Kazim Altan’s new book titled Pantelis, consisting of three interconnected long stories, has been published.
Pantelis is made up of stories, short and long based on the immigration story’s stretching from Cyprus to London. These stories include sadness, resentment, the struggle for immigration and of course love.
Here at Londra Gazete we spoke with Altan, who is also a Cyprus immigrant, about his book “Pantelis”, which his will be donating, proceeds to the Mental and Nervous Diseases Hospital, in Cyprus.
We asked Altan about the stories and his imprecation for them. “…In the three stories in the, I tried to move away from the narrative and show the events and emotions as much as possible. My reading style changed in my writing adventure. I was not just getting caught up in fiction anymore, but studying the writing technique. So I often thought that writing is a bit like Panteli laying bricks.
“The story was too long. I decided to divide it into two or three stories linked.” He said.
At the beginning of the book, we are witnessing the story of Panteli, we asked if the about the role of the character and if it was based on a real person.
Explaining “He is the son of a Greek Cypriot woman and her lover Turkish Cypriot, but this character could have been the son of a Turkish Cypriot woman and a Greek Cypriot man. I think emotions know no limits. I’m sure we all know a lot of people who decided to go together, ignoring differences. In the story, these two people had only one love.
“…Panteli emerged as a result of my imagination blending my life experience. This story is also the story of people born in different geographies who had to emigrate from their country for one reason or another…”
The proceeds of this booked will be donated to the Mental and Nervous Diseases Hospital in Lekfosa, North Cyprus. When as if the subject of mental health was at the centre of this storys in Pantelis Altan said: “As in many countries, mental illnesses are kept secret in Cyprus. However, it has been proven that one sixth of the world’s population has been exposed to such diseases at least once in their lifetime. Among these are my friends, students, war victims, mothers and children who lost themselves as a result of violence…. It is known that this institution, which tries to normalize the disease despite all the impossibilities, needs financial assistance. I hope the book will be profitable in this sense…”
You can get Kazim Altan’s book from Fieldseat Cafe (665 High Rd, Tottenham, London N17 8AD) and from https://pressdionysus.com/product/pantelis/. (info@pressdionysus.com).