Loren Edizel

Fascinating novel of Turks repatriated from Crete to Turkey, as part of the exchange of ethnic populations in the 1920's. The story begins with Mehtap, daughter of Mehmet and Maria, writing to her "niece" in Toronto saying besides two bracelets, on which is engraved the Labyrinth of Greek mythology, which she hopes to give Mehtap [the younger] on a visit, she is mailing several notebooks--the story of Maria and Mehmet from Crete and some others written by the older Mehtap--journals. The latter follow Mehtap and her very close friendship--they are closer than sisters--with the younger Mehtap's mother, Nuray, through the years from the 1920's through many decades. The elder Mehtap has two loves, between whom she is torn. Maria reveals a deathbed secret, in which the two bracelets play a part.

The writing was very lyrical and gave a vivid picture of Smyrna and of the characters' lives. The cover was absolutely stunning; I'm assuming one house was Mehtap's, showing the cumba [enclosed balcony or bay window: a feature of houses in Smyrna of that period] in which Mehtap would sit to write her journal. I could easily visualize Smyrna of that time from the author's descriptions. The lesbian aspect made me uncomfortable; I wish the story could have been told without it.

Highly recommended.… (mais)

I told myself I wasn't going to read any more new books this year--save them for next year's Book Challenge--but this Xmas gift from my daughter I could not resist perusing. Captivated by a prologue about an old brown leather suitcase, how it had travelled so far and how frightened its owner, John, was in coming to a completely new continent and a new life, I started reading immediately and finished within a matter of hours. This is a gorgeous book full of elegant, graceful writing and so evocative of the inner life of the characters, especially the protagonist, John. He touches peoples' lonely and alienated lives and brings to each a touch of hope. The peoples' stories were sad, but John brightened their lives.

John has come from a far country and settled in Montreal. As a night nurse in a big hospital, he helps an old dying man, an Asian lady, and others. John is "kindness personified", as one character, the Hispanic poet, Pablo Mendes, describes him. This is a languid reflection, meditating on loneliness, regret, friendship, and love through the characters' stories, much as John's entries in his green notebook are his intimate thoughts and observations. The present tense narrative made me feel I was right there in the novel. It will always haunt me.… (mais)

Title may seem bland but it's perfect: these are nine first-person stories of a confession of deeds or feelings or of secrets revealed. Settings are either in Turkey or in Canada. I recommend this collection highly; the author's vignettes have deftly described certain characters and situations in which they find themselves. These tales are vivid and psychologically incisive.

As in any collection of short stories or poetry quality varies. These are the ones I liked best:

The conch: A Turkish wife in the 1940s and her secret life.

Small gift: a Turkish street sweeper.

The whisper: a jinn and a man who has done a great wrong. My favorite of the collection.

Hôtel de la Paix: an orphan girl raised by nuns.

Burgundy Wine: a wife preparing Beef Stroganoff… (mais)

A gorgeously written novel set in the Ottoman Empire, during and after World War I, including its breakup and the birth of modern Turkey. It follows the lives and fortunes of a Levantine extended family, the Deveciyans, consisting of grandparents, their son and daughter, and grandson, the boy Niko, an orphan. They live in Aya Katerina, a multi-cultural district of Smyrna. This neighborhood thinks of itself as Ottoman or Anatolian, not as Greeks, Turks, Levantines or Armenians. Each inhabitant lives in peace with the other.

Each chapter is a small vignette on one of the family members, friends, or neighbors. In 1915, the patriarch of the family, Jacob, is deported to East Anatolia, merely because of an Armenian surname. This begins the upheaval in the characters' lives. Marie, the grandmother, holds the family together with her strength and love. We meet the eccentric but wise Polycarp, her son; Elena, her artist daughter; and Niko. Two men fall in love with Elena, a Greek doctor and a Turkish journalist. Through the novel the characters witness and experience drastic changes in and the death of their way of life, culminating in the burning of Smyrna in a Greek/Turkish conflict.

This novel was sad, relating the horrors the people of those times went through, but it gripped me from first to last. Each character was lovingly and fully created, from the family members down to the Turkish milkman and the Turkish sergeant Ahmet, who made cameo appearances. The author has lived in Izmir [Smyrna's present-day name] and I could feel her love and sympathy for these characters and a bygone culture. I liked the incident in which Polycarp found himself at the intact church of St. Polycarp, an early Christian martyr. Polycarp the character muses how unfortunate it is that intolerance lives on from those days to this, although the religion may have a different name. There were many such musings throughout, but this one stood out for me. The author made this setting come alive for me.

I recommend this worthwhile novel very highly.… (mais)