I Will Never See the World Again: The Memoir of an Imprisoned Writer by Ahmet Altan is by far the best memoir I’ve read in a long time – possibly ever. Altan is a Turkish journalist, novelist, and political prisoner. This memoir is a collection of brief essays he wrote after his 2016 arrest and imprisonment.
Ahmet and his brother were arrested on the same night after a failed coup attempt. In this memoir, Altan talks about his memories of his father’s arrest. When the authorities come for him, he has already prepared a bag. Officially, Altan and his brother are accused of making subliminal messages during a TV interview. But the questioning he went through indicated broader allegations. Since then, he’s been in and out of prison but has been free since 2021.
A fellow member of our book club called it, “The most important book I’ve read in a year.”
We had a smaller-than-normal group for this discussion (common at the beginning of a school year), but it was meaty and intense. Like many books we read, the discussion amplified our enjoyment.
Notes from our SOC Book Club Discussion
- Incredible imagery and metaphors. Loved the thread about the importance mirrors are to self and identity.
- The beauty of the writing caused you to read, reread, and then savor the passage. It may seem like a “quick” read at only about 200 pages, but it is anything but that. “Forgetting is the greatest source of freedom a person can have.” (pg. 105) – Chew on that for a minute.
- The theme of time and prison’s impact on it:
- “Instinctively, I was trying to hold on to the idea of death. The eternity of death has the power to trivialize even the most terrifying moments of life. Thinking that I would die had a calming effect on me. A person who is going to die does not need to fear the things that life presents.” (pg. 23)
- “Time did not laugh here. It did not laugh even when I touched it with my fingertips. Bt it was true that it turned into dust. I could feel it in my mouth, in my nose, in my throat. I chewed and swallowed each speck of dust.” (pg 42)
- “We couldn’t tell in which direction time flowed. Sometimes it flowed toward the past, toward our memories. Sometimes it flowed toward the future.” (pg. 56)
- “A prisoner counts everything. Except time. A prisoner discovers time.” (pg. 89)
- Appreciation for the bits of humor and comic relief; for example, when he finally sees a doctor, it’s a gynecologist.
- Observed the lack of names provided – “judge” and “younger cellmate” – this could have been for protection but it also serves to make the story more universal, less focused on Turkey.
- Acknowledge some self-serving elements in writing this – like, he knows he has a compelling story to tell and takes full advantage. His opportunity to be remembered. “The act of writing harbors a magical paradox…It enables you to forget but also to be remembered. Like all writers, I want both to forget and to be remembered.” (pg. 105)
- He looks back, ironically, on a book he wrote about a prisoner: “The sentences I remember make me shiver. I wrote years ago about the turmoil I am going through at this very moment. I live now what I wrote in my novel.” (pg. 147)
- The difference between listening to this book versus reading it. The audible version received high praise. Very often an audible version will compel us to read the physical book but this time it is the other way around.
- Loved the emphasis on the importance of reading; his well-read life enabled him to “escape” prison life.
- How this book would have been if it hadn’t been a memoir – it would have been completely different and maybe trite. Not nearly as powerful.
- We wanted more about his family – his brother and wife. Why wasn’t that included? Perhaps to give the sense that this is a “spot of time” or possibly to protect them?
Verdict: If your book club enjoys non-fiction or if you’re looking to pick a non-fiction read, I Will Never See the World Again makes for a wonderful discussion. And, you’ll be a better person for having read it.
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