Endgame

February 20, 2017
Small-town tensions over an old secret boil over in this metaphysical noir by Altan (Four Seasons of Autumn). A nameless writer moves to a small and picturesque Turkish town to work on his next novel, but before he even gets off the plane he becomes enthralled with a beautiful, locally connected woman named Zuhal. Through her the writer forms relationships, including with Mustafa, the mayor of the town, who has a complicated past with Zuhal and occupies a strange role as both the writer’s natural enemy and true friend. Over time, as the narrator becomes more involved with the citizens and local politics, he is drawn into crime, sex, and a legend involving a treasure on a hill. Interspersed throughout the narrative are existential discussions with God about the nature of writing, life, and the creation of characters. These passages serve to warn us that something horrible is coming, that the narrator will commit a terrible act. Altan’s work is at once atmospheric and distant, with shifts from discussions with and about God to the narrator’s abstruse relationships with the people of the town, particularly Zuhal. Still, each of the threads are artfully crafted and do come together nicely by the end, as promised. Altan’s characters are, at times, difficult to penetrate, but his story is pointed, enigmatic, and difficult to forget.

Starred review from April 1, 2017

Stylish, inventive, and deliciously dark, Altan's U.S. debut is both an absorbing thriller and an intensive novel of ideas; no wonder he's an award-winning and best-selling author in his native Turkey. The nameless narrator, a lackluster novelist, impulsively abandons city life for a small coastal town and falls immediately for the beautiful, evasive Zuhal, whose former lover is the all-powerful mayor. The village looks placid enough, but there's menace beneath the surface; the townsfolk avoid him, mafia-style killings are prevalent, and a buried treasure on the hill beckons. The mayor has his own reasons for befriending the narrator, who is soon drawn into a venture that spirals violently out of his control. Meanwhile, comparisons abound between novelists and God, who can get away with a lot more, and we're left wondering if we are in control of our lives the way the novelist is in control of his characters. VERDICT Existential questions perfectly blended with atmosphere and rat-a-tat prose; highly recommended.

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