The Bastard of Istanbul - Softcover

Shafak, Elif

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143112716 ISBN 13: 9780143112716

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2008

Synopsis

A “vivid and entertaining” (Chicago Tribune) tale about the tangled history of two families, from the author of The Forty Rules of Love and The Architect’s Apprentice

"Zesty, imaginative . . . a Turkish version of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club." --USA Today 

As an Armenian American living in San Francisco, Armanoush feels like part of her identity is missing and that she must make a journey back to the past, to Turkey, in order to start living her life. Asya is a nineteen-year-old woman living in an extended all-female household in Istanbul who loves Jonny Cash and the French existentialists. The Bastard of Istanbul tells the story of their two families--and a secret connection linking them to a violent event in the history of their homeland. Filed with humor and understanding, this exuberant, dramatic novel is about memory and forgetting, about the need to examine the past and the desire to erase it, and about Turkey itself.

About this title

About the Author:

Elif Shafak is an award-winning, bestselling novelist; a champion of women's rights and freedom of expression; and the most widely read female novelist in Turkey. Her books have been translated into more than forty languages. Her novels include The Flea Palace, The Saint of Incipient Insanities, The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, and Honor, and she is also the author of a memoir, Black Milk: On the Conflicting Demands of Writing, Creativity, and Motherhood. An active political commentator, columnist, and public speaker, she lives in London and Istanbul with her family. Her website is www.elifshafak.com.

From AudioFile:

Turkish author Elif Shafak has written a novel that gives Western listeners historical perspective and insight into the Turkish/Armenian conflicts of modern-day Turkey. Asya Kazanci, the 19-year-old Turkish bastard of the title, is the third generation of a house of women; Kazanci men have short life spans. Armanoush, an Armenian-American relative, shows up at their home on a quest to trace her Armenian heritage. Laural Merlington has the skills to bring this complex, intriguing story to life. She serves as narrator and guide, pronouncing unfamiliar Turkish and Armenian names with ease and helping listeners follow the colorful threads of a story as complex as a Middle-Eastern tapestry. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0143112716
• ISBN 13: 9780143112716
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 360