In the works of Hüseyin Akbaba, reality bends at the edges of perception, where absence speaks louder than presence and memory transforms into its own truth. His prose—lyrical, philosophical, and deeply introspective—bridges the gap between conventional storytelling and experimental narrative, inviting readers into worlds where time is fluid and consciousness expands beyond ordinary constraints. Through a unique blend of magical realism and psychological depth, Akbaba's fiction illuminates the spaces between experience and meaning, offering profound meditations on human existence that resonate long after the final page.
Fractured Horizons:
The Literary Worlds of Hüseyin Akbaba
Welcome to the literary creations of Hüseyin Akbaba, author of modern fiction that combines experimental writing with philosophical investigation. His work uses creative narrative techniques to examine topics of memory, time, and consciousness.
In addition, he wrote The Lost Children Cannot Draw Their Mothers Happy and The Horseless Riders' Odyssey, both of which explore issues of selfhood, agency, and the illusion of belonging, much like Once Upon a Time in Moscow. The Man Who Mistook Himself for a Memory: Fragments of a Broken Mind, his next book, explores memory, identity fragmentation, and the hazy boundaries between perception and reality.
His writings provide readers a deep reflection on belief, loss, revolution, and the resiliency of the human spirit, going beyond conventional storytelling. Through his books, Akbaba captures the hardships of people caught up in the historical tides while delving into themes of religion, disillusionment, and resiliency.
Author & Novelist
Hüseyin Akbaba is an independent writer specializing in experimental fiction, magical realism, philosophical narratives, and poetic prose. In his works, he explores the depths of human experience during periods of change by combining philosophy, psychology, history, and symbolism.
The Turkish novelist Akbaba delves into the complex terrains of identity, memory, and history. Following his graduation from the Department of Russian Language and Literature at Ankara University, he lived in Russia and the Soviet Union for 25 years, which had a significant impact on his literary perspective.
Historical events and intensely personal tales are interwoven in his works, such as The Canvas Grins, The Man Who Mistook Himself for a Memory, and the epic four-part Once Upon a Time in Moscow. Akbaba's distinct writing style combines psychological depth with poetic realism to create tales in which memory tricks, time bends, and reality changes like sand underfoot.
Drawing inspiration from literary giants such as Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Borges, and Márquez, Akbaba has developed his own distinctive voice in contemporary literature. His debut novel, The Lost Children Cannot Draw Their Mothers Happy, was acclaimed for its poetic exploration of childhood and loss, while his later works continue to push the boundaries of storytelling.
This novel is a lyrical meditation on love, creativity, and the resilience of the human spirit. The narrative centers on children from impoverished backgrounds who navigate their world through imagination and artistic expression. The protagonist Hıdır perceives emotions through their absence rather than their presence. Love, familial warmth, and joy are not described directly but are instead felt through the voids they leave behind.
When not writing, Akbaba dedicates his time to researching historical archives and exploring the intersections of memory, identity, and cultural transformation. He believes that literature has the power to bridge different realities and help us understand the complex nature of human experience.
His books are particularly beloved by readers who enjoy:
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Literary fiction that challenges conventional storytelling
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Historical narratives that blend reality with philosophical insight
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Stories that explore the depths of human consciousness and memory
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Prose that pushes the boundaries between poetry and narrative
Follow Akbaba's literary journey and discover worlds where time unravels, memory deceives, and reality is never quite as it seems.
Through the tale of Remzi, a bridge engineer who loses control of his memories, career, and sense of self following his wife's migration, "The Man Who Mistook Himself for a Memory" examines the brittle architecture of identity. This book explores the complex relationship between memory, identity, and loss as time warps and reality twists, posing the question of what is left when the mind starts to fall apart.
In a world where gods reign supreme and mortals bow to divine whims, Psyche stands defiant—a woman who refuses to be merely a footnote in celestial games. When Eros, the god of desire, falls unexpectedly in love with her, their forbidden connection threatens the very foundations of Olympus.
Faced with Aphrodite's wrath, Psyche is subjected to impossible trials: sorting countless seeds, stealing golden fleece from raging rams, descending into the Underworld to retrieve Persephone's box of beauty.
This is not merely a love story. This is an epic of rebellion, where a mortal woman's determination rewrites the rules of gods. Through poetic prose woven with mythic imagery, witness a revolution where the smallest defiance can topple the mightiest throne.
For lovers of myth reimagined through contemporary lenses, where ancient tales speak to modern hearts.
Biography
Hüseyin Akbaba constructs literary landscapes where history dissolves, memory betrays, and identity fractures under the weight of time. A graduate of Ankara University's Department of Russian Language and Literature, he spent 25 years in the Soviet Union and Russia, witnessing the ideological unraveling of an empire—experiences that deeply inform his narratives.
His work merges poetic realism with psychological depth, experimental storytelling with profound human inquiry. While influenced by literary giants such as Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Borges, and Márquez, Akbaba's unique voice challenges and transcends these influences, creating worlds where time unravels, memory deceives, and reality is never quite as it seems.
Books
While accessible to mature young adult readers, its philosophical depth, allegorical richness, and experimental form make it particularly suited for adult readers who appreciate literary fiction that defies traditional storytelling norms and interrogates the fluid boundaries between subjective experience and objective reality.
The Lost Children Cannot Draw Their Mothers Happy
In this poetic debut novel, young Hıdır draws what he sees—and sometimes, what he cannot. His art breathes life into birds and flowers, but his mother's happiness remains just out of reach. A deeply moving meditation on childhood, memory, and the invisible ties that bind us, this novel explores the power of creation as a bridge between what was and what could have been.
Subject Matter & Intended Audience:
This literary novel is a lyrical meditation on absence and perception, following protagonist Hıdır, who perceives emotions more through their absence than their tangible presence. Through poetic prose and an evocative stream-of-consciousness style, the novel delves into how impoverished children construct their realities through imagination and artistic expression, blurring the lines between perception and truth. The narrative celebrates the transformative power of art, the resilience of the human spirit, and the enduring value of family bonds, even when they exist primarily as yearning. It serves as an inspiring testament to finding joy in life's smallest moments and discovering beauty within hardship.
While accessible to mature young adult readers, its philosophical depth, allegorical richness, and experimental form make it particularly suited for adult readers who appreciate literary fiction that defies traditional storytelling norms and interrogates the fluid boundaries between subjective experience and objective reality.
Once Upon a Time in Moscow:
The Red-Haired Maiden (Book 1 of 4)
As the Soviet Union approaches its twilight, the Red-Haired Maiden haunts not just Moscow's streets, but the hearts of those who once believed. This sweeping four-part epic chronicles the psychological ruins of an empire—the ideological ghosts that haunt those left behind, and the longing for certainty in a world built on disillusionment.
Amid the crumbling shadows of the Soviet Union, Once Upon a Time in Moscow: The Red-Haired Maiden unravels a hauntingly poetic tale of love, ideology, and defiance. A young woman with fiery red hair—both a symbol of passion and rebellion—moves through the shifting tides of a collapsing world, where history is not merely remembered but reimagined.
Through a tapestry of psychological depth, allegory, and magical realism, the novel explores the lives of those caught between fading ideologies and uncertain futures. As the city echoes with the ghosts of its past and the whispers of its unfulfilled promises, the Red-Haired Maiden refuses to be a passive witness to fate. She embodies resistance, reinvention, and the search for meaning in a world unraveling at its seams.
Blending the introspective weight of Dostoevsky with the dreamlike storytelling of Márquez, Once Upon a Time in Moscow is not just a historical novel—it is an exploration of time, power, and the relentless force of human will.
The Horseless Riders' Odyssey
An allegorical journey through a world where maps no longer hold meaning and travelers ride toward destinations that may not exist. This intellectual excavation plunges deep into the landscapes of memory, loss, and the elusive nature of meaning, crafting a world where atonement and regret blur, where fate is dictated not by divine will but by the unrelenting machinery of time.
The Man Who Mistook Himself for a Memory
Remzi, once a celebrated bridge engineer, finds himself at the edge of his own collapsing world. As his wife Neşe vanishes to another country—or perhaps another reality—time fractures, numbers blur, and the boundaries between past and present dissolve. A profound meditation on memory, loss, and the fragility of self, this novel delves into the unstable architecture of identity.
The Canvas Grins: A Painting in Prose
What if a novel was more than just words—what if it was a painting? In this masterwork of literary artistry, Akbaba crafts a story that unfolds like a painting in motion. Through hypnotic stream-of-consciousness, we follow a narrator searching for a mother who disappeared with the dawn. As the protagonist walks through streets warped by heat and recollection, the past flickers like paint on an unfinished canvas, never quite dry, never quite whole.
Rather than idealizing mythic elements, the text questions them, presenting a reorientation of an ancient story where a mortal woman challenges the cosmic order that would make her merely decorative.
The Legend of Eros and Psyche: A Love Beyond Myth
This reimagining of the Eros and Psyche myth reconstructs the traditional narrative through a contemporary literary lens that emphasizes female agency and questions divine hierarchies. The work engages with classical tradition while offering a different perspective.
The novel employs narrative techniques including fragmented chronology, multiple viewpoints, and self-referential commentary to reconsider the power dynamics between mortal and divine. Psyche is presented not as the passive beauty from ancient tellings but as a complex protagonist whose thoughts form an important part of the narrative.
The prose alternates between lyrical and modern styles, creating a text where mythic elements and contemporary ideas coexist. This stylistic approach reflects the thematic exploration of in-between spaces—mortal and divine, submission and rebellion, ancient storytelling and modern literary approaches.
The work considers how myths serve as cultural carriers of power dynamics, and how retelling them can be an act of reclamation. By developing Psyche's interior world where the original myth is silent, the text transforms a tale of divine whim into a consideration of autonomy, desire, and the transformative potential of love.
Writing Style
Akbaba's novels are crafted for intellectual readers who seek narratives that challenge conventional understanding of time, reality, and memory. His work is an invitation to question what we know, to reconstruct the past from fragments, and to navigate the landscapes of identity, history, and loss. Each novel serves as a meditation on fate, agency, and the fictions we create to survive.
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