From one of Turkey’s most acclaimed and outspoken writers comes a novel about the intertwined histories of two families.
In her second novel written in English, Elif Shafak explores her country’s violent past in a vivid and colorful tale set in both Turkey and the United States. At its center is Asya, the “bastard” of the title, a nineteen-year-old woman who loves Johnny Cash and the French Existentialists. She lives with the four Kazanci sisters in an extended household in Istanbul: Zehila, the zestful, headstrong youngest sister who runs a tattoo parlor and is Asya’s mother; Banu, who has newly discovered herself as a clairvoyant; Cevriye, a widowed high school teacher; and Feride, a hypochondriac obsessed with impending disaster. Their estranged brother lives in Arizona with his wife and her Armenian daughter, Armanoush. When Armanoush secretly flies to Istanbul in search of her identity, she meets the Kazanci sisters and quickly befriends Asya. Together, they uncover a secret that links the two families and ties them to the 1915 Armenian deportations and massacres. Filled with vigorous, unforgettable female characters, The Bastard of Istanbul is a bold, powerful tale that cements Shafak’s status as a rising star in international fiction.
