From the acclaimed author of I Will Never See the World Again, this
poignant coming-of-age novel finds moments of remarkable humor in a
present-day Istanbul rife with economic and political hardships.
Fazıl's comfortable existence studying literature is upended by his
family's sudden financial ruin, followed swiftly by the death of his
father. Forced to sell his belongings and move to an old boardinghouse,
he discovers a new side of the city, populated by immigrants, poets, sex
workers, and busboys, all struggling to get by.
On a tip from a fellow resident, Fazıl finds work to support himself
through university, as an extra on a TV show, where he meets two women
who will change his life. Sıla, a striking young student, shares his
love of Virginia Woolf and uniquely understands his current predicament:
once well-off, she too has lost everything, after the government
unjustly seized her father's business. While they begin a tentative
romance, Fazıl is also drawn to the show's vivacious leading lady,
Hayat, whose carefree, sensuous outlook differs so greatly from his
own.
Written from his prison cell, Ahmet Altan's latest novel offers a witty,
insightful view of modern Turkey and the lives of its "new poor" that
shows how we can find light in the darkest times.
