The Winter of the Clock (Book)

Winter of the Clock is the second short story collection by Emine Altınkaynak. Published in September 2024 by Dergâh Yayınları as part of its Turkish Literature series, the work consists of short stories that focus on the balance of life the inner world of the individual and mental games.

In the stories included in the book characters confront the mundane aspects of daily life while themes of mental boundaries identity fragmentation and perceptual breakdowns come to the fore. In some stories the relationship between human and nature and the search for meaning are explored metaphorically through images such as tree decay and traffic lights inviting the reader to look deeply into the inner world.

• Mental Games: The stories examine how meaning can shift when words change positions.
• Border Personalities: The inner divisions of the characters are portrayed through depictions of the self confined within a circle.
• Balance of Life: The stories examine “the balance of life” in terms of fragility posing the question of whether we might be the ones left outside.

Altınkaynak employs an intense metaphorical imagery and possesses a poetic sensory narrative style. The short stories progress with freeform narration and a calm tempo. The author intensifies emotional depth through striking single sentences encouraging the reader toward introspective questioning.