Once upon a time, in a country whose place between East and West no one could quite agree on, there lived a kooky Hoca. He was mischievous, razor-sharp, and extremely colourful. But he had a wild habit: whatever people expected of him, he would insist on doing the exact opposite.
Although the people of this land which was neither-East-nor-West loved the Hoca dearly, over time they tried to stuff him into neat little boxes and turn him into someone he couldn’t recognise. And so, after years of being shut tight in a plastic container and locked away in the fridge, Hoca Efendi lost all his flavour.
That is, until Pertev Naili Boratav put together a collection in the 1990s that broke his chains and set him free. This tiny selection, adapted into contemporary Turkish from Boratav’s compilation and translated to English by Efe Levent, has been printed in limited numbers with risograph printing. If you too enjoy going against the grain like the Hoca, this book will feel right at home in your hands.