Mustafa Samsunlu

Mustafa Samsunlu (born on 10 February 1957 in Izmir), Turkey. After serving in Turkish Armed Forces he was retired at own request as major. Immediately afterwards he served as the manager of the Facilities, Procurement and Security Department in Microsoft Turkey. At present, he is devoting his time to the novel writing, which is his passion. He lives in Istanbul.

Bibliography in Turkish

• Özgürlüğe Uç, published by Astrea Books, 2009. Translated into English with the title of "Fly to Freedom" by Mickey Chaplan, Japan; translation not yet published.
• Cehennem Dağı / Hell Mountain, published by Astrea Books, in March, 2010.
• Kötülük Zamanı / The Evil Time, is a work in progress.

Excerpt from "Fly to Freedom"

Dusk in Ortaköy. The sun is about to disappear below the horizon. The clouds are crimson. Look! Birds are clamoring over the roofs where they will roost tonight. The weather has turned arctic, and the wind blowing from the open terrace door flies the curtains. Before closing the door, I look seaward. The dome of Ortaköy Mosque has become rose-pink under the red glow of the setting sun. Not much motion in the sea. Under the bridge passes a long red tanker. In its own loneliness in the sky I see the North Star aglow. I close the door, rustling the flying curtains. I open my briefcase which I had left on the small table in the living room when I came home; inside it there is an album which I had impatiently looked forward to listening to all day long: Barber's Adagio. I walk into my workroom and light a cigarette before putting on the music. The music starts while I stretch out my legs on the table. Sounds surround the room as if coming out of emptiness and nothingness; they seem an elegy sung after a disaster. I blow out the ash falling onto my lap, my mouth is full of smoke my head is inside the smoke, smoke slips into my eyes, the oxygen is drained, I feel as I am drowning. I wave away the smoke with my hand and take a deep breath of air. As the fluctuating smoke swims through the door, the dusk is felt in the room, things are dimmed, the faces on the black and white photograph on the wall harder to see. My eyes lingered on the photograph for a while... (translated by Mickey Chaplan, Japan, 2009)