A nuanced, powerful, and psychologically complex novel about the
practice of honor killings, from the author of The Island of Missing
Trees (a Reese's Book Club pick)
Turkey's leading female writer, Elif Shafak has won international
acclaim for her lyrical blend of Eastern and Western storytelling
styles. In this heartbreaking tale of love and misunderstanding, Shafak
draws upon the dazzling insight, emotion, and drama that infused The
Bastard of Istanbul to explore the controversial issue of honor
killings as it tragically plays out in one family's life.
Twin sisters are born in the mid-1940s in a small Kurdish village on the
border of Turkey and Syria. Jamila becomes a local midwife. Pembe
marries Adem, and they immigrate to London in the 1970s. Bitter and
frustrated with his new life, Adem moves out and Iskender, their eldest
son, must step in as keeper of the family's honor. But when Pembe begins
to spend time with another man, Iskender will discover that you could
love someone with all your heart and yet still hurt them.