A love story so deep and intricate that it rivals many of the works written today. If you wanted me to explain the book “Kuyucaklı Yusuf” by Sabahattin Ali in a few short words, you would probably get an answer similar to this one. There is no doubt that Sabahattin Ali is one of the best writers in all of Turkish literature, but exactly how good are the pieces that he has written. Are they actually complex and deliberately written pieces of writing, or are they shallow stories, praised by intellectual-wanna-be people just because they are praised by other people?
To be fair, the latter option is entirely false. They really are beautiful pieces of art that should be read by everyone, but reading is not a very popular activity among people nowadays. To show these people how gripping these works are, I will start by first, analyzing the story.
The book opens up with a group of people going to investigate a crime scene. Two people murdered in a house. When they arrive, they find a kid sitting next to the corpses of the people that were murdered. Turns out he was the son of those people. He didn’t seem phased by what was happening, and actually, he had lost a finger in the same incident and he was losing blood. Impressed by the kid’s braveness, one of the people investigating says that he wants to adopt him. The kid accepts and together, they go to a town far away.
The kid grows up as a rebel, deeming school to be unnecessary and occasionally getting in fights. When he is holder, he will be known for these traits of his. They will be both a blessing, and a curse. The kid, named Yusuf, has a younger step-sister named Muazzez who he adores. They seem to always get along with each other and they practically grow up together.
When they both get a little older, they get involved in an incident where one of the city’s “gangsters” decides to set his eye on Muazzez. Little do they know that this will be their end. Some time passes and Şakir still wants Muazzez to be his, meanwhile Muazzez wants another guy, Yusuf. Şakir decides to play a little game on their family, and he tricks their father into gambling and losing a lot of money. Not knowing how to pay Şakir back, the family finally agrees to give Muazzez to him, but right before that could happen yusuf mysteriously comes back with wnough money to pay Şakir back. Turns out he got the money from one of his friends, Ali. In turn, he would give Muazzez to him. Now extremely furious, Şakir goes and puts a bullet through Ali’s heart. He somehow avoids going to prison. Why would he even go to prison? He comes from a rich family that has enough dough to bribe his way out of prison. Some time after this, Yusuf kidnaps Muazzez and brings her to foreign village where they get married. They can not stay there for long, though. Because of their father’s request, they have to go back to their own city.
Yusuf grew up not knowing many things so it is hard for him to get a job. Whatever job he tries to do, he gets frustrated and bored so he leaves. His father, who has a very prestigious job in the government, offers him a job where he does basically nothing and gets paid. He accepts this offer because he has no other choice. His father then passes away from a disease. After his father’s passing, the person that comes after him appoints him to another job where he would not be at home for weeks at a time. He again has to accept because he has no other choice, as their family is now exceptionally poor since their main source of income ended. Yusuf goes away and does not come for weeks at a time, and when he does come back, he can only stay for a day or two. While this is happening, Yusuf’s mother-in-law starts to get closer with Şakir’s family. She starts basically selling Muazzes to them, against her own will. Yusuf starts to get suspicious, as his wife is no longer the way she was before he accepted that job. One day, he goes home and sees another man on top of his wife, as she is trying to push him away. Angrily, he takes out a knife(?) and starts attacking the people in the room. He then accidentally knocks over a lamp, causing the room to go dark. He whips out a pistol because he sees Şakir doing the same. They start blindly firing in the room. One of their bullets just barely misses Yusuf’s head. After he runs out of bullets and the room gets quiet, he calls for his wife and they escape together. To where? Anywhere but that city. When they are travelling, Muazzez says that she may be wounded, but she tells him to not stop for her. After their horse gets tired, Yusuf gets himself and Muazzez off the horse. She is cold to the touch and she is not answering. Hopeless, he starts digging her a small grave and puts her lifeless body inside it.
The romance aspect of this novel is very strong. You can feel the connection that Yusuf and Muazzez have. That emotion of togetherness and unity is portrayed in a very rich manner. You may not be able to feel it from my summary of the book because I am not an artist and I am not capable of going through 300 pages in a few paragraphs. To truly experience this work of art, you have to read and understand it yourself. Another thing that this book does good that it portrays the problems of that time very accurately. Sabahattin Ali managed to give a good feeling for those problems like poverty, fear, and injustice that roams the streets, while also being one of the first novels to do so. This also adds to the depth of the work, proving the writers skills once again.
Overall, this book is an experience that has to be lived by the reader themselves. Reading a summary of this book will do nothing but to insult it and the writer, as applies to all books.