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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Dhimmi Watch: Best selling novel in Turkey |
| 2005-10-12 |
ISTANBUL The year is 2010 and the European Union has rejected Turkey. Fascist governments have come to power in Germany, Austria and France and are inciting violence against resident Turks and Muslims. A vengeful Turkey joins forces with Russia and declares war against the EU. Turkish commandos besiege Berlin, obliterate Europe and take control of the Continent. Some critics will be quick to dismiss "The Third World War," a new futuristic novel by a 30-year-old Turkish writer, Burak Turna, as the wild imaginings of a conspiracy theorist and literary shock jock - and in many ways it is. But the novel, which dominates bookstore display windows in Istanbul, has sold more than 130,000 copies in just two months and is rising on best-seller lists across the country. As Turkey embarks on 10 years of tortuous talks to join the EU, Turkish observers say the novel's popularity reflects the growing wariness of Turks about a Europe that is increasingly wary of them. "Turks are getting fed up with the EU's constant demands - and 'The Third World War' has tapped into that," said Sinan Ulgen, a Turkish commentator. He noted that the book's pithy, cinematographic style has helped it resonate with taxi drivers, government officials and housewives alike. Turna is no fringe figure. His first novel, "Metal Firtina" ("Metal Storm"), became the fastest-selling book in the history of Turkey when it was published in December, a time of deep Turkish ambivalence about the U.S.-led war in Iraq. The book is a fictional account of a U.S. invasion of Turkey that provokes a Turkish agent to detonate a nuclear bomb in a park in Washington, leveling the capital. Overnight, the grungy former journalist and philosophy student became a chat-show celebrity, a cult figure among 20-somethings and an unofficial cultural barometer for his country. Turna says Turks' fear of U.S. domination, reflected in the popularity of "Metal Storm," is being supplanted by a growing Turkish ambivalence about Europe - an ambivalence that has lurked in the Turkish soul since after World War I.... These days, he says, he spends a lot of time playing video games. His favorite? A game called the Rise of Nations in which countries compete for global domination. "I love to pretend that I'm China and to bomb Europe into the Stone Age," he says. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #5 Europe vs. Turks and Russians that's kind of appealing like that old favorite-- the Iraq-Iran war. Knock yourself out just stay out of our hemishere. |
| Posted by: Bardo 2005-10-12 23:58 |
| #4 why? Cornwell's books are enjoyable - FICTION |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-12 21:30 |
| #3 No. 1 on the NYT Best Sellers List for paperback/fiction is "Trace" by Patricia Cornwell. Publishers Weekly writes: "Cornwell's latest ...has... medical examiner Kay Scarpetta returning to her office in Richmond five years after being fired..." We are doomed. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2005-10-12 21:18 |
| #2 pwnd! |
| Posted by: ed 2005-10-12 21:02 |
| #1 Ed beat me by a min or so. Delete this one.. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2005-10-12 20:57 |