Description: "Oæguz Atay (1934-1977), one of the most influential figures of 20th century Turkish literature, was not only a writer and a professor, but also a civil engineer. Aside from his widely acclaimed novels, in this book of collected stories, Atay engineers the language of a historically multilayered society that was in the midst of a cultural and political transition. By smoothly mending the autobiographical and the fictional, he invites the reader into a maze of seamlessly shifting narrative voices"--
Review Quotes: "Astonishing, deeply wry ... a collection of eight short stories by one of the most influential and inventive Turkish writers of the 20th century, Oguz Atay. These linguistically playful, slightly surreal stories, written in the 1970s, center on the down-and-out misfits and oddballs who struggle to connect with the rest of society." --Ayten Tartici, The New York Times
"Turkish writer Atay makes his English-language debut with this alluring 1975 collection, sharply translated by Hubbell, of dreamlike fables and horror stories.... Devotees of modernist literature will be grateful for Atay's hypnotic and intense writing." --Publishers Weekly "The eight exquisite stories in Waiting for the Fear are a perfect introduction to Oğuz Atay's world." --Oğuz Demiralp "Much like a fire or a sinkhole, Atay himself was an unforgiving force of nature. Rejecting both the nostalgic allure of the past and the vacuous imitation of the present, his writing sought to transform the literary conventions of his era." -- Eamon Mcgrath, LARB "This fear remains a defining feature of Turkish culture and politics.... I felt grateful to Atay for articulating its centrality and pervasiveness so many years ago." -Kaya Genc, The Point "Ralph Hubbell has succeeded marvelously in rendering the stream of consciousness of inner offbeat voices within the short stories of the great and notoriously difficult twentieth-century Turkish author Oğuz Atay. Waiting for the Fear is a series of Edgar Allen Poe-like terrors encompassing the psychological impact of modern society on different subjectivities, including underdogs and characters flirting with madness. Hubbell translates these stories in ways that capture both the complexities of Atay's language as well as the various complexities of the Turkish language. Hubbell's deep affinity for language and patient intimacy with Atay's oeuvre come across with clarity and verve." --MLA