The Bastard of Istanbul
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4.1 • 14 Ratings
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
Brought to you by Penguin.
A gripping and beautiful novel from Elif Shafak, Booker-shortlisted author of The Island of Missing Trees and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World
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 will change her life, and the lives of everyone around her.
Twenty years later, Asya Kazanci lives with her extended family in Istanbul. A mysterious curse causes all the men to die by the age of 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 connected with Turkey's turbulent past begin to emerge.
'Wonderfully magical, incredible, breathtaking...will have you gasping with disbelief in the last few pages' Sunday Express
'A beautiful book, the finest I have read about Turkey' Irish Times
'Heartbreaking...the beauty of Islam pervades Shafak's book' Vogue
© Elif Shafak 2007 (P) Penguin Audio 2019
Customer Reviews
Beautiful
Wish it never ended. Will miss Asia and the aunties! And the cat!
Not quite impressed tbh.
Deeply cultural with its diversity. The main story itself is rather slower-paced and not very happening. Could have provided more depth to Asiya and Armanoush's characters, showing how they blossomed and bloomed into what they wanted to be with all the determination that was promised in the beginning. A bit disappointing to realize the author just left them (Asiya & Armanoush) in their present states and revealed to us no further than their existing lives. The author spent more time describing the details of everyone's personality traits rather than moving forward with their future. Still a very captivating read, that's why I give it a 3 ✨