Layla Erbil; translated by Amy Marie Spangler and Nermin Menemencioglu
Published in 1970 and translated into English by Amy Marie Spangler and Nermin Menemencioglu, A Strange Woman is by Leyla Erbil, the first Turkish woman to be nominated for the Nobel Prize. The novel presents a challenge for a reader not steeped in the history and culture of 20th Century Turkey.
The novel is divided into four consecutive sections: The Girl, The Father, The Mother, and The Woman. “The Girl” is presented in the first-person voice of Nermin, a seventeen-year-old Turkish girl trying to navigate her way as a poet and a radical thinker in a patriarchal climate with its institutionalized sexist disdain for women. Nermin contends with being objectified by her society and her family. She struggles to free herself from their restrictive shackles.
Section 2, “The Father,” shifts to Nermin’s father. This section is particularly challenging because of its unconventional format and stream of consciousness technique which fluctuates between the father on his death bed and his recollection of the history and political turmoil of early 20th century Turkey. The father rambles about his life as a sailor; his foggy recollection about the death of Mustafa Suphi, the leader of Turkey’s communist party; the death of his brother; and his anger at his daughter’s determination to make all the wrong choices. These disparate threads intertwine and unravel in his narrative as he takes his last breaths.
Section 3, “The Mother,” begins with the father’s memorial service and alternates between Nermin and her mother in a confusing ramble. It is difficult to decipher exactly what is happening.
Section 4, The Woman, takes us back to Nermin as a middle-aged woman. Still espousing leftist ideals, she relocates with her husband to a poor village to live among the people, educate them on their oppression, and incite them to rise against the government. Her passion for the people and her zeal for revolutionary change fall on deaf ears. She is viewed as an anomaly, a strange woman; her message misunderstood. The gap between her leftist ideals and her ability to implement them becomes readily apparent.
The four sections present a multi-faceted perspective of the political climate of 20th century Turkey. Nermin is the left-leaning feminist whose effort to bring about transformational change in society is thwarted at every turn by the patriarchy. Her father is alienated from his wife and daughter and struggles to steer the latter toward a stable lifestyle. And her mother, steeped in tradition, verbally and physically abuses her daughter to beat her into conformity.
The novel is a complex patchwork depicting a culture in transition as seen from different perspectives. The content and unconventional use of punctuation capture a culture in turmoil. Riddled with contradictions and entangled in the quagmire of a changing Turkey, Erdil’s characters fail to understand one another, fail to communicate, and fail to find solid ground amid the shifting sands. The novel provides a window into a turbulent time in modern Turkey, but it is a challenging read for those unfamiliar with Turkish historical references, poems, and songs.