Oğuz Atay

Oğuz Atay was a pioneer of the modern novel in Turkey. His first novel, Tutunamayanlar, appeared in 1971–72. Never reprinted in his lifetime and controversial among critics, it has become a best-seller since a new edition came out in 1984. It has been described as “probably the most eminent novel of twentieth-century Turkish literature”: this reference is due to a UNESCO survey, which goes on: “it poses an earnest challenge to even the most skilled translator with its kaleidoscope of colloquialisms and sheer size.” In fact four translations have so far been published: into Dutch, as Het leven in stukken, translated by Hanneke van der Heijden and Margreet Dorleijn ; into German, as Die Haltlosen, translated by Johannes Neuner ; into English, as The Disconnected, translated by Sevin Seydi : an excerpt from this won the Dryden Translation Prize in 2008 ; into Greek, as ΑΠΟΣΥΝΑΓΩΓΟΙ, translated from Turkish by Νίκη Σταυρίδη, poetry sections by Δημήτρης Μαύρος, Gutenberg Editio Minor 34, 2022. ISBN 978-960-01-2397-5.

12 October 1934

Born on the same birth date (12 October 1934): Albert Shiryaev • James "Sugar Boy" Crawford • Richard Meier

Born on the same birth day (12 October): Alice Childress • Allan Evans (footballer) • Bernardo Pisano • Bill Auberlen • Carlos Bernard • Charlie Ward • Dick Gregory • Giuseppe Lanzone • Jane Siberry • Kamini Roy • Leon Lett • Lester Dent • Malcolm Renfrew • Mariko Yamamoto • Mike Green (ice hockey, born 1985) • Paul Harragon • Paul Hawkins (racing driver) • Robert Coles (psychiatrist) • Robert Mangold • Satoshi Kon • Wim Jonk

Born in the same month (October 1934): Alan Garner • Eddie Harris • Frans Brüggen • Gerry Hitchens • Glen Glenn (singer) • Hot Rod Hundley • Inger Stevens • Julian Thompson (Royal Marines officer) • Keith Barnes • Margie Masters • Miguel-Ángel Cárdenas • Nana Mouskouri • Richard Meier • Sam Huff • Sammy Petrillo