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From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdoğan
One neighborhood in Istanbul: a window on a city, country, region, and world in a state of upheaval.
Karagumruk, an Istanbul neighborhood once dominated by Ottoman-era homes, is now known for petty thieves, cheap apartment blocks, and a massive influx of Syrian refugees. It's here that Suzy Hansen went looking for the truth behind the headlines of the Turkish president Erdoğan's authoritarian turn, a catastrophic regional war, and an accelerating geopolitical crisis. She asks: Was Turkey a harbinger of what would soon arise in other countries, the resurgence of authoritarianism? Or do the lives of this neighborhood, and the transformations of Erdoğan's Turkey, reveal a more complex story?
During a decade spent reporting from Karagumruk, Hansen discovered the neighborhood's secrets and got to know its people: Ismail, the longtime muhtar, or neighborhood councilman; Huseyin, a loyalist for Erdoğan's Islamic nationalist AK party; and Ebru, a real estate agent and mother with ambitions to unseat Ismail. Through these local perspectives, Hansen connects the events unfolding in Karagümrük to the forces roiling Turkey, the Middle East, and the world, capturing the sweep of the last ten years in microcosm.
From the author of the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize finalist Notes on a Foreign Country, From Life Itself is a story for a world out of joint. An absorbing account of one neighborhood in Istanbul that has seen profound change, it offers lessons for all of us who feel the pressure of the disorienting global forces remaking our lives.
Karagumruk, an Istanbul neighborhood once dominated by Ottoman-era homes, is now known for petty thieves, cheap apartment blocks, and a massive influx of Syrian refugees. It's here that Suzy Hansen went looking for the truth behind the headlines of the Turkish president Erdoğan's authoritarian turn, a catastrophic regional war, and an accelerating geopolitical crisis. She asks: Was Turkey a harbinger of what would soon arise in other countries, the resurgence of authoritarianism? Or do the lives of this neighborhood, and the transformations of Erdoğan's Turkey, reveal a more complex story?
During a decade spent reporting from Karagumruk, Hansen discovered the neighborhood's secrets and got to know its people: Ismail, the longtime muhtar, or neighborhood councilman; Huseyin, a loyalist for Erdoğan's Islamic nationalist AK party; and Ebru, a real estate agent and mother with ambitions to unseat Ismail. Through these local perspectives, Hansen connects the events unfolding in Karagümrük to the forces roiling Turkey, the Middle East, and the world, capturing the sweep of the last ten years in microcosm.
From the author of the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize finalist Notes on a Foreign Country, From Life Itself is a story for a world out of joint. An absorbing account of one neighborhood in Istanbul that has seen profound change, it offers lessons for all of us who feel the pressure of the disorienting global forces remaking our lives.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published April 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 2, 2026
Having traveled in Turkey 11 years ago, I found this dive into what has been happening in Turkey over the last 15 years fascinating, and I learned a ton.
June 15, 2026
What I didn't know about modern Turkey was, thankfully, enough to fill a whole book. I understood at a high level there was autocracy and cronyism and a fair amount of corruption in the federal government; what I didn't realize was how it has become suffused into every part of Turkish life, so much so that citizens in even the country's biggest cities would rather risk keeping it than trying to topple it.
Covering the rise of Erdoğan, from his early days as Istanbul's likable Islamist (but seen as a liberalizing force nonetheless) mayor to his time as Prime Minister and then President for life, From Life Itself showcases the diversity of Turkish life through the small Istanbul neighbourhood of Karagümrük, where Ottoman traditions slowly gave way to Ataturk's westernization and, in the mid 2010's, an "Arabesque" revolution through an influx of Syrian refugees.
Hansen, who is American but has lived in Turkey since 2007, gets close to a number of very interesting men and women, and allows them to speak directly to the camera for as long as they like. Over many years, Hansen draws intimate and contradictory portrayals of these people, who fear nothing and everything, welcome their neighbours and spit on them in the same breath.
I've been to Turkey three times, but have never really investigated how the country's vast machinery works; its charms belie a rottenness that, to a Canadian, feels prosaic and charming. This book helped me correct that misnomer, and allowed me to understand just how damaged the country is, both physically and spiritually, from Erdoğan two-decade rule.
Covering the rise of Erdoğan, from his early days as Istanbul's likable Islamist (but seen as a liberalizing force nonetheless) mayor to his time as Prime Minister and then President for life, From Life Itself showcases the diversity of Turkish life through the small Istanbul neighbourhood of Karagümrük, where Ottoman traditions slowly gave way to Ataturk's westernization and, in the mid 2010's, an "Arabesque" revolution through an influx of Syrian refugees.
Hansen, who is American but has lived in Turkey since 2007, gets close to a number of very interesting men and women, and allows them to speak directly to the camera for as long as they like. Over many years, Hansen draws intimate and contradictory portrayals of these people, who fear nothing and everything, welcome their neighbours and spit on them in the same breath.
I've been to Turkey three times, but have never really investigated how the country's vast machinery works; its charms belie a rottenness that, to a Canadian, feels prosaic and charming. This book helped me correct that misnomer, and allowed me to understand just how damaged the country is, both physically and spiritually, from Erdoğan two-decade rule.
May 7, 2026
From Life Itself is a thoughtful and immersive exploration of Turkey, Istanbul, and everyday life during the Erdoğan era.
Suzy Hansen combines political insight with cultural observation, creating a nuanced portrait of how large historical and political forces shape neighborhoods, communities, and personal identity.
Overall, it is a reflective and compelling work of nonfiction that will resonate with readers interested in politics, history, and deeply human storytelling.
Suzy Hansen combines political insight with cultural observation, creating a nuanced portrait of how large historical and political forces shape neighborhoods, communities, and personal identity.
Overall, it is a reflective and compelling work of nonfiction that will resonate with readers interested in politics, history, and deeply human storytelling.
June 29, 2026
As a former exchange student in Istanbul, I have a tremendous affection for Turkiye and the Turkish people, and was attracted to this book because of that. The author does a good job at describing the unique nature of politics and history in Turkiye while also addressing more universal themes, such as how a relatively intelligent and reasonable people can willingly vote a despot into office multiple times.
May 27, 2026
Journalistic account of life in a working class neighborhood and how it has changed in the past twenty-ish years under Erdogan and the influx of Syrian immigrants. There was a little too much quoting of men on the street perspectives for me but still a nuanced look at the contemporary Turkey. A lot of the corruption in Turkey is analogous to the current corruption in the US.
May 11, 2026
An intriguing blend of personal, local, and political history.
June 27, 2026
Moving between the micro and the macro this is a fascinating look at how modern Turkey evolved under one increasingly autocratic ruler.
July 3, 2026
Truly wonderful.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews