Resat Nuri Guntekin’s maybe most known literary work is Calikusu. The book is journal of a former high-toned woman, Feride, leaving her family and deciding to be a village teacher in West Anatolia after her fiancé’s cheating. Timeline of the book is before and after WWI and Turkish war of independence.
The protagonist’s personality has changed drastically. Firstly, she was only thinking about having fun and being of age against her family and friends. Afterwards, she became more mature: Feride learned how to be independent in a time where women were seen as objects and limiting her conceit.
Some characters were used as foil. For instance Munise was in the book for highlighting maternity and compassion of Feride.
In my opinion, the book teaches us an important lesson about different kinds of love and the place of women during independence war. The book is written in excellent but halting wording. I would suggest Calikusu to who enjoy historical biography and conflicts in romance.