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Memed, My Hawk

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Wikipedia article




'Memed, My Hawk' is a 1955 novel by Yaar Kemal. It was Kemal's debut novel and is the first novel in his nce Memed tetralogy. The novel won the Varlk Prize for that year (Turkey's highest literary prize), and earned Kemal a national reputation. In 1961, the book was translated into English by Edouard Roditi, thus gaining Kemal his first exposure to English-speaking readers.

Plot



Memed, a young boy from a village in Anatolia, is abused and beaten by the villainous local landowner, Abdi Aa. Having endured great cruelty towards himself and his mother, Dne, Memed finally escapes with his beloved, a girl named Hate. Abdi Aa catches up with the young couple, but only manages to capture Hate, while Memed is able to avoid his pursuers and runs into the mountains. There he joins a band of brigands and exacts revenge against his old adversary. Hate was then imprisoned and eventually dies while Memed tries to protect themselves on a mountain, but not before giving birth to Memed's son, who is also named Memed. When Memed returns to the town, a villager named Hr Ana tells him he has a "woman's heart" if he surrenders himself. Instead of surrendering and being granted amnesty by the government, he rides into town to find his enemy, on a horse given to him by the townspeople. He finds Abdi Aa in the south-east corner of his house and shoots him in the chest. The local authorities hear the gunshots, but Memed gets away. He returns to the mountains and gives his son in protection of Iraz, Hate's friend from the jailhouse.

Film adaptation



In 1984, the novel was freely adapted by Peter Ustinov into a film, produced by Fuad Kavur.

References




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