A Novel About Dersim： The Tragic Leaf in Turkey＇s Recent History

It is so torminous to reflect the tragedy that was experienced in the first years of Turkish Republic (specifically in 1937-1938) in Dersim, in art and especially in novels. Likewise, both the bitterness and the social trauma that the event created make it difficult to express it in artistic form. The novel of Oya Baydar, named O Muhtesem Hayatiniz (2012), both grasps the reality of the period more objectively and humanely, and comes up to literary level as it is not an engaged text in spite of the outside point of view. The purpose of this paper is to take attention on this point of the different approach created by Oya Baydar regarding with Dersim tragedy. Therefore, the style of deductive method is adopted, the reflection of Dersim tragedy on the art of novel is evaluated and the novel of Baydar, named O Muhtesem Hayatiniz, is analyzed. All in all, we come to a conclusion by feeling that Oya Baydar, with her modern novel, comprehended Dersim tragedy from more humanistic and universal viewpoint, and produced a work of art that also accomplish the certain level of literary sense in her novel.