Samanci herself studied mathematics but became a teaching assistant in the Visual Communication Design Department of Istanbul Bilgi University.

While Engin was wearing fancy clothes, carrying a Walkman and reading foreign magazines – difficult to find at the time in Turkey – Ozge and her sister wear items sewn by their mother and sport second-hand shoes. On another page, Ozge and her sister Pelin envy their friend Engin whose father becomes rich by exporting textiles during the Ozal era, a time which liberalized the Turkish economy. Her book also features caricatures of Ozal as well as the then-president, General Kenan Evren. In another page Samanci draws a caricature of the old Turkish lira, which Turks used to spend by the million to purchase even a packet of chewing gum. “While people were fascinated with the lifestyle in Dallas they elected a new prime minister, Turgut Ozal, whose dream was to transform Turkey into a little U.S.,” an accompanying caption reads.

It also covers a period of market liberalization and profound social, cultural and economic change.Īmerican TV dramas such as Dallas and The Young and The Restless had an important impact on Turkish society during the same period. 17 this year – introduces readers to a time when Turkey experienced a military coup that became known as one of the most violent interventions in the country’s history, claiming hundreds of lives. “They will also learn about our dysfunctional education system, which traps people into careers for which they have no passion,” she adds. “The readers who are not familiar with the culture and history of Turkey will be introduced to the trickiness of life in Turkey, the difficulty of survival, the absurdity of politics, the challenge of being a woman in a developing country, the meaning of friendship, love of the sea, the impact of politics in the ‘80s and ‘90s on the middle class,” she says.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Samanci says her targeted audience was people “who do not know about the issues in Turkey”. A homemade birthday present is an unlikely starting point for a groundbreaking graphic novel about one woman’s Turkish childhood.īut a notebook full of stories given to a friend by Turkish artist Ozge Samanci 15 years ago was the inspiration behind what has become a gripping and innovative account of life in '80s and '90s Turkey.ĭare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey, a 200-page illustrated memoir in English, is the first book by Samanci – an Izmir native born in 1975 and living in the U.S.

Ozge samanci dare to disappoint