Praise for Songs My Mother Never Taught Me:
"A deft, zinging whodunnit which is also a metaphysical puzzle worthy of
the Oulipo group. Altun's prose has a dreamlike urgency; his novel is a
major achievement."--John Ashbery
"This intelligent thriller from Altun, his first to be published in the
U.S., nicely evokes modern Istanbul. . . . The lean prose and deft
pacing make this more than a routine revenge tale.'"--Publishers
Weekly
Kemal's friend mysteriously disappears, leaving him a generous allowance
and the use of his large house.
He discovers that his new dwelling involves an inheritance of $1.3
million, and a Russian nobleman's missing son. Kemal embarks on a
missing person case that will bring chaos and romance to his life.
Clues lead him from Istanbul to Buenos Aires, Boston, and eventually
Baltimore, where Kemal visits the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum.
There in the museum is a poster announcing the Nevar Foundation's offer
of $200,000 to the winner of a first novel competition.
Kemal buys paper and a pen. He has decided to enter the Nevar
competition with his first mystery novel, called Many and Many a Year
Ago.
Selçuk Altun was born in Artvin, Turkey, in 1950. Telegram published
Songs My Mother Never Taught Me in 2008. He lives in Istanbul and is a
retired banking executive and bibliophile.
