NOVEL BY ORHAN KEMAL

                                                ON FERTILE LANDS

 Synopsis

 Hasan, Ali and Yousuf, three youngsters from a small village in Central Anatolia, set out for Chukurova in search of work. Here, they find jobs in a cotton factory. But the work is extremely tough and before long Hasan gets sick and dies. As if that were not enough on its own, Yousuf and Ali are also fired. The two now try their hand at construction work. In the meantime, Ali loses his heart and money to a wanton woman. Ali is seduced by city life and as he chases after a piece of the action, he invariably runs into trouble. He changes jobs and winds up on a farm. One day, the Agha turns up and asks him to work faster. Ali does his best to pick up speed, but in so doing gets his leg caught in the spiked teeth of the cotton machine. The Agha refuses to take him to hospital so his car doesn’t get dirty. Ali dies from loss of blood. And the other cotton workers burn the farm down in protest…

 For his part, Yousuf becomes a skilled construction worker and manages to save some money. He decides to buy a gas stove – something he has always dreamed of – and a few clothes for his wife and children before going back to the village.

 But he is returning on his own without his two close friends. And it is anything but easy explaining this to the expectant villagers.

 About the Book

 There is a current in Turkish fiction known as the ‘Orhan Kemal perspective’. This reflects Kemal’s belief that at the end of the day it would be possible to find a bright, pure and compassionate side to every human being. In this novel, however, the characters he views with affection and despair are portrayed indulgently, but exactly as they are. He conveys their distrust of each other, their lies and deceit, their backbiting, their appetite for ostentation and crude egotism in stark detail. But these people could not have behaved any differently in the circumstances.

 Like the great figures of tragedy, Yousuf’s uncle Emmi is a hero who permeates the narrative without in fact being physically present. Symbolising traditional common sense, he resolves every predicament that materialises, even if everything goes wrong in practice.

 With a keenly observant eye, the author describes the evolution of the working class during the early stages of modernisation and urbanisation. And in so doing, he offers the following socio-economic comment: crude manpower is plentiful; what is scarce and valuable is the possession of technical know-how or specific skills, the mastery of a profession.

 The novel was adapted for the screen by Erden Kıral and won critical acclaim around the world in its film version.

Orhan Kemal Kültür - Sanat Merkezi
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