TEHRAN – A Persian translation of Turkish author Alper Caniguz’s “Hell Flower” (“Cehennem Cicegi”) has recently been published by Negah Publications in Tehran.

The book has been translated into Persian by Chakameh Rezvani.

Together with Alper Public, the unique hero of the book, readers embark on a new journey full of black humor in an atmosphere of all kinds of violence, in pursuit of broken lives, ashen loves and many more.

As the hero struggles to uncover the truth behind the death of a child and an old love story this time, questioning the concept of justice and befitting a detective, he asks, “What is the point of solving a murder if it does not further the understanding of humanity?”

“Hell Flower” is a magical adventure in which laughter and tears are intertwined by Alper Caniguz, who has gained a privileged place in literature with his first novels.

With gripping language, Caniguz tells a story in which a 5-year-old child stumbles upon him, a philosopher and a bouncy boy who comes and goes everywhere with the advantage of his age. The atmosphere of the neighborhood itself gains character in the narrative, which is extraordinarily original. This very ambitious book skillfully blends the elements of crime, fantasy and humorous literature.

“I was born in Istanbul in 1969. I spent my childhood in various neighborhoods of Acibadem by telling my friends the stories I made up. In my remaining time, I was participating in neighborhood wars. I think the false and malignant nature of this is the result,” Caniguz has written about himself.

“I entered Darussafaka in 1980. There I stopped telling my stories and started writing because too much talking might make you think you are weak. I was disappointed when I realized that the character named Franz Kafka could fit it up as well as I did. But I recovered quickly,” the author added.

“After all, I was younger and he was dead. My Psychology education at Bogazici University taught me that we are not much cleverer than Japanese quails. Anyway, when I was thirty, I was able to finish a novel that I had started: ‘Sweet Dreams’, psycho-absurd romantic comedy,” he said.
 
“Nowadays I am working on my new novel with my daughter, Ada. Jules Verne, Michel Zevaco, Dostoevsky, Calvino, Nabokov and Fowles are great fabricators who have influenced me at different times in my life,” he mentions. 

Photo: Front cover of the Persian translation of Turkish author Alper Caniguz’s novel “Hell Flower”.

RM/MMS/YAW