I Am My Country

“[This unique and dazzling collection is] one large, literary revolution … Orhan’s fiction infuses melody, charm, and wonder effortlessly while excavating the real repercussions of an authoritarian regime … [It] almost reads like a Gabriel García Márquez novel, complete with magical realism and a timeless decade-spanning, gut-wrenching romance.”—Electric Lit“Smart, heartfelt … a powerful and provocative debut collection with a vivid sense of place … This is Orhan at his best: finding comedy lurking on the outskirts of tragedy, reveling in the inherent absurdism of the all-too-real.”—Justin Taylor, The New York Times Book Review“Orhan’s debut is knitted together by Turkish people struggling to understand the places from which they remain estranged. Magical thinking defines their lives: These characters live under extreme conditions and resort to imagination to break free … They reminded me of the characters in James Joyce’s debut, Dubliners.”—The Nation“Orhan’s talents are immense, and the full glory of his storytelling is on display.”—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less Is Lost“A collection like I Am My Country is a cause for rejoicing. Orhan has a knife-sharp sense of the human impulse for freedom and hope, even amid moments of oppression and displacement.”—Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble“Moving between the real and the fantastic, the comic and the tragic, these magnificent tales create a complex portrait of Turkey’s past, present, and future.”—Anthony Marra, author of Mercury Pictures Presents“A remarkable literary debut … These stories have the force of truth and the lasting power of fable.”—Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, author of American Estrangement “Wise, surreal, and sublimely wrought … You will leave each story feeling subtly rearranged and longing to return.”—Violet Kupersmith, author of Build Your House Around My Body“A superb collection that overflows with lustrous prose and unflinching insight into the ways in which the human heart and mind push back against oppression.”—Anjali Sachdeva, author of All the Names They Used for God“These characters’ fight to maintain normalcy in the face of uncertainty feels poignantly timely. Small, human-scale acts of bravery color Orhan’s world, while the consequences of apathy haunt it.”—Maria Reva, author of Good Citizens Need Not Fear“Imaginative, inquisitive, and empathetic, offering a view of recent Turkish history through the vantage point of individual yearning.”—Ayşegül Savaş, author of White on White“Brimming with wisdom and singular lyricism … These characters will steal your heart.”—Mina Seçkin, author of The Four Humors “Brilliant, vividly imagined, and incredibly inventive … a true delight to read.”—Omer Friedlander, author of The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land“[A] rich debut … This is an impressive take on the wonders, terrors, and mundanities faced by those living under repression or political instability.”—Publishers Weekly“Orhan’s striking, nuanced stories are set in a Turkey framed by oppression and sometimes the absurd.”—Library Journal

Kenan Orhan is a Turkish American writer and a recipient of the O. Henry Prize. His stories have appeared in The Paris Review, Massachusetts Review, Prairie Schooner, The Common, and elsewhere, and have been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories. Orhan received his MFA from Emerson College and lives in Kansas City. I Am My Country is his first book.

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