When Pera Trees Whisper

As one of Turkey’s most successful contemporary writers, Ahmet Ümit has so far published more than 20 novels. Although these are generally associated with the literary genre of crime fiction, psychological, social and philosophical aspects are also essential elements in his works. In the fast-paced novel When Pera Trees Whisper, the Gezi Park Resistance plays an important part in the story, taking readers to the legendary places in Istanbul that had a dramatic role in this massive uprising in Turkey’s very recent history.Darkness… Darkness made much heavier by the cold. From a distance, songs reach his ear, the jovial shrieks of women, exaggerated drunken wails. Someone is cursing, perhaps to the heavens. Perhaps someone is sobbing, and just maybe someone is dying in the midst of this cacophony, this uproar. He doesn’t give a damn. He’s shed it all off; there’s just the rage… He walks without knowing where he is going, engulfed by hatred. That green-eyed monster, jealousy, has clutched his heart in its steely claw and is squeezing away.Women, says a voice from the depths of his consciousness… Women. You cannot play around with them. You think you are playing with them but then the next thing you know, you’ve become the toy. In the street appear the faces of the women he’s had in his life. Their images fall at his feet one by one. All of them with heads hung and eyes filled with grief... All of them heartbroken. He brushes it off, passing over and stepping on them like puddles, but the images fall onto the ground once again. Women, the voice says again. You can never escape them; their spirits will haunt you for the rest of your life...Karanlik...Soguk havayla iyice agirlasan bir karanlik. Uzaklardan sarkilar geliyor kulagina, neseli kadin çigliklari, ayarini yitirmis sarhos naralari. biri küfrediyor belki ana avrat, belki agliyor biri hiçkira hiçkira, belki biri sessizce ölüyor bu gürültünün, bu hengâmenin ortasinda. Umurunda degil. Hepsinden siyrilmis, sadece öfke... Nereye gittigini bilmeden yürüyor, nefret tarafindan kusatilmis olarak. Kiskançlik denen o canavar, çelikten pençesine almis yüregini, habire sikiyor. “Kadinlar,” diyor bir ses zihninin derinliklerinden... “Kadinlar, onlarla oynayamazsin... Oynadigini zannedersin ama bir de bakmissin, asil oyuncak sen olmussun.” Hayatina giren kadinlarin yüzleri beliriyor sokagin zemininde. Birer birer düsüyor görüntüleri ayaklarinin dibine. Hepsinin boynu bükük, hepsinin gözlerinde keder. Hepsi üzgün... Aldirmiyor, bir su birikintisiymis gibi basip geçiyor üzerlerinden ama yeniden düsüyor görüntüler zemine. “Kadinlar,” diyor o ses yine, “Kadinlardan asla kurtulamazsin, hayaletleri hayatin boyunca seni takip eder.”