“When I decided to write a novel about Istanbul, I thought I should put the different faces of Istanbul into one book. I also put the characters in a cell, and it's three stories underground, rather than on the surface. The characters have one Istanbul, the other one is above ground. One is in dark, one is in light. That kind of contradiction - those opposite sides - creates a great energy in Istanbul.” WritingKindBookDifferentCharacterEnergyDarkNovelContradiction Author:Burhan Sonmez
“Laughter is something we have against oppression and oppressive people. Dictators hate people who laugh at them. It's easy for them to destroy people who resist them. But if you create jokes against them, write funny poems or articles against them, then they feel helpless and desperate. They can't do anything.” PeopleWritingHateEasyLaughingLaughterJokesOppressionDesperateDictatorHelplessHate People Author:Burhan Sonmez
“The way I wrote it is a nice and enjoyable way to write stories, to pretend to say something when you're really saying something else. "Hey guys, come, I'll take you a football match." They all come - and you suddenly take them to watch theater play on the stage instead. In Istanbul Istanbul, I pretend to talk about torture and politics, but I don't actually. Instead I talk about hope and hopelessness, darkness and light, good and evil, love and separation.” WritingGuyEvilDarknessNiceFootballSeparationTortureGood And EvilHopelessnessEnjoyableLight And Darkness Author:Burhan Sonmez