Kemal Tahir’s novel, original name as Turkish Kurt Kanunu (Wolf Law), published in 1969, stands out as a novel centering on the 1926 Izmir Assassination Attempt, one of the most controversial events in Republican history, blending historical reality with fictional narrative.

The author, through the novel, not only reflects a period; but also centers the reckonings and moral interrogations experienced within the individual-society-state triangle. Kurt Kanunu, while positioned within the historical novel tradition, establishes a unique narrative universe by occasionally violating classic genre conventions.

Plot and Storyline

The novel narrates the background of the Izmir Assassination attempt against President Mustafa Kemal Pasha in 1926. The events are conveyed in three parts: “Bloody Trap”, “Manhunt”, and “Humanity's Problem”. The fugitive life of former Ankara Governor Abdülkerim Bey, the refuge and ideological conflicts of Ittihatist Kara Kemal, and finally Emin Bey's conscientious interrogations form this trilogy.

The assassination attempt fails, and many Ittihatists are arrested. Kara Kemal and Abdülkerim Bey, who are fugitives, try to escape by seeking refuge with different people. Kara Kemal takes refuge in the house of his childhood friend Emin Bey but commits suicide during a raid. Emin Bey, on the other hand, is tried in court and acquitted. The novel ends with Emin Bey taking to the streets one night to find Abdülkerim.

Characters

• Kara Kemal: One of the Ittihatist leaders, Kara Kemal is the most deeply drawn figure in the novel. He is central with his stance, intellectual background, and political criticisms.
• Abdülkerim Bey: Presented as a former Ittihatist loyalist, the character is directly involved with the assassination. He stands out with his bravado and womanizing.
• Emin Bey: Prominent for his philosophical interrogations and search for impartiality, he is the symbol of moral and conscientious reckoning in the novel.

Themes and Narrative Features

Kurt Kanunu addresses themes such as individual loyalty, political collapse, confronting the past, conscience, and responsibility. The author displays a narrative with extensive historical knowledge and sociological depth. Especially in the last section of the novel, individual ethics and moral obligations come to the forefront. In this respect, the novel evolves from a realistic historical narrative into more of a human drama.

Kurt Kanunu is an important work by Kemal Tahir that not only sheds light on recent history but also stands out for its critical approach to historiography. Its blending of the period's political turmoil with individual dramas transforms the novel into not only a historical work but also an ethical-political narrative. It serves as a unique example in terms of moving away from the classic lines of the historical novel genre and reshaping it with an individual-centered perspective.