Under the Shadow

October 10, 2016
Turkish journalist Genc profiles young Turkish activists organizing on his country’s frontlines in this fascinating and informative compilation that represents both investigative and literary journalism at their finest. He profiles people from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds and with contrasting and often clashing ideologies, demonstrating the diversity and passionate drive of Turkey’s politicized youth. Each profile provides an intimate lens into youth culture and the dynamic political landscape of modern Turkey, with the Gezi protests of 2013 as the common ground for each disparate party demanding political change. Some of Genc’s subjects include an environmentalist, a Jewish art historian, a filmmaker, a poet, journalists, and a conservative business executive. The stories of these different activists, their family histories, and their politicization are nuanced. Genc explores modern Turkey’s past and present, from the military dictatorship of the 1980s to the rise of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conservative and capitalist Turkey. He captures the distinct yet tenuous identity of a nation led by a repressive government and caught between Europe and the Middle East. Genc—who includes a foreword addressing the failed 2016 coup—has found a brilliant form to tell the story of a nation in turmoil, with the voices of young dissidents leading the narrative.