Livaneli, O.Z. 1946- (Ömer Zülfü Livaneli, Zülfü Livaneli)

PERSONAL:

Born 1946, in Ilgin, Turkey.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Turkey.

CAREER:

Writer, composer, musician, film director, and politician. Elected to the Turkish Parliament, 2002; also cofounder of the Turkish-Kurdish Peace Movement and the initiator of the Campaign against Violence in Turkey. Director of the films Iron Earth, Copper Sky, Mist, and Shahmaran.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Balkan Literary Award, 1997, for novel whose title translated into English means "The Eunuch of Constantinople"; Yunus Nadi Novel Award in Turkey, 2001, for Bir kedi, bir adam, bir ölŸm.

WRITINGS:

(As Zülfü Liveneli) Orta zekâlõlar cenneti, Telos Yaynclk (Istanbul, Turkey), 1991.

(As Zülfü Liveneli) Diktatör ile Palyao, Telos Yaynclk (Istanbul, Turkey), 1992.

(As Ömer Zülfü Liveneli) Bir kedi, bir adam, bir ölŸm (novel; title means "One Cat, One Man, One Death"), Remzi Kitabevi (Istanbul, Turkey), 2001.

I lk TŸrkŸler (sound recording; Turkish songs), Ada Muzik (Istanbul, Turkey), 2001.

Bliss (novel), St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to Ensemble (sound recording), Plane, 1985. Works have been published in Spain, Korea, Greece, Switzerland, and Germany.

ADAPTATIONS:

Bliss has been adapted as a sound recording, St. Martin's, 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

O.Z. Livaneli is a Turkish author and composer whose novel Bliss tells the story of Meryem, a fifteen-year-old Turkish girl who has been raped by her uncle, and Cemal, a young veteran who is assigned to take Meryem to Istanbul. Unbeknownst to Meryem, Cemal has been ordered to follow an ancient custom and kill Meryem once they get to their destination because Meryem has refused to commit suicide and spare her family disgrace. As the two travel to Istanbul, they meet Irfan, who, despite his success as a professor with a popular television show, is running away from his mundane life. Irfan hires Meryem and Cemal to crew his boat and the trio set out to sail the Aegean Sea. In close quarters with this learned man, Meryem learns to read and Cemal begins to change his views, not only about Islam but also about his and Meryem's future. "Eye-opening and deeply moving—essential for anyone looking for decency in the world today," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor of Bliss. Hazel Rochman, writing in Booklist, commented that the author "tells a gripping contemporary story that gets behind stereotypes of exotic Islam." In her review in Entertainment Weekly, Karla Starr commented that the author presents "nuanced depictions of the trio's inner lives." Debbie Boggenshutz wrote in the Library Journal that "Livaneli offers readers a fascinating look at the diversity of Turkey today."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 2006, Hazel Rochman, review of Bliss, p. 55.

Entertainment Weekly, October 27, 2006, Karla Starr, review of Bliss, p. 77.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2006, review of Bliss, p. 745.

Library Journal, August 1, 2006, Debbie Boggenshutz, review of Bliss, p. 71.

Publishers Weekly, June 19, 2006, review of Bliss, p. 35.

ONLINE

PEN American Center Web site,http://www.pen.org/ (February 26, 2007), brief profile of author.