Middle East/North African Lit discussion

* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (the 25th and current Prime Minister of Turkey)and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( the first President of Turkey and the founder of the Republic of Turkey.

** Please share your recommendation from Turkey in here .

I don't know anything about Turkish literature, so I am looking forward to reading whatever this group selects!

I highly recommend Constantinople - City of the World's Desire 1453-1924 by Philip Mansel. It is a big read (darn Kindle does not give the pagination) and gives a lot of useful information about the Osmanlis (Ottomans), Constaninople(Istanbul) and Ottoman/Turkish society. I was unaware of the degree to which Ottoman society was multi-cultural. Really up to the 1920's cultural and religious minorities played disproportionately influential roles in the cultural,political and economic life of the Empire. It mentions, but does not focus on literary and cultural figures.

Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924looks a good book , thanks Mike !

Do not worry Jalila :)

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I would like to read Orhan Pamuk last novel The Museum of Innocence, and for Elif Shafak I would like to read The Forty Rules of Love .

For non-fiction , I have a copy of Turkey Since 1989: Angry Nation.

I highly recommend The Forty Rules Of Love.

I've been wanting to read 40 Rules of Love

Sorry, I should have spelled it out: Forty Rules of Love.

I enjoyed Birds Without Wings /by Louis de Bernieres.

I definitely would like to read The Forty Rules of Love or any other book by Elif Shafak

I have a copy of Birds Without Wings but didn't read it , I would love for its discussion thread to be revived .

Can't wait for the point when I reach Turkey :)

By the way , we can have a thread for "Forty Rules of Love" anyway in the salon .

I am currently reading Honor by Elif Shafak and have to say I love her writing! I'd like to read everything she's written! When will we reach Turkey?

Coincidently, a friend just recommended Elif Shafak to me

Does anyone know of, or are able to recommend books in Turkish that are translated into English? I can only think of works of Orhan Pamuk. I'd like to read from the Turkish native perspective.

Thank you,Wikipedia!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempo...

I'll be looking through these listed but if anyone has recommendations, or input...

Sheila wrote: "Coincidently, a friend just recommended Elif Shafak to me"

Jalilah wrote: "I am currently reading Honor by Elif Shafak and have to say I love her writing! I'd like to read everything she's written! When will we reach Turkey?"

Jalila , keep us updated about "Honor"!
If you are interested we discussedThe Bastard of Istanbul for Elif Shafak in the group in here :

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

** As group official reads we will reach Turkey in September , but you can start reading from Turkey at any point , you can open new threads for discussion if you like to .

Kate wrote: "Thank you,Wikipedia!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempo...

I'll be looking through these listed but if anyone has recommendations, or input..."

Kate wrote: "Does anyone know of, or are able to recommend books in Turkish that are translated into English? I can only think of works of Orhan Pamuk. I'd like to read from the Turkish native perspective."

We will work more on that , By the way did you check the group bookshelf of Turkey ?
https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

I would definitely recommend Orhan Pamuk. I have read Snow and The New Life.

However, while examining Government Fascism and Religious Fascism side-by-side, comparing these two types of dictatorships, Mr. Pamuk unfortunately fails to predict the real horror of Theocracy when the two systems are combined (as witnessed in case of Iran).

I also recommend The New Life because the book that changed his life seems to be The Little Black Fish, which was written by Samad Beh-Rang, a Turkish writer from Iran.

Nile daughter wrote: "Sheila wrote: "Coincidently, a friend just recommended Elif Shafak to me"

Jalilah wrote: "I am currently reading Honor by Elif Shafak and have to ..."

I absolutely loved it! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Please check put my Turkey shelf. Turkish authors I know have been translated into English include Yaşar Kemal, Nâzim Hikmet (poetry), Aziz Nesin, and Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar (Time Regulation Institute with more to come!)

Some more Turkish authors with works translated into English : Esmahan Aykol, Zülfü Livaneli, Janset Berkok Shami.

Here's a book that might be fun:
Popular Turkish Love Lyrics & Folk Legends

Anyone want to read a historical romance?
Beauty and Love

I suddenly realized that I had a pile of books from the Turkish Ministry of Culture. I have Laugh or Lament: Selected Short Stories as well as a bibliography which lists numerous books by Yaşar Kemal. I'd like to read something by him if I can find one.

Kate wrote: "I suddenly realized that I had a pile of books from the Turkish Ministry of Culture. I have Laugh or Lament: Selected Short Stories as well as a bibliography which lists numerous boo..."

Memed, My Hawk was put out from NYRB

If you want to flip through a beautiful coffee table book with a solid historical narrative, I recommend Topkapi Palace: Milestones in Ottoman History. What an unbelievable place.

I would recommend Bonbon Palace by Elif Safak.

I just read and enjoyed Summer's End by Adalet Ağaoğlu. The prose is a challenge but it was a different side of Turkey than I'd experienced in other novels.

It seems that I'm going to Turkey next week so I'll be looking for books. I would like to take a look at that book "Summer's end". Nextbigquestion is where will I find a bookstore. I've been to the ones in Sultanamet, Istanbul but they don't have many regional and translated titles.

Hi Kate,
I posted a couple of links re Istanbul bookstores in the bookstores and publishers thread.

Thanks, I'll look there.

So , are you ready for a poll to start reading from Turkey in September ? any new recommendations ?

Nile daughter wrote: "So , are you ready for a poll to start reading from Turkey in September ? any new recommendations ?"

I am looking forward to reading more by Elif Shafak and discovering Orhan Pamuk!

how about The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Tanpinar? This author is an inspiration to Pamuk. The TRI is about the beginning of the Turkish Republic. It's funny, exciting and really gives insight into that time period.

Great ...:)
I will put (time regulation. ..) and ( forty rules of love) on the poll and osome more books from previous posts . but for Pamuk I am not sure which one to put on the poll ( Snow )or (the museum of innocence )or (the black book) or (the other life) ....this is difficult!

For Pamuk, there are 2 books that I'd like to read:
Other Colors and Istanbul: Memories and the City

Nile daughter wrote: "Great ...:)
I will put (time regulation. ..) and ( forty rules of love) on the poll and osome more books from previous posts . but for Pamuk I am not sure which one to put on the poll ( Snow )or (t..."

I vote for Snow!

For Orhan Pamuk I'd like to read The Museum of Innocence and/or My Name is Red
For Elif Shafak I would like to read The Forty Rules of Love and The Bastard of Istanbul

:)
It is still difficult to pick one book for Pamuk !...we will see ...

For "the bastard of Istanbul", the discussion was in here
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

For "My name is Red" , the discussion was here
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

we will be reading( forty rules of love) starting from September.

we will be reading( forty rules of love) starting from September.

Nile daughter wrote: "we will be reading( forty rules of love) starting from September."

Yay! I've been wanting to read it for a while now!

:)
Sorry for the delay , busy summer !
...
The discussion thread will be open soon ,also a thread for non fiction reads .

after The Forty Rules of Love we will read The Museum of Innocence

**Anyone is interested in leading a discussion for Summer's End in December ?

Hi All, I know this is after the fact but I just came across a newly published, translated Turkish book and wanted to share. I probably can't get it where I am but it looks readily available back in the US. A Useless Man: Selected Stories

Thanks Kate :)

Why am I always late for this topics! I've just finished My Name is Red. I also read "The New Life" by Orhan Pamuk

Amgad, our discussion threads never close or expire. You can contribute to the My Name Is Red discussion here.

Did you like The New Life? It seems to inspire very strong opinions!

Thanks Melanie, The New Life plays on the same idea of west vs east but it's more surreal and a bit long-winded. But I gave it a 5 and I rarely do. Only 10% of my books got 5 stars :D

Hello, are you looking for a good book to read from Turkey?
Here are a whole month of Turkish titles
reviewed on the Global Literature in Libraries blog:
Happy Reading!
https://glli-us.org/2017/08/31/a-mont...