The Last Apartment in Istanbul

by Defne Suman, Unknown Author

Paperback

About the author

Defne Suman was born in Istanbul and grew up on Prinkipo Island. She gained a Masters in sociology from the Bosphorus University and then worked as a teacher in Thailand and Laos, where she studied Far Eastern philosophy and mystic disciplines. She later continued her studies in Oregon, USA and now lives in Athens with her husband. The Silence of Scheherazade was first published in Turkey and Greece in 2016 and is her English language debut.

Reviews

[Ella Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really eye-opening book about the prejudice and persecution faced by the Greek community in istanbul throughout the 20th century -which was admittedly a period of history I was completely ignorant about. I really enjoyed the dual timeline structure of the book and the fragmentary way Pericles’ (the main character) story was unravelled. I did struggle at times with the way his relationships with women were described and the ending of the book felt uncharacteristically abrupt and simplified. However this book really made me think and I learnt a lot reading it.

[Clare Nestor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.5
This is a very interesting story of Greek oppression in Istanbul told through the eyes of Pericles a Greek Turk. The apartment block of the title really comes to life in the telling of his story and it’s full of interesting characters. Overall I really enjoyed it but my only slight doubt was Pericles himself! I’m not sure how much I liked him - some fairly questionable behaviour!

[Nick Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting novel that ties together multiple love stories with a history of Greek persecution in Istanbul

[Pedro Marto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story, masterfully told.