WHAT TIME IS IT MR WOLF?
a novel by Ercan Akbay
approx. 352 pages / 104.055 words The manuscript is available in Turkish and in English. Translated to the English by Alvin Parmar.
Genre:
literary fiction, thriller, black fiction, mystery, suspense.
Summary:
This is a story about an old man stabbed to death with a screwdriver by two men who came to burgle his house and the incidents in the three days that follow. This terrible murder becomes entwined in a whirlwind romance between a man and a woman who meet in a bar one Saturday night. Their conversation is quite interesting; all about life and relationships, and the audience remains unaware until almost first forty pages end that this is a severe interrogation in fact, and all the action outside the bar is related with it.
The quick rhythm that makes this novel unique, the original, heartfelt narration, as well as mastery of subtle realism in character development, the fluidity of the dialogues, and the depth of the powerful and impressive content, are just some of the features that catch the eye.
The characters: shrewd police captain, pushing retirement; Murat, a dangerous outlaw; Arzu, a beautiful young woman embroiled in crime; Caner, a Homicide detective who only handles some special cases; the sheikh of a cult who remodels life according to his own desires, and the others narrating the same three days from their own points of view and in their own voices.
Synopsis:
Saturday, 18th NOVEMBER
The novel begins like a straight-forward detective story in Istanbul. A rich, famous old man stabbed to death with a screwdriver by two men who came to rob his house. This terrible murder becomes entwined in a whirlwind romance between a man and a woman who met in a bar.
That Saturday night, the first six characters of the novel are introduced: Captain Kemal Guclu, the Chief, head of Istanbul Homicide Bureau; Arzu, a young, pretty woman who came to ‘Joy Bar’ to celebrate her thirtieth birthday meeting there her fiancé; Murat, a handsome, dark and dangerous outlaw; and Mert, the on-duty lieutenant of the Istanbul Homicide with his ‘always nagging’ sergeant Serdar, and finally; detective Caner who has a special talent on ‘complex operations’…
The conversation between Caner and Arzu at the ‘Joy Bar’ is quite interesting for the audience; all about life and relationships. The audience remains unaware almost until the end of the first episode that this funny-looking chat is in fact a severe interrogation, and all the action outside the bar is directly related with it. Step by step, the story is developed; while with a successful-just-to-the last minute ope2nd Episode: Sunday, 19th NOVEMBER
The second episode starts with the development of the main characters, and with several investigations of the Homicide team, they finally reach to the Sheikh, a sinister figure behind the Sami Tuzcu murder, and the Foundation, whose organization is disguised as a charity.
Pursuing the runaway Murat Gumushlu, the Homicide finds out that some young women whom he had intercourse with, are lost or killed and he was one of the hit men of this institution who provided financial support by theft and other illegal jobs.
While questioning another man of the cult, lieutenant Mert is brutally killed by Murat. And after this second murder he poses a greater threat Arzu and Caner, who both stay in Caner’s flat for safety and to continue the interrogation of Arzu.
Towards the end of the episode the audience meets with three more characters; the Boss, who is the head of the imams at the Bursa HQ of the Foundation, where the disciples are trained and initiated, the lost girl Yasemin, who had become a slave of the cult, and Halide a overage woman, living alone with his fourteen year old son, and a disciple herself.
Monday, 20th NOVEMBER
The third episode contents the resolution of all that three days story, as well it introduces the audience the last main character; the Sheikh, who established the Foundation and its system several years ago, he thinks that, it is his right to shape other people’s lives according to his whims.
After a series of interrogation, The Chief decides to go to Bursa HQ of the Foundation, where all the illegal jobs are instructed. He collects the authorization documents in the morning, and with a three people SWAT team he moves immediately to Bursa with a final aim of arresting all the responsible managers of the Foundation.
Caner, Arzu, and Murat are on the way to Bursa as well, and Serdar, who decided to act individually and had started following them, and all other people involved in the case, physically or mentally, meet in the shocking end of the novel. With a breathtaking crescendo, the third day of the Sami Tuzcu case is thus cut with a bang, remaining unclear and unresolved.
Finally there comes the chapter 81, three weeks after the explosion, and briefly explains the conclusion within the atrocious but so wise voice of the Sheikh. ration the Sami Tuzcu murder is enlightened, but it has reached to a place where the reality is actually different than it’s seen.
The Structure of the Book:
The novel consists of three day-based main episodes; November 18th, 19th and 20th, and a total of 80 chapters, plus the overture; chapter 81. Each chapter is named upon its narrating character, who speaks his/her own voice and own point of view, and thus forming a three days crime story proceeding hour by hour, sometimes overlapping. The average 4-5 pages long chapters form a book of roughly 350 pages.
TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTERS OF THIS BOOK
