POSTWAR WRITING
modern governmental procedures,
basing many of his observations
on his native Turkey. This major
Turkish-language novel recounts
the protagonist’s personal struggles
(as well as those of the secondary
characters he interacts with) to
adapt to the Eurasian postwar
reality, and to be at peace with the
changing nature of modern times.ONE DAY IN THE LIFE
OF IVAN DENISOVICH
(1962), ALEKSANDR SOLZHENITSYNAn active critic of the totalitarian
government ruling over his native
Russia, Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008)
wrote this, his first literary work,
to openly condemn Stalin’s rule.
The book recounts a day in the life
of a wrongly condemned labor-
camp prisoner, Ivan Denisovich,
and the nature of the punishments,
hardships, and horrors that he
endures. The underlying message,
however, is one of solidarity, loyalty,
and humanity among the prisoners,
who only survive from day to day
by working together.ONE FLEW OVER THE
CUCKOO’S NEST
(1962), KEN KESEYOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
by American writer Kesey (1935–
2001) is a novel set in an institution
for the mentally ill in Oregon, and is
based on the author’s own time as
a staff member at a similar facility.
Although the novel has been well
received in most quarters, it has
also been subject to bans. Kesey’s
best-known book, it highlights the
humanity—and in some cases,
cruelty—behind the individuals,
from patients to staff, in the mental-health system. It is often seen as a
critique of this type of institution,
as well as of other systems of
control in American society.A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
(1962), ANTHONY BURGESSIn this dystopian novel, Burgess
(1917–93) takes his observations of
the changing youth cultures present
in Britain in the 1960s to disturbing
extremes. The reader follows the
teenage narrator Alex in his exploits
of “ultraviolence,” depravity, and
drug use, told in both English and
the Russian-influenced teen slang
known as “Nadsat.” The authorities
attempt to reform Alex through an
experimental type of aversion
therapy, no matter what the cost to
his mental state; the final chapter,
cut from US editions until the 1980s,
seems to show some redemption for
Alex. The satirical novel spawned
an extremely successful and equally
controversial cinematic adaptation
in 1971 by Stanley Kubrick, which
helped to increase the popularity of
and interest in the book.fragmented, the work is an example
of the author’s experimentation with
the novel form; the reader is left to
interpret the story for themselves.A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS
(1961), V. S. NAIPAULThe first novel by Trinidad-born
British writer Naipaul (1932–) to
achieve international acclaim, A
House For Mr. Biswas draws on the
author’s experiences of growing up
in the Caribbean. Mohun Biswas
strives toward his goal of owning
his own house, to provide a home
for his family and escape from his
overbearing in-laws. The book lays
bare the inequalities of colonialism,
and exposes the tensions between
individual and familial life.THE TIME REGULATION
INSTITUTE
(1962), AHMET HAMDI TANPINARTanpinar (1901–62) wrote The Time
Regulation Institute as a critique
of the excessive bureaucracy in289
She begins serving: the
Cognac ... then the soda,
and finally three transparent
ice cubes, each of which
imprisons a bundle of silver
needles in its heart.
La Jalousie
Alain Robbe-GrilletIf he can only perform good
or only perform evil, then he
is a clockwork orange ...
an organism lovely with
colour and juice but ... only
a clockwork toy to be wound
up by God or the Devil.
A Clockwork Orange
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