Cold Nights of Childhood

Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü

Mental illness as told by somebody experiencing it. Some periods all is going well. Other times, she is in a hospital and suffering. She sees there are problems. Yet, she dreads the treatment. She feels she has finally been "cured" via the treatment - not because it worked, but because she so dreaded going back.

She grew up in post-World War II Turkey. Things were not stable. Things were fairly westernized, yet still Islamic. There seemed to be a mixture of challenges from both sides. An upbringing in an Austrian convent school helped encourage some of the interesting experiences. Sexuality was explored, with marriage and friendship. There is a longing for something, though it is difficult to see what it is. The voice is very open and non-judgmental. Stylistically, words are placed on the page as needed to tell the story. There may bullet points or long run on paragraphs. It all works very well in this short "read in one setting" novel. It is like the "good part" of Hemingway. The seemingly autobiographical work paints an interesting picture of the "western" life in Turkey.