Felâtun Bey and Râkim Efendi: An Ottoman Novel (Middle East

Felâtun Bey and Râkim Efendi: An Ottoman Novel (Middle East Literature In Translation)

Ahmet Midhat Efendiâ€™s famous 1875 novel FelÃ¢tun Bey and RÃ¢kim Efendi takes place in late nineteenth-century Istanbul and follows the lives of two young men who come from radically different backgrounds. RÃ¢kim Efendi is an erudite, self-made man, one who is ambitious and cultivated enough to mingle with a European crowd. In contrast, FelÃ¢tun Bey is a spendthrift who lacks intellectual curiosity and a strong work ethic. Squandering his wealth and education, he leads a life of decadence.
The novel traces RÃ¢kim and FelÃ¢tunâ€™s relationships with multiple characters, charting their romances and passions, as well as their foibles and amusing mishaps as they struggle to find and follow their own path through the many temptations and traps of European culture. The author creates a rich portrait of stratified Ottoman life through a diverse and colorful cast of charactersâ€•from a French piano teacher and an Arab nanny, to a Circassian slave girlâ€•each deftly navigating the shifting mores of their social class. Written during the Ottoman Empireâ€™s uneasy transition to modernity, the novelâ€™s protagonists embody both the best and worst elements of two worlds, European and Ottoman. The novel provides readers with an elegant yet powerful appeal for progressive reforms and individual freedoms. Levi and Ringerâ€™s fluid translation of this Ottoman classic stands as a landmark in the history of Turkish literature in translation.
Country USA
Brand Syracuse University Press
Manufacturer Syracuse University Press
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber maps
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780815610649
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	Syracuse University Press
Manufacturer	Syracuse University Press
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	maps
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780815610649
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Felâtun Bey and Râkim Efendi: An Ottoman Novel (Middle East Literature In Translation)

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