Novel
The Time Regulation Institute
Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü
Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar · 1961
Synopsis
Hayri İrdal tells his life, from a childhood spent under the reign of Abdülhamid. Apprenticed to the clockmaker Nuri Efendi, he frequents, according to Abdullah Uçman, characters alien to their time. After the First World War, he marries Emine, then meets Doctor Ramiz, a psychiatrist, the spiritualist circles, and Halit Ayarcı, whom the doctor introduces to him. After a conversation about time over a glass of rakı, this enterprising bureaucrat decides to found with him an institute tasked with setting the country's clocks to Western time.
Context
The novel first appeared as a serial in the daily Yeni İstanbul, from 20 June to 30 September 1954, in ninety-nine instalments according to Abdullah Uçman, then in book form from Remzi Kitabevi in 1961. It is divided into four parts, from “Büyük Ümitler” to “Her Mevsimin Bir Sonu Vardır”. The Turkish Ministry of Culture sees in it an ironic satire of the period, turkedebiyati.org one of a society divided between two civilisations. Two English translations exist, by Ender Gürol in 2001 and by Maureen Freely and Alexander Dawe from Penguin in 2013; the French translation by Timour Muhidine appeared from Actes Sud in 2007.
Who it is for
A satirical novel in four parts, translated into French by Actes Sud, for those who like irony and stories in the form of memoirs.
Prizes and reception
Little noticed when it appeared, according to Abdullah Uçman, the book is now regarded as one of the best Turkish ironic novels.
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