The Man Booker International Prize celebrates translated fiction at its finest. Now an annual prize awarded to a single novel or collection of short stories, it can truly highlight the best of translated fiction from around the world. Both the writer and the translator will be rewarded equally for their contribution, showcasing the crucial role they each play in the finished book.
The full shortlist of six titles can be found here, but in this series of articles we will look at each title in detail.
A Strangeness in My Mind
This is the story of boza seller Mevlut, the woman to whom he wrote three years’ worth of love letters, and their life in Istanbul. Between 1969 and 2012, Mevlut works a number of different jobs on the streets of Istanbul, from selling yoghurt and cooked rice to guarding a car park. He observes many different kinds of people thronging the streets, he witnesses all of the transformative moments in the city, and he always wonders what it is that separates him from everyone else – the source of that strangeness in his mind.
Have you read A Strangeness in My Mind? You can leave a review or add the book to your group’s reading list.
Want to know more? Download reading notes for A Strangeness in My Mind, including information about the author and translator, as well as some discussion questions about the book.
Want ideas on what to read next? We’ve created a supporting booklist with suggestions of other books that you might like to try if you enjoyed A Strangeness in My Mind, including books about love letters, civil war and Istanbul.
A word from Warwickshire Super Readers
Warwickshire Super Readers is one of the reading groups who are shadowing the Prize this year, and are reading A Strangeness in My Mind.
“Warwickshire Super Readers is a group which gets together a few times a year, specifically to ‘shadow’ literary prizes. Each year we relish following the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Man Booker Prize, reading the shortlisted books at the same time as the judges. Just before the official announcement of the national winner, we vote for the Warwickshire Winner.
Members are made up of enthusiastic readers from reading groups across the county, and we look forward to getting together and exchanging ideas, opinions and (yes!) even some disagreements, as we discuss the merits of each book.
We are so thrilled to be chosen as one of the six groups to shadow Man Booker International Prize 2016, especially as this is the first time the prize is in this format.”
Get involved
Join in the conversation on Twitter using #MBI2016. You can also follow the author Orhan Pamuk on Twitter.
Keep up with all the latest news on the Man Booker International Prize website, and on Instagram.
Have just finished the book, so here are my thoughts. A fabulous, multi-faceted wonder of a book, bringing the street life of Istanbul to all our senses. A historic family tale, with love at the heart of it all. Also liked the historic background, the descriptions of the changes in the city in the 20th century and the hardship of life for some incomers. Our group is meeting tomorrow ( 11th) so will post a collective review after that
Jan Dawson from Warwickshire Super Readers Group