Mount Qaf

Mount Qaf tells the story of a Turkish journalist, Emel, who is trying to track down Zahide, an old Pakistani friend who she met while studying in the US. In the course of her investigations, she finds out that Zahide has been arrested as part of the CIA rendition program and has in all likelihood been given a new identity in a clandestine program. As the novel reaches its traumatic, bloody climax, Emel’s identity begins to disintegrate and we can no longer be sure that the new identity that was given to Zahide was not in fact… Emel.

The title of the book refers to the emerald mountain that is supposed to ring the earth, separating the realm of humans from the realm of the spirits. The central conceit of the novel is examining what would happen if this barrier no longer existed: when the dark forces of omnipotent security forces are unleashed upon the world, when the dark forces of the unconscious are unleashed upon the self.