What do we do when things go wrong?
Years ago, when I first spotted this book in a stationery shop, I decided to buy it without even flipping through its pages. On the cover, three men were being carried by the river's current toward an unknown destination. The title revealed little more than the image itself: Three Men in a Boat. Where they were going and why remained hidden between the pages.
For some reason, I never got around to reading it. The book sat forgotten on a shelf for years, quietly waiting for me. Then one day I picked it up and finally began. Soon, I discovered why these three men had embarked on such a sudden and peculiar boating trip. Tired of their daily routines and convinced that they were suffering from all sorts of illnesses, they believe an adventure will do them good. Instead, the following two weeks prove far more challenging than expected. They can never quite agree on what should be done or how it should be done. They blame one another, make a mess of simple tasks, and seem incapable of catching a break. Jerome narrates all of this with an exaggerated sense of humor and remarkable wit.
In the end, the three companions more or less accomplish what they set out to do. By the time they return to dry land, they are rather proud of themselves. But perhaps this book was written not only to amuse, but also to make us reflect. As we accompany these three friends like an invisible fourth passenger, we spend much of the journey wanting to step in and sort things out for them.
And yet, when things go wrong in our own lives, what exactly do we do?
Spoiler içerir
Katilin kim olduğu daha en başından çok çok belli 12. sayfadan anlaşılıyor. Diğer herkesi adaya çağıran UNKNOWN ama onu adaya çağıran mektup sözde Lady Culmington diye biri tarafından imzalı… Çünkü UNKNOWN zaten kendisi. Kendi ölümünde de silah sesi patlamaması aslında ölmediğini sezdiriyor. Yargıç olduğu için güvenilir oluşu ters köşe yapmak amaçlı. Beklentim yüksekti ama vasat buldum açıkçası.
0-30p: Kontrollü okuyucu 📖
40-70p: Hafif bağımlı 👀
80p+: Geçmiş olsun, kitaplar seni ele geçirmiş 😅
The Tale of the Unknown Island kısa ama ders veren tarza bir hikaye. Hikâye yüzeyde çok basit: bir adam bilinmeyen bir ada bulmak istiyor ve yola çıkıyor. Ama aslında mesele ada değil.
Kitap daha çok insanın kendini tanımasıyla ilgili. Bilinmeyen ada biraz da insanın kendisi aslında. Kendini bulmaya çıkan bir insan tasviri. Herkes böyle bir şeyin olmadığını söylese bile, yola çıkma cesaretinin önemi vurgulanmış, sen yeter ki başla gerisi kolay.
Okurken yer yer kopmak normal çünkü olaydan çok fikir var ve yazı tarzı da değişik. Oğuz Atay'ı anımsattı gerçekten bana.
10/10
Beğendi
·2026 10. kitabı
Genel Bilgiler
Yazar: 
Agatha Christie
Yayın Yılı: 1939
Tür: Polisiye, gerilim, psikolojik roman
Konu: Geçmişte işledikleri ama hukuken cezalandırılamamış suçlar olan 10 kişinin, gizemli bir adada tek tek öldürülmesi
Olayların Başlangıcı
Birbirini tanımayan 10 kişi, farklı gerekçelerle Asker Adası’na (Soldier Island) davet edilir. Davet eden kişi “U.N. Owen” (Unknown = bilinmeyen) adını kullanmıştır.
Adaya geldiklerinde:
Ev sahibi ortada yoktur
Her odada “On Küçük Asker” adlı bir çocuk tekerlemesi asılıdır
Yemek masasında 10 küçük asker heykelciği bulunur
Suçlamalar
İlk akşam bir gramofon kaydı çalınır. Kayıt, adadaki herkesi geçmişte işlediği bir cinayetle suçlar.
Ancak bu suçlar:
Hukuken kanıtlanamamış
Zanlılar ceza almamıştır
Herkes şok olur, korku başlar.
Cinayetler (Tekerleme Sırasıyla)
Cinayetler, tekerlemedeki dizelere birebir uygun şekilde işlenir. Her ölümden sonra masadaki asker heykelciği bir eksilir.
Anthony Marston
Viski içtikten sonra siyanürle zehirlenir
Tekerleme: “Biri boğuldu”
Mrs. Rogers
Uykusunda aşırı doz ilaçla ölür
General MacArthur
Agatha Christie
Yayın Yılı: 1939
Tür: Polisiye, gerilim, psikolojik roman
Konu: Geçmişte işledikleri ama hukuken cezalandırılamamış suçlar olan 10 kişinin, gizemli bir adada tek tek öldürülmesi
Olayların Başlangıcı
Birbirini tanımayan 10 kişi, farklı gerekçelerle Asker Adası’na (Soldier Island) davet edilir. Davet eden kişi “U.N. Owen” (Unknown = bilinmeyen) adını kullanmıştır.
Adaya geldiklerinde:
Ev sahibi ortada yoktur
Her odada “On Küçük Asker” adlı bir çocuk tekerlemesi asılıdır
Yemek masasında 10 küçük asker heykelciği bulunur
Suçlamalar
İlk akşam bir gramofon kaydı çalınır. Kayıt, adadaki herkesi geçmişte işlediği bir cinayetle suçlar.
Ancak bu suçlar:
Hukuken kanıtlanamamış
Zanlılar ceza almamıştır
Herkes şok olur, korku başlar.
Cinayetler (Tekerleme Sırasıyla)
Cinayetler, tekerlemedeki dizelere birebir uygun şekilde işlenir. Her ölümden sonra masadaki asker heykelciği bir eksilir.
Anthony Marston
Viski içtikten sonra siyanürle zehirlenir
Tekerleme: “Biri boğuldu”
Mrs. Rogers
Uykusunda aşırı doz ilaçla ölür
General MacArthursanırım eskiden yaratıcı biriymişim
15.04.2020
Dear Unknown Woman,
“To you who has never known me.” I want to start with your sentences dear Mrs. Unknown Woman. You wrote these sentences for Mr.R. and I’m writing to you now. You guess why I wrote to you. I read your letter to Mr.R. and decided to write to you. There are a lot of things that I want to tell and ask you. I don't know whether my letter can help you or not.Please listen to me.
Do you think that your emotions are normal towards Mr.R? You've been loving him since you were 13.You fell in love with him even though he was older than you and there were a lot of women around him. I remember that your mother decided to move to Innsbruck. You had resisted not to change cities for days. What was for? For your friend, your school.No, just Mr.R. After a while, you went back Vienna. Actually you are such a brave woman that you turned alone for your love. (I appreciated you for this.)But while all this was happening, he didn't even know your name.Then,one day you had the opportunity to eat with Mr. R. I can imagine what a fascinating day it was for you.It was an ordinary day for him and this was very annoying for you. If I were you, I would face him and tell him how much I love him and the fact that I have a child.But I don't get mad at you because you didn't face MrR. Because if Mr.R. had known you, would there have been such a deep love story?
But on the other hand,Yeah maybe that kind of love wouldn't come out but at least you would be happy.Also you could marry another man who loves you. Besides your child could have a beautiful life. By the way, I’m so sorry for your son honey. Rest In Peace:/
I don't know, I'm so confused.
Anyway,I have one more question for you.Did you try love another man or forget him.Though you see loving someone else as a
Bilinmeyen Bir Kadının MektubuStefan Zweig · Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları · 2022266,3bin okunma
Selma ve Gölgesi is honestly one of the most interesting books Peyami Safa wrote under the name Server Bedi. At first it looks like a typical mystery or thriller, but once you get into it, you realize it’s not really about the events, it’s more about the characters’ inner worlds. Especially Selma. She’s both attractive and confusing, and you can never fully understand who she really is. That mystery is basically what creates the whole atmosphere of the book.
Safa doesn’t use Istanbul as a simple background either. The dark streets, ruined houses, dim lights… they all blend into the mood of the story. While reading, you always feel this light tension, like there’s fog in the air. Selma’s strange, unreadable attitude only makes that feeling stronger. She’s the kind of character that makes you stop and think, “What is going on with her?”
She might look like a typical femme fatale, but I don’t think Safa wrote her in a one-dimensional “dangerous woman” way. She actually feels like someone who is struggling with her own shadow, literally and metaphorically. Everything happening around her reflects how people can get pulled into their own darker sides. So the real suspense isn’t in the “mystery” parts of the plot; it’s inside the characters themselves.
The writing is smooth and easy to follow. Because it was originally published as a serial in the newspaper, every part leaves a little hook that keeps you reading. Still, it isn’t just a page-turner; there’s a bit of psychological depth, a bit of gothic vibe, and a bit of that specific melancholic tone Safa always has.
Overall, Selma and Her Shadow isn’t simply a “who did what” thriller. It feels more like a story about the unknown places inside people, the parts they fear, the parts they’re drawn to, and the parts they
