Holiday Country (Paperback)

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A seductive and lyrical debut following a young woman’s dangerous summer romance during an idyllic vacation on the Aegean coast

"A gorgeous exploration." ―Raven Leilani, author of Luster

"A beautiful novel from a promising new voice." ―Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot and Either/Or

Ada always looks forward to her summers at the family villa with her mother and grandmother in a Turkish seaside town. It’s easy to leave life in California behind when the days are filled with boat rides, games at the beach, and long swims with friends. But no matter how much Ada feels she belongs in the country where her mother grew up, deep down, her connection to the culture seems as fleeting as the seasons. It’s certainly no help that her mother has lost her own sense of self, rootless and disoriented after so many years abroad.

When an old family friend mysteriously shows up in their town, Ada can’t help imagining a different future for her mother―one that promises a return to home, to love, to happiness. But while playing matchmaker, Ada has to come to terms with her own intensifying attraction to the newcomer. Does the future she’s fighting for belong to her mother―or to her alone?

Lush and evocative, İnci Atrek’s Holiday Country is a rapturous meditation about what it means to be of two worlds, the limitations and freedom of a life in translation, and the alluring promise of love’s anchor for the unmoored.