[A] master storyteller * New York Times *
[Kemal’s] work, and, when all is said and done, his life, are injected with a burning humanism and a fierce belief in mankind’s potential for good over evil. In showing a better way forward, shaping the lives of his characters with tolerance and understanding, Kemal’s fiction occupies a moral plane far higher than that of human conflict and base revenge * Observer *
He is the architect of unforgettable literary heroes and a beacon for writers of the generations that followed him – Elif Shafak
The second part of the stirring Memed chronicle, by the man acknowledged to be Turkey’s greatest contemporary writer * Washington Post *
Kemal’s ability to delve into human nature and bring out the universal traits in his characters made his novels accessible to all sections of society * Independent *
The sequence of events in the novel could not be more exciting… It is like a myth, but the mythic quality is given concreteness in the distinct personalities of the villagers… This novel is a worthy successor to Memed, My Hawk – Paul Theroux * New York Times *
Kemal has become Turkey’s first world-class novelist…They Burn the Thistles is thus a valuable addition to the body of literature for society’s sake * Washington Post *
There are a lot of facts and folklore in the story along with delightful fantasy, all told with an intimacy of detail that makes for fine reading. Kemal’s descriptions of the Turkish landscape, animals and plant life are sharp and vivid. The action is told in the grand manner of the Homeric tradition, but Kemal doesn’t miss a butterfly, a hard-backed iridescent beetle or the yellow narcissi of Anatolia. There is the smell of dried sweat and blood, but there is also the sweet scent of stirrup-high mint at the edge of a bubbling brook * Los Angeles Times *
One of the modern world’s great storytellers. To read him is to be reminded that life itself is a story. He writes fearlessly, like a hero – John Berger
They Burn the Thistles is an epic story of a bitter war during the 1920s between the poor Turkish peasants of the Taurus Mountains of Anatolia and the greedy Aghas who covet their land… British critics said that Yashar Kemal had a feeling for the soil in literature that recalled Thomas Hardy and Ignazio Silone * New York Times *

Yashar Kemal (1923 - 2015)

Yashar Kemal was born on the cotton-growing plains of Chukurova, a region that features prominently in his The Wind from the Plain trilogy. His advocacy for poor peasants led to the loss of several jobs, but he eventually acquired a typewriter and established himself as a public letter-writer in the small town of Kadirli.

Following a period as a journalist, Kemal published a collection of short stories in 1952. His first novel, Memed, My Hawk, released in 1955, earned him the Varlik Prize for best novel of the year. His literary achievements garnered numerous international accolades and translations into multiple languages.

Kemal was a member of the Central Committee of the banned Workers’ Party. In 1971, he was imprisoned for 26 days without charge and subsequently faced trial for his support of Kurdish dissidents. Among the many international honors recognizing his literary talent and his advocacy for human rights are the French Legion d’Honneur and the Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Yashar Kemal was considered Turkey’s most influential living writer and, as described by John Berger, “one of the modern world’s great storytellers.”

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