Fairy Chimney Soda

Description

Fairy Chimney Soda is a collection of short stories by Ercan Kesal, touching memories of his childhood in a small town near the famous fairy chimneys of Cappadocia. Dedicated to his father, Mevlut, who made and sold his own brand of flavored soda or "Peri Gazozu" in a village in Anatolia, Fairy Chimney Soda is a collection of short stories by Turkish author, screenplay writer and actor, Ercan Kesal. He is clear-eyed as he mines his memories of childhood and his early years as a doctor fulfilling his mandatory civil service in the remote villages of Anatolia. He explores the wonder and terror of childhood, the hardship of living through the turbulent years in the lead-up to the 1980 military coup and the anguish, insight and resolution that comes with death and dying.

Ercan Kesal graduated from medical school at Ege University in 1984 and served as a doctor at health clinics across Turkey for many years. After he began his own practice he studied social anthropology and applied psychology. Kesal's first poetry and prose were published in the journal Doenem when he was studying medicine in Izmir. During his mandatory civil service as a doctor, he gave interviews and wrote articles for the journal Son Recete. After settling in Istanbul in 1990, Kesal became one of the founders of Era Publishing. With a role in the film Uzak he began his career in cinema and acted in several other films while continuing to write screenplays. Alexander Dawe has translated several contemporary Turkish novels as well as classics of the twentieth century. He lives and works on one of the Princes' Islands in Istanbul.