Farewell Fountain Street
Selçuk Altun
Translated by Nilgün Dungan and Mel Kenne
About the Book
Ziya Bey has six months left to live. From his mansion on Farewell Fountain Street, the Ottoman aristocrat plans to tie up some questionable business affairs and say goodbye to the people he cherishes. He hires Artvin, a disillusioned professor with a troubled past, to assist him. Intrigued by his employer’s mysterious household, Artvin spends the days uncovering Ziya Bey’s turbulent life story.
The two men become bound together as they reveal dark elements from their pasts. But when Ziya Bey releases Artvin from his duties sooner than expected, Artvin inherits a spiral of violence he cannot control.
In this gripping ride through the streets of Istanbul, two men learn one another’s secrets. But can either of them learn to live with themselves?
About the Author
Selçuk Altun was born in Artvin, Turkey in 1950. He is a retired banking executive and bibliophile. His works include The Sultan of Byzantium, Songs My Mother Never Taught Me and Many and Many a Year Ago, all published by Telegram. He lives in Istanbul.
About the Translator
Mel Kenne is a translator, editor and author. He has translated works by Enis Batur, Latife Tekin and Birhan Keskin. His collection South Wind won the 1984 Austin Book Award and in 2010 he was a winner of the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Award. He lives in Turkey. Nilgün Dungan is a lecturer and translator. She has translated the works of Haydar Ergülen, Gülten Akın and Behçet Necatigil, Müge İplikçi and Ahmet Büke. She lives in Izmir, Turkey.
Reviews
'A tantalising thriller.' Jason Goodwin
'Altun’s prose has a dreamlike urgency.' John Ashbery
'A tense thriller that explores identity, philosophy and what our pasts can teach us.' Barbara Nadel
'A beautifully observed treasure of a book.' Özgür Uyanık
