Books by Yashar Kemal

Set in the mountains of Anatolia, this story of love, pursuit and vengeance recounts the efforts of Memed, a poor orphan, to obtain justice against a tyrant, even if it means taking to banditry to achieve his ends. Jashar Kemal is the author of "The Foundling".

The power of The Wind from the Plain, the first volume of The Wind from the Plain trilogy, lies in its simplicity, which in turn lies in the handful of unforgettable characters whose story it tells - the timeless one of survival.

After a particularly bad season, a group of poor cotton-pickers are unable to pay their creditor, shopkeeper Adil Effendi. Overwhelmed with shame and guilt, they wait in terror for Adil to come and demand retribution.

The fitting and devastating finale of the acclaimed The Wind from the Plain trilogyTurkey's greatest novelist, Yashar Kemal was an unsurpassed storyteller who brought to life a world of staggering violence and hallucinatory beauty.

A staggering, shattering novel from Turkey's greatest novelistSince Halil was shot dead in his own home by his wife Esme's former suitor, the village has pointed the finger of guilt at the dead man's beautiful widow: she must have arranged the murder.

There is an ancient Turkish tradition which promises a place in paradise to anyone who sets a small bird free. Three boys start up a bird-catching business to enable people to free them in order to secure their place in heaven, but the city-dwellers have become sceptical, and tragedy lies in wait for the boys.

Ismail Agha treats the adopted orphan boy Salman as his own son and heir until his wife gives him a son of his own. Then jealousy enters their household and nobody's life is safe. The knives are drawn, and yet even the village gossips can not predict who will be the victim.

From this one simple act, Zeynel becomes a legendary outlaw in the minds of the people, whereas Fisher Selim, passionate about the sea and haunted by a lost love, is cast as an eccentric oddball.