Beneath the Handkerchief and Other Tales

Memduh Şevket Esendal, one of the founders of the modern Turkish short story, wrote with a rare combination of warmth, precision, and quiet wit. Set amid the sweeping transformation from the late Ottoman Empire to the early Turkish Republic, his stories turn away from grand historical narratives to capture ordinary people adapting to a changing world. Petty bureaucrats, self-important clerks, weary wives, hopeful dreamers, and village eccentrics reveal themselves through everyday encounters.

Often described as "the Turkish Chekhov," Esendal also draws on the comic wisdom of Anatolian folk tradition. His finely crafted miniatures find absurdity in human vanity, tenderness in domestic friction, and entire lives within a single conversation. At once humorous and humane, this collection introduces English-language readers to a master storyteller who understood that even the smallest moments can contain a whole world.

Author: Memduh Şevket Esendal
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Translation Attached
Published: 09/15/2026
Pages: 226
Weight: 0.5lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.52d
ISBN: 9781738750573