain local although he benefits from Faulkner's works and the Western traditions.' Pamuk's statement broadens the appeal of the writer who reminded me more of the Middle Eastern writer [Sadegh Hedayat] than the American. So take your pick for influences once you read Motherland Hotel. In any case, you will be rewarded for your time."--Charles Larson, Counterpunch
