This was my first novel from Elif Shafak and what a great novel it was. The plot, story and very interesting characters kept me turning pages fairly rapidly. Elif is another Paulo Coelho sharing his courageous attribute of dealing with some of the most difficult topics like incest and patriotism with authority. I love the parallels made between Istanbul and the female only Turkish family. The Armenian American angle was very astutely made as well, the only thing lacking was the loose end with the chat room characters which were never really detailed. Maybe people you befriend on internet are meant to remain unknown?
I am also not entirely sure why she was charged by the Turkish government for treason because as a non Turkish I certainly came out with a distinctively sympathetic view of Turkey role in the whole Armenian massacre affair. I also felt that the Turkish army was portrayed as a big brother sort of character as well. Maybe it was the mention of the jailing of the cartoonist for his crime of portraying the PM as a donkey thus painting the Turkish government as draconian and autocratic? I would love to know what Turks actually feel about her characters.
Any Turks out there?
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