The Bastard of Istanbul

Description

A violent secret that hides beneath the streets of Istanbul threatens the peace of two interwoven families One rainy afternoon in Istanbul a woman walks into a doctor's surgery. 'I want an abortion', she announces. She is nineteen years old, and unmarried. What happens that afternoon is to change her life, and the lives of everyone around her. Twenty years later, Asya Kazanci lives with her extended family in Istanbul. Due to a mysterious family curse all the men die by age 41, so it is a house of women, among them her beautiful, rebellious mother, Zeliha, clairvoyant Auntie Banu and bar-brawl widow, Auntie Cevriye. But when Asya's Armenian-American cousin Armanoush comes to stay, long-hidden family secrets and Turkey's turbulent past begin to emerge.

Elif Shafak is the acclaimed author of nine novels including The Bastard of Istanbul and Honour, and is the most widely read female writer in Turkey. Her work has been translated into over forty languages and she regularly contributes to publications including The New York Times, Guardian and Time magazine. Elif has been longlisted for the Orange Prize, the Baileys Prize and the IMPAC Dublin Award, and shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. She lives in London and can be found at www.elifshafak.com.

Unquestionably an ambitious book, exuberant and teeming . . . a novel crammed with characters and themes, not unlike Istanbul itself * Guardian * Wonderfully magical, incredible, breathtaking . . . will have you gasping with disbelief in the last few pages * Sunday Express * Heartbreaking . . . the beauty of Islam pervades Shafak's book * Vogue * A writer whose artistry matches her ambition . . . she has taken on a subject of deep moral consequence * New York Times * A brave and passionate novel * Paul Theroux * Tremendous exuberance . . . I do like a writer with a purpose * Margaret Forster * An astonishingly rich and lively story ... handled with an enchantingly light touch' * Kirkus Reviews * Overflows with a kitchen sink's worth of zany characters ... an entertaining and insightful ensemble novel that posits the universality of family, culture and coincidence -- (starred review) * Publishers Weekly *