Time perception and its reflection on novels

Time is not a constant and absolute component of physics but it is a form of conception which is shaped by social and economic factors and which differs from society to society. The time apprehension that is shaped as a linear form in Western mode of thinking has a circular form in many other societies. Narratives discourse life reflecting the cultural perceptions and habits of the societies which they are shaped in. Time perception is one of the primary cultural perceptions and habits that determine a narrativea?s form so the temporal form of the narrative will be shaped accordingly. Circular time conception shows itself in postmodern and magical realist novels. In this study, eternal return concept, the concept of all things happenning at the present moment and the division between sacred time and historical time, all of which are outstanding aspects of circular time conception, will be analyzed in Hasan Ali Toptaş?s novels, which are some of the representatives of postmodern and magical realist novels in Turkish literature.