Taboo: The Book of Womanizing

The novel begins in the month of Ramadan, in Ulus Square in Ankara, near the time of iftar. The minibus stop is full of people. Ayla wants to light her cigarette, her lighter will not catch, and she asks Can, standing behind her, for a light. This short acquaintance continues: they get on the same minibus, sit side by side and talk about names, jobs and where they live. Can works in a locksmith's shop in Ulus; Ayla sells curtain fabric on the third floor of the Anafartalar market, known for its «moving staircases». Both like İbrahim Tatlıses songs.

Ayla arrives home and joins the family's iftar table. Her mother Zeynep talks about the marriage proposal for her cousin Zehra. In the family the question of when the girl will marry is constantly discussed. Zehra says the suitors will come on the last day of the holiday. Ayla says only «a nice person» about the young man she met at the stop, and does not know his name. In the kitchen the two girls laugh, joke and clear the table.

Can and his workmate Samet work in the locksmith's shop under the master. Samet is thin, moustached, married and a father of two, yet introduces himself as the man «who will write the book of womanising»: he has eight or nine lovers and counts them by name and number. Can limps because of an illness in childhood, lives alone and tries to write a novel. Samet repeatedly tries to find him women, and each time Can either refuses or just sits there like a guest.

One night Samet brings a drunk, unconscious woman to Can's flat and says «I brought you a partridge». Samet leaves; Can does not touch the woman, covers her and sleeps on the sofa. In the morning the woman wakes and tells him «may God ruin you». The next day Samet asks what happened, Can says he did not touch her, and Samet tells him «nothing will come of you». This episode shows the book's basic conflict: Samet sees women as something to be had, while Can says «my heart will not allow it».

At the holiday Can visits Samet's shack in Keçiören. Samet's mother Esma, father Ahmet and wife Kezban are there; everyone treats Can warmly and the children kiss his hand. The contradiction between Samet's family life and his secret life is striking: at home devout and family-minded, outside a different woman every day. Samet tells Can that if his wife asks he should say «we drank at your place».

The main turning point is this: one morning at the stop Can gets off the minibus with Ayla, and as they walk Ayla sees that he limps. Her face changes, she says nothing and goes ahead quickly, not waiting for Can. Can feels abandoned, cannot hold back tears, looks at the statue of Atatürk before the Assembly building and says «I am a Turk, I am honest, but I am not happy», and washes his face at the mosque's fountain.

Then Samet takes him to Sibel's flat. There is a sixteen-year-old, Tuğba, and Samet offers him «the best of goods». Out of shyness Can cannot go to Tuğba's room and does not rise from his seat. Samet raises a racket again, and all the talk turns to teasing Can's shyness. At the same time Ayla tells Zehra she saw Can, that she pities him, and does not hide that she is ashamed.

Days pass. One evening at the stop Ayla herself greets him and says «see you tomorrow». Can begins to come a little earlier each day and wait for her. They sit side by side in the minibus, İbo songs play, Ayla wears a white cardigan and the words «it suits you» please Can. Samet brags about his new blonde girl, while Can quietly thinks about the «taboos», especially his limp: even if he thinks of himself as a «green plane tree», people look at him as a «dry tree».

• The novel is built from long monologues and dialogues; Can's inner thoughts on «taboo» are the book's main line of ideas
• Samet is a lively character: he is built through speech, gesture and boasting
• The Ankara details (minibus, locksmith's shop, Menekşe passage, Keçiören) are convincing
• Ayla's indecision between love and friendship and Can's hope are given through long scenes and sometimes repeat
• The philosophical speeches (love, taboo, sexuality) sometimes slow the story and the characters speak with one voice