I Am My Country: And Other Stories

Unforgettable, immersive short stories set in Turkey that explore the lives of ordinary people who confront the absurd amidst oppression, displacement, and violence-from a thrilling new voice in fiction

No recent collection has captivated me as much as I Am My Country. You must read it! -Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less Is Lost

Spanning decades and landscapes, from forests along the Black Sea to villages along the Euphrates, from the streets of Istanbul to the mountains bordering Iraq, Orhan’s playful stories conjure dreamlike worlds-of talking animals, flying houses, and omniscient prayer-callers-to illuminate humanity’s extraordinary pursuit of hope in even the darkest situations.

A determined florist trains a neighborhood stray dog to blow up a corrupt president. A garbagewoman finds banned instruments-and later, musicians-in the trash and takes them home to form a clandestine orchestra in her attic. A smuggler risks his life to traffic a girl claiming to be pregnant via immaculate conception across the border with Syria. A baker and her husband near a breaking point in their marriage when an apocalyptic flood threatens their village. A poor cage-maker learns he can talk to birds, and tries to use this gift to enchant his childhood love just before the 1955 Istanbul pogrom.

Fiercely imaginative and ambitious, Orhan’s lyrical stories contemplate universal themes of belonging, division, and above all, a yearning to break free-from cultural oppression, political turmoil, and interpersonal violence. Each story is a vivid snapshot of a beautiful setting and complicated people, influenced by the author’s own Turkish American identity, and together they illuminate the volatile realities haunting Turkey’s past and present.