Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Voice of Conscience

Author: Behcet Kaya

ISBN: 978-1-4327-0628-9

The initial setting of Turkish born author Behcet Kaya’s first book, Voice of Conscience tales place in 1962 where readers are transported into the tiny village of Atamkoy in northeast Turkey. It is here where Ramzi Ozcomert Sr. his wife Nermin, his son Ramzi Jr. and daughter Erin live.  Ramzi Sr. was twice married, his first wife having died while giving birth to Erin. We are informed that it was Nermin, acting as the midwife, who was successful in the delivery of Erin, however, unfortunately, due to complications during childbirth, she was unable to save the mother.

Erin grows up to become a beautiful young woman who falls in love with Turkel Kocdag, someone of her own choosing and she has every intention of marrying him-something that is quite contrary to customary Turkish traditions, where arranged marriages are the norm. 

The narrative’s opening chapter revolves around a Mr. Korucu and his four sons who pay a visit to the Ozcomerts with the intention of arranging a marriage between Mr. Korucu’s grandson, Orhan Korucu and Erin. Ozcomert Sr. immediately notices that the elder Korucu is wearing his shoes on the wrong feet. Apparently, according to Turkish tradition, this is an old form of trickery.

 It was the belief that this ritual would win the heart of the father or at least prevent him from saying no to the duvurcu or arranged marriage. If there were a negative response, the men would return, each time trying to win the heart and mind of the father.  However, Ozcomert flatly rejects the elder Korucu’s request, as there was no way he would ever agree to this arranged marriage between their families who for many years have been arched enemies. Apparently, both families had a history of avenging one another for some wrongful deed being done.

Realizing the anger that this rejection has caused to the Korucu family, the Ozcomerts decide that they will have to act quickly and marry off Erin to her true love, Turkel Kocdag.

Both the Kocdag and Ozcomerts families come to a swift agreement and they push up the date of the marriage of their children. Several days before the marriage many celebrations take place and everyone seems to be quite content. However, just prior to the wedding day, tragedy strikes and Ramzi Ozcomert Sr., his wife Nermin and their beautiful daughter Erin are all, during their sleep, brutally murdered. Ramzi Jr. is awakened by his aunt and cousin and manages to escape through his bedroom window, however, not before noticing the bloody bodies of his parents and sister-something that would be etched in his psyche throughout his life.

The ensuing chapters of the story chronicle the life of Ramzi Jr. as he first finds his way to Istanbul where a distant relative, Safki Osturk and his wife Nazmiye agree to take him in. Safki is a builder and during the next several years Ramzi becomes his assistant and right hand man. During this time Ramzi finishes his schooling, takes private English lessons and registers for English classes at the Istanbul Technical University.

After several years, Ramzi moves to London, England where his life is not exactly a picnic, as he has to support himself with his paltry earnings, often finding himself unable to meet his day-to-day living expenses. However, Ramzi survives and eventually receives his engineering degree.

It is also here where he falls madly in love with a rich American beauty, Megan Townsend. However, Megan’s overbearing father is not exactly ecstatic about his daughter’s desire to marry Ramzi, particularly that he had wanted her to marry one of his employees whom Megan had a relationship with prior to her departing for England. Nonetheless, love conquers all, and the couple eventually marry and settle down in California where Ramzi becomes a very successful businessman.

When you are fourteen and witness the harrowing murder of your parents and sister, there seems to be nothing more important that taking revenge, particularly if you are brought up in a culture that actually condones vengeance. As Megan was to eventually learn, vengeance was a way of life in her husband’s world. He was taught from early childhood who his enemies were and to never turn his back on them. It is this desire to avenge the deaths of his parents and sister that torments him throughout his life, making his soul a living hell of turmoil and anger, particularly that he is quite certain he knows who were the murderers and is determined to even the score.

Voice of Conscience would have worked better if there were some good proof reading and editing. English grammar is thrown out the window with the book’s countless typos, spelling errors, poor sentence and paragraph structures. Moreover, Kaya resorts to far too much telling and not enough showing. This is quite in evidence with his lack of appropriate dialogue and body language that would have allowed readers to come to their own conclusions about Ramzi and his wife Megan instead of Kaya’s interpretation of their feelings towards each other.

There is also a barrage of too many unnecessary lengthy scenes that do little for the story other than killing time, such as the descriptions of the preparation for Erin’s wedding. Very often first time authors fall into the trap of including everything they have learned or experienced during their childhood and adolescence. However, it is important to ask what relevance does this have to the narrative? In other words, you have to know when to stop. Another shortcoming is that the closing chapter fails to live up to the tension that was built up during the latter part of the novel.   

Nonetheless, the novel is not without merit. Kaya does weave an absorbing tale and he is most impressive with his grasp of his protagonist’s cultural perspective, which is inseparable from the culture in which he was born. This is particularly evident in the need to avenge that results in a stark, haunting portrait of humanity stripped bare. We are also reminded how delicately we tread the realm of sanity, particularly when we are subjected to a horrific traumatic experience.

The above review was contributed by: The Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com, Norm Goldman, B.A. LL.L, Retired Title Attorney: Norm is also a travel writer and together with his artist wife, Lily, the couple meld Norm's words with Lily's art. To check out their travel site click on Sketchandtravel.com   Click here to view Norm’s Reviews & Interviews.

Click Here to Read Norm's Interview With  Behcet Kaya