The Winged Bridge

The Winged Bridge is a collection of ten short stories, each more engaging than the last. Drawing on his travels, the places he's seen, the things that have happened to him and those he's heard about, Ataqam invents stories whose language is anything but dry or anecdotal. The book, published in 2019 by Kohlan Prublishing, runs 164 pages and is printed in what I'd call moderate quality. Visually, it bears a touch of brutalism; held in the hand, it feels slightly awkward, and the paper and typography don't invite reading. Yet, despite the publisher's careless production, the author's prose has such force that you suddenly find yourself absorbed—torn between not wanting to put the book down and not wanting to reach the end.

I have other titles from Kohlan, all gifts from Nizami Alisoy—whom I thank sincerely! What I'd read before—Khan Hasan's type: entry-hyperlink id: 5rQM04WIWAJvQz7dQfSOsi and Kamal Abdulla's type: entry-hyperlink id: kF8pwR0TQqJ1m7ePhxyS7—had been produced with much higher polish. For some reason, The Winged Bridge didn't reach the usual Kohlan standard. I trust that when it goes into reprint, these flaws will be corrected.

What surprised me most is that in each of these ten stories Ataqam employs a distinct voice, a distinct tone, even a distinct stylistic register. It's astonishing—how does one manage that? It feels as if each story were written by a different author. Still, they share certain traits: irony, a refined sense of humor, sharply differentiated characters, variety, and the element of surprise. And within this small volume, the writer also coins or revives a remarkable number of new words. He uses them so deftly that you never need to look anything up; each unfamiliar word is made instantly clear by context. Readers often say of a good book, “It's as if the author kept a dictionary beside him while writing.” In Atagam's case, it's a step beyond that: here the dictionary serves the author, not the other way around. He enriches the language rather than leaning on it.

My favorite story in the book is The Night-Seers—I can't remember the last time I read a text with that level of craft, beauty, and distinct narrative voice. Another standout is The Winged Bridge itself, whose absurd yet captivating tone utterly charmed me.

I loved this book and would heartily recommend it to everyone. It's slim—tuck it in your bag and read it while traveling, waiting, or sipping tea at home; it's a genuine pleasure.

My thanks to Atagam for his inventive storytelling and his contribution to the language. I wish him continued success. Whatever he writes next, I'll be reading—I'm completely taken with his style.