Tutunamayanlar (lit. the ones who cannot cling; in Eng. The Disconnected) is the first novel of Oguz Atay, one of the most prominent Turkish authors. It was written in 1970-71 and published in 1972. Although it was never reprinted in his lifetime and was controversial among critics, it has become a best-seller since a new edition came out in 1984. It has been described as “probably the most eminent novel of twentieth-century Turkish literature”. This reference is due to a UNESCO survey, which goes on: “it poses an earnest challenge to even the most skilled translator with its kaleidoscope of colloquialisms and sheer size.” Only one translation has been published thus far, into Dutch, as Het leven in stukken (Life in pieces). It teases the well-established norms of the Turkish bourgeois wor