Cold Nights of Childhood
Tezer Özlü, Maureen Freely (translation)Winner of the 2023 National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Greg Barrios Book in Translation Prize
Set across the rambling orchards of a childhood in the Turkish provinces & the smoke-filled cafés of European capitals, Cold Nights of Childhood offers an unflinching portrayal of sexuality & psychological struggle, staging a clash between unbridled feminine desire & repressive, patriarchal society
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The narrator of Cold Nights of Childhood grows up in a rapidly changing Turkey, where the atmosphere is nationalist, patriarchal, technocratic. As a misfit in search of freedom, love & happiness, she escapes to Berlin, is overcome by depression on her return, & trapped in a psychiatry clinic for five years. After electroshock therapy & inhumane treatment, she is released into the care of friends & family, making tentative steps in a halting journey towards recovery.
In her unique, unstructured style, Tezer Özlü explores the extremity of her inner life & the painful pleasures of memory. Translated into English for the first time by Maureen Freely, this novel is a classic akin to The Bell Jar and Good Morning, Midnight.
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Tezer Özlü (1943–1986) claimed her place in Turkish letters by breaking every rule imposed on her. Though she was dismissed by many & misunderstood by most throughout her short life, her writings have gone on to inspire a new generation of feminist writers & readers. Cold Nights of Childhood is her first book to be translated into English.
Maureen Freely grew up in Istanbul & now lives in England. The author of seven novels, & formerly the President & Chair of English PEN, she has translated many Turkish classics as well as Orhan Pamuk. She teaches at the University of Warwick.