Waiting for the Adhan (Book)

Waiting for the Call to Prayer is a work by author Mustafa Kutlu, written in the short story genre. The narrative begins with a couple who marry without their families’ consent and seek refuge in a hotel, leaving their village. The story expands around this central event, exploring fragments of life and inner worlds of the various guests staying at the hotel. The book aims to offer observations on social structures and human conditions through the personal stories of individuals.

Content and Themes

The main plot revolves around the difficulties faced by a couple who marry without their families’ approval and their experiences at the Hayâl Hotel, where they take shelter. Although the story begins with this couple’s narrative, as it progresses, other hotel residents become integrated into the plot. Each character brings with them their own past, hopes, and disappointments. This diversity of characters enriches the thematic structure of the work.

The text addresses themes such as inner conflicts, responses to social pressures, the search for belonging, and loneliness. The hotel functions as a transient refuge and a microcosm where different lives intersect. The interactions between characters and their internal reflections form the core dynamics of the narrative. Through these characters, the author alludes to existential conditions of human beings, the alienation brought by modern life, and spiritual quests. In the work, concepts such as time, space, and human relationships are examined through the individual experiences of the characters.

Method and Narrative Style

Mustafa Kutlu employs a distinctive narrative technique in Waiting for the Call to Prayer. The story is presented to the reader in a simple and fluid language. Rather than relying on detailed descriptions or in-depth psychological analysis, the author portrays the characters’ worlds through dialogue and brief situational narratives. This style allows the reader to directly witness the events and characters. Traditional elements of storytelling are still present in the narrative.

The structure of the work consists of numerous subsidiary stories branching off from a central narrative. This episodic form supports the main theme by focusing on the lives of different characters. While recounting events, the author maintains an observational stance, allowing the events and situations to generate meaning on their own rather than delivering direct messages to the reader. This approach creates space for the reader to reflect on the text and form their own interpretations. The overall atmosphere of the work may carry a melancholic tone due to the human conditions it portrays.