When I first read Kevin Revolinski’s wonderful memoir, The Yogurt Man Cometh: Tales of an American Teacher in Turkey, I burst out laughing. It was so much like my own experiences in Turkey that I wondered if I had an alter ego.
Kevin Revolinski went to Turkey as an English teacher for a year (1997-98), just as I had done thirty years earlier (1967-68). Despite the differences in time, his memoir vividly describes the same place that I grew to know and love, which must testify to the authenticity of Revolinski’s experience.
Part travelogue, part memoir, The Yogurt Man Cometh is the story of Kevin Revolinski’s year-long adventure as an English teacher in Turkey, with all of its ups and downs and its constant surprises. From his home base working for a private school in Ankara, Revolinski relates in remarkably candid style his encounters in a foreign culture: his first experiences as a teacher, forays into classroom discipline, navigation of a new language, attempts at cross-cultural flirtation, explorations of timeless and surreal landscapes, acquisition of a taste for raki and success at making numerous lasting friendship—all told with an open mind and a sense of humor.
Revolinski’s observations will resonate with those of any outsider who has come to love Turkey and Turkish culture.
“What do you do with six kilos of unwanted yogurt, and two strange men who want you to pay them an outrageous three million Turkish liras for it? Kevin Revolinski knows, and does it, and lives to tell us all about it and his many other adventures in Turkey. Humorous, insightful, informative and sensitive, this fluently-written memoir gets deep into what makes Turkey the wonderful—if somewhat surprising—place that it is.”
– Tom Brosnahan, author of Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea
Kevin Revolinski’s articles and photography have appeared in a variety of publications including Chicago Tribune, Sydney Morning Herald, and Wisconsin State Journal. He is the author of The Wisconsin Beer Guide and several works of short fiction. He lived in Turkey in 1997 and 1998 and has traveled back there several times since. He currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Yogurt Man Cometh: Tales of an American Teacher in Turkey
Published by Çitlembik, Ltd., 2006
ISBN: 9944424013 $15.95
Available immediately online from Nettleberry, where you’ll get a discount!
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