Reading a Forgotten Novel with Georg Lukacs' Views

Abstract

Kemal Ragıp Enson (1895 - 1954) is a forgotten writer who has not received the attention he deserves in Turkish literature. The author has many works in the genres of novel, theatre and memoir. The novel titled The Experiences of One Lira…, which is the subject of this study, was first published in serial form in Cumhuriyet newspaper in 1932. Secondly, it was published in 2023, many years after Kemal Ragıp Enson's death. The protagonist of the novel is an object, namely money. The protagonist's experiences since the 1 lira was minted at the mint in 1932 are told in the novel. The small value of money, such as one lira, caused it to change hands very frequently. Thus, through the passing of a lira from hand to hand, the author held up a mirror to society and discussed Turkey and its people in the 1930s from all aspects. In this study, which is qualitative research, the novel The Experiences of One Lira… was analysed in line with Georg Lukacs's views on novel theory and aesthetics, especially the problem of the reality of the modern world that has lost its integrity. The analysis was carried out to cover the internal and external structural elements of the text.