Ayfer Tunç’s The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse as a multi-perspectival fiction of memory

Abstract

This article explores Ayfer Tunç’s The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse as a fiction of memory and proposes that the novel acts as a medium of memory as it not only represents but also actively constructs the past through its inclusive and comprehensive framework, giving voice to diverse and contesting perspectives regarding the interpretation of Türkiye’s past. I also argue that this inclusive and comprehensive framework is constructed through multi-perspectival narration which enables the coexistence of multiple perspectives and their intriguing interplay. By analysing The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse as a multi-perspectival fiction of memory, I thus emphasize that the multi-geographical and multi-temporal scope of the narration draws attention to the importance of inclusive storytelling practices and their worldmaking potential to create representations countering hegemonic, biased, and narrow interpretations of the past.