Lojman

Lojman is a powerful portrait of a woman whose powerlessness becomes lethal, shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize. It follows a Kurdish family living in a small village on a desolate plateau in Turkey's Van province, dictated by the government. Selmas husband walks out one day, leaving a storm of resentment between his children and a mother reluctant to parent them. The novel is written in startling, raw prose and is reminiscent of Elena Ferrantes' Days of Abandonment.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 144 pages
Publication date: 28 September 2023
Publisher: City Lights Books

Shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, Lojman is a powerful portrait of a woman's powerlessness turning lethal. Set in a Kurdish family living in a small village on a desolate plateau in Turkey's Van province, the novel follows the family's life dictated by the government, from their exile to their sequestration in a grim teachers lodging, or lojman. When Selma's husband walks out one day, he leaves behind a storm of resentment between his young children and a mother reluctant to parent them.

Written in startling, raw prose, the novel is reminiscent of Elena Ferrante's masterful Days of Abandonment. However, Lojman's private dramas are made all the more vivid against an imposing natural landscape that exerts a powerful, life-threatening force.

In short, propulsive chapters, Lojman spins a domestic drama crystallized through the family's mental and physical claustrophobia. Vivid daydreams morph with cold realities, and as the family's descent reaches its nadir, their world is transformed into a surreal, gelatinous prison from which there is no escape.

Weight: 266g
Dimension: 133 x 203 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780872868984