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Güneşhamağı
www.guneshamagi.com
Debut novel, Ithaki, April 2026
Turkish, 512 pages
A young man, Orman Hardalkedi, and his grandmother Kibrit
return to their hometown Güneşhamağı after eleven years in exile.
Back to a place where everything is forgotten, with the purpose of remembering.
The determined, careful, and intuitive organisation of love enables what once seemed impossible.
An exploration of migration, the balm of belonging, family and identity, modernity and the sacred.
Poetic, tender, political-fantasy-adventure of loss, grief, and resilience.
The nostalgic afterimage of the sunlight filtering through the leaves.
A heartwarming tale of summertime;
of harvested strawberries, fresh rosemary bread, honey and thyme.
Official Güneşhamağı Playlist
"Hayretler içindeyim Mayıs, iyi bir şeyler okuyacağımı tahmin ediyordum ama dürüst olmak gerekirse bu kadarını beklemiyordum. Yazdıklarından deniz tuzu ve incir ağacı kokusu geliyor, çanın sesini kulağımda duyuyorum resmen. Çok enteresan, çok şaşkınım. Dilinin temizliğine, netliğine, şiirine ve icat ettiğin her şeye bayıldım."
—Ayşe Burçak Tuğrul (Aşklar ve Hayaletler, İletişim, 2025)
"I am in awe Mayıs; I was expecting that it would be a good read, but I honestly did not expect this much. Your writing evokes the salt of the sea, I can smell the fig tree, I can literally hear the sounds of the bell tower. Extraordinary; I'm very surprised. I absolutely love the clarity of your voice, your masterful cadence, the poetry you maintain throughout, and every single element you invented."
—Ayşe Burçak Tuğrul (Aşklar ve Hayaletler, İletişim, 2025)
Publishing Director: Ömer Ezer
Art Director: Kardelen Akçam
Editor: Bilal Acarözmen
Edited by: Elif Köksal, İpek Esen
Proofreading: Emine Hızır
Cover Design: Elisha Zepeda, Mayıs Rukel
Cover Photograph: Mayıs Rukel, St. Paul-de-Vence, 2022
Layout: B. Elif Balkın
First Edition, April 2026, Istanbul
ISBN: 978-605-265-713-3
© Mayıs Rukel, 2026
© İthaki, 2026
"A unique piece of work. I loved it. I spread it out over a long time and savored it. It is definitely a novel that can be read quickly. It is well thought-out and well executed. The Ghemeni people are, of course, very familiar. I loved it even more because of its allegorical structure, the way it opens up space for thought, does not allow for disconnection, and has a form that cannot be forced into a mold or a genre. In this sense, I think Güneşhamağı has carved out a good place for itself. Let us not forget that the author is first and foremost a philologist; and with cinema added on top of that, both the strength of the imagination has increased and the work has evolved into a cinematic structure. I even shot the film of it in my mind while reading :))) I never wanted to return to Rododiar, but life is sometimes the sum of the things we do unwillingly; thankfully, we have a treasure like memory.
I loved Orman and Gürgen very much. I also loved Auntie Kibrit, of course, but the first two were characters I read with particular affection. The novel left a mystical trace in me. I think I will read it again after a while. I think it should be read slowly, digested, taken as an accompaniment to spring. And then thought about a little more."
"A work nourished by local cultures. I’m not someone who can easily read fantasy. But in the book, mystical language, nature, and politics come together, and the result is wonderful. The characters’ stories, losses, even great devastations are handled in a healing way. The book also depicts the summer season beautifully. I wish I had read it in summer. I cried at the end. But that is entirely my dramatic personality. There is no emotional exploitation. The use of Turkish is very successful. It is also very nice that dialect etc. is not forced unnaturally in order to create a local language."
"I truly don’t know how to describe this book, because the effect it left on me was much more than a story, and for the first time in my life I wanted to write a review for a book. Güneşhamağı slowly made visible certain feelings that already existed inside me, but that I could not name. It is one of those rare books that manages, with a few calm sentences, to touch exactly the right places. I was also deeply impressed by the author’s way of expressing emotions. Without relying on exaggerated descriptions, sometimes with a single sentence, even a single word, it can leave a huge feeling inside you. It had been a long time since a book affected me this deeply. While reading, I did not want to underline certain lines; I wanted to record them directly inside myself. Bless your heart and your pen. I am impatiently waiting for your new books. I will definitely read this one a second time. Some stories cannot be explained; they are simply read and felt. For me, Güneşhamağı was exactly that kind of book."
"This book touched entirely different parts of me… It was as if I set out on a different journey on every page. The curiosity that wrapped itself around me from the very first sentence did not leave me until the final page. Its language is fluid, witty, and sincere; and its descriptions are so vivid that you find yourself living inside the story. You might even find yourself arguing with someone who claims you were not in Toprakev, or that you did not eat with them at those authentic tables. :)
The originality of the characters is not limited to their names. It is almost impossible not to be swept away by the effect of Orman and Kibrit’s language of love, which transcends generations and distances. On the one hand, you dream of being best friends with Auntie Fincan, of sharing a house with Marul and Misket, of experiencing that passionate love felt for Gürgen; and on the other, the warmth of friendships and companionships that trust one another wraps around you.
The subtle humor skillfully scattered through the 'magical' flow of the story was one of the elements that delighted me the most. It was a reading experience that drowned me in both laughter and tears, and one that will remain in my mind for a long time.
Mayıs Rukel’s first novel touched my life beautifully. Some books settle inside a person; Güneşhamağı was like that for me. From now on, I will eagerly await everything dear Mayıs writes."
"Güneşhamağı filled a void inside me that I could not quite name. Orman took my hand, and together we set out on a journey.
Whatever he felt, I felt too; I heard songs, smelled flowers, tasted food, and stretched out my hands to touch the sun. Perhaps the novel touched me this way because what they lived through was not foreign to me at all. What I feel with people whose names I do not know, who are kilometers away, with a whole universe between us, is exactly the same. The pains, fears, and losses we pass down through generations strike all of us from the same place in the end.
I locked Orman, everyone he loved so much, and Güneşhamağı itself—along with everything they made me feel—into my heart and mind. So that in moments that seem very ordinary, while laughing, at the sea, while crying, as I enter my twenties, I can take them out and remember them, and feel together with them again."
"It had been a long time since I read a novel that I could, without hesitation, call a “modern classic.” In contemporary Turkish literature, a work of this caliber—especially as a debut novel—left me in awe of every detail. It is written with such an interesting language and such a deep structure that I will definitely read it again.
I am impatiently waiting for reviews and interviews with the author so I can understand this work better. Auntie Fincan is my favorite, but all the characters have their own distinct charm. I am very curious how the author was able to make this creative world feel so real despite all its fantastical elements. I hope Mayıs Rukel never deprives us of this magical language that I cannot quite name. Whatever happens, we will spend many years together, Güneşhamağı."
"I cannot explain how it drew me in from the very first sentence and teleported me to Güneşhamağı. With every page, even though I am not in Turkey, it took me to this imaginary place, to its warmth. I was filled with light and hope. I still cannot believe this is Mayıs’s first book, and I thank him for writing such a wonderful book.
Thanks to the fluency of its language and the descriptions it offers, you will easily find yourself in Orman’s world. I sincerely recommend it."
"It was an enjoyable read for me. Like a sweet story that came from my childhood. Ghemeni culture reminded me of the culture I miss, the one I was deeply intertwined with in my childhood, and of my grandmother. It takes us back to those faraway times before we became so distanced from nature; to the friendships and neighborly bonds of that time, when everyone knew one another, and knew one another’s childhoods.
Yes, the book is a sweet, beautiful story. But there is also a political perspective that cannot be separated from the story. It deals with all the massacres of nature happening in Turkey and in the world, the wars, and the lives destroyed by meaningless politics.
Finally, as someone who has followed Mayıs’s projects for years, I want to say that the book carries his signature completely. As you read, you say: yes, this is exactly the kind of thing he would write. We are waiting for more of his books."
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