By Elif Sarican
I recently spoke to Agri Ismaïl about his debut novel Hyper. It follows the lives of a Kurdish family throughout the Middle East, Europe, and United States.
Agri has creatively and unconventionally woven diverse themes and messages through the story of Rafiq, Xezal, Mohammed, Siver and Laika. What struck me the most is that this is not a dramatic journeys of migration story – he spares us the theatrics and utilises his characters’ inner worlds to tell us about the world of capitalism.
Agri and I, despite being strangers with divergent family backgrounds, find an unexpected connection in the shared anecdotes of Kurdish life in the world. It’s a subtle bond woven through the mundane joys of familiarities like status of a box of Ferrero Rocher, PG Tips, passport photos, unseen and unheard lives and the intricate dance with money – a layered, complicated, and often contradictory relationship we both navigate.
By Elif Sarican