The Black Book

From the Nobel Prize–winning author: An Istanbul lawyer's search for his missing wife leads him into a labyrinthine mystery of truth, fiction and identity.

Galip is an Istanbul lawyer, and his wife, Ruya, has vanished. Could she be hiding out with her half-brother, Jelal, a newspaper columnist whose fame Galip envies? And if so, why isn't anyone in Jelal's flat?


As Galip plays the part of private investigator, he assumes the identity of Jelal himself, wearing his clothes, answering his phone calls, even faking his wry columns, which he passes off as the work of the missing journalist. But the amateur sleuth bungles his undercover operation, and with dire consequences.


Richly atmospheric and Rabelaisian in scope, The Black Book is "a glorious flight of dark, fantastic invention" suffused with the sights, sounds, and scents of Istanbul (The Washington Post).