Memed my hawk
Memed mein Falke , in the Turkish original İnce Memed , later also called İnce Memed I , is a novel by Yaşar Kemal from 1955. It has been translated into more than 30 languages and is the reason for the international success of its author. It is the story of a farmer boy who, out of anger at the dictatorial and exploitative rule of the landowner Abdi Aga over five villages in Çukurova, becomes a robber, rebel and avenger of his people.
In addition, Memed mein Falke is the first part of a novel series Ince Memed , which Kemal continued with Burning Thistles in 1969 and The Realm of Forty Eyes in 1984 and completed with The Last Flight of the Falcon in 2003 .
content
Abdi Aga, large landowner at the foot of the Taurus Mountains, has five villages under himself. All of the land here is his. Because of the position of the Agas, only a third of their income is left to the peasants, who toil in the scorching heat, until the half-orphan Memed, who grew up in fearful poverty, gets to the Aga as a young man because the latter has planned the woman who loves Memed for his nephew. Memed kidnaps his beloved, but intrigues of Agas follow and at first Memed seems to have no handle against the mighty man. But when Memed, after passing numerous exams, finally brings ideas of freedom among his people and encourages the farmers to distribute land, he hits the Aga hard. In the resulting violent clashes, Memed's wife and (now) mother of one child are killed. When Memed kills the Aga and disappears, he becomes the myth of the area.
meaning
The work received numerous international awards. In addition to his harsh social criticism, he was particularly praised for his epic quality and humor.
effect
The book is said to have given impetus to oppositional currents that led to an upheaval in Turkey in 1960. The novel was also extremely popular because it was read aloud in Turkish coffee houses and wandering singers retold it. At the instigation of the international PEN center and UNESCO , the work was also translated into numerous languages. It was first published in Germany in 1965 and has had numerous other editions. In 1993 it was also published as part of the Bertelsmann Century Edition, which honored the 100 “great works of the 20th century”. Due to its impact, the book of 1000 books by Harenberg-Verlag ranks Memed I 2002 among the thousand most historically significant books in world literature.
Film adaptations
- Memed, my falcon : In 1984 the novel by Peter Ustinov was made into a film with little success. The actors were Peter Ustinov (Abdi Aga), Herbert Lom , Denis Quilley , Michael Elphick and Simon Dutton (Memed).
expenditure
- Turkish edition: ISBN 975-08-0714-6
- German edition (translation by Horst Wilfrid Brands): ISBN 3-293-20002-8