The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

The American Turkish Society Book Club Discusses
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

Populated with vibrant characters, The Bastard of Istanbul is the story of two families, one Turkish and one Armenian American, and their struggle to forge their unique identities, as their lives come together through a marriage which brings forth a family secret going back to the events of 1915. Filled with humor and understanding, this exuberant, dramatic novel is about memory and forgetting, about the tension between the need to examine the past and the desire to erase it.

Elif Shafak (link to: http://www.elifsafak.us/en/) is one of Turkey’s most acclaimed and outspoken novelists. She was born in 1971 and is the author of nine novels to date, most recently, “Siyah Süt” (Black Milk), “The Bastard of Istanbul” (Baba ve Pic) and “Ask” (Love). She teaches at the University of Arizona and divides her time between the US and Istanbul.

Additional information and reading guide:
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/bastard_of_istanbul.html

The American Turkish Society Book Club offers recommendations, resources and lively readers’ discussions in order to promote a greater understanding of Turkey’s history, current affairs, people, culture, and relations with the rest of the world. With the assistance of moderators, members get together monthly to discuss a book that they have read. Discussions in the past included critically acclaimed fiction set during the Ottoman times and in modern Turkey; contemporary works and those from as early as the 30s; written by Turkish and non-Turkish authors; touching on women’s issues, urban and rural life, religion, and much more.

Please RSVP online or by emailing info@americanturkishsociety.org by Wednesday, October 15.
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Please save the date for the next book club discussions
November 16 and December 14

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