The Bastard of Istanbul: The powerful novel about family secrets from the award-winning author of The Island of Missing Trees

Name: The Bastard of Istanbul: The powerful novel about family secrets from the award-winning author of The Island of Missing Trees
Rating: 3.5833332538604736 (24 reviews)

Elif Shafak

Aug 2012 · Penguin UK

24 reviews

Ebook

368

Pages

Eligible

Switch to the audiobook

About this ebook

A gripping and beautiful novel from Elif Shafak, Booker-shortlisted author of The Island of Missing Trees and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World

One rainy afternoon in Istanbul a woman walks into a doctor's surgery. 'I want an abortion,' she announces. She is nineteen years old, and unmarried. What happens that afternoon will change her life, and the lives of everyone around her.

Twenty years later, Asya Kazanci lives with her extended family in Istanbul. A mysterious curse causes all the men to die by the age of 41, so it is a house of women, among them her beautiful, rebellious mother, Zeliha, clairvoyant Auntie Banu and bar-brawl widow, Auntie Cevriye. But when Asya’s Armenian-American cousin Armanoush comes to stay, long hidden family secrets connected with Turkey's turbulent past begin to emerge.

'Wonderfully magical, incredible, breathtaking...will have you gasping with disbelief in the last few pages' Sunday Express

'A beautiful book, the finest I have read about Turkey' Irish Times

'Heartbreaking...the beauty of Islam pervades Shafak's book' Vogue

*** ELIF SHAFAK'S NEW NOVEL IN ONE BRIEF MOMENT ALL ETERNITY IS AVAILABLE NOW ***

A gripping and beautiful novel from Elif Shafak, Booker-shortlisted author of The Island of Missing Trees and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World One rainy afternoon in Istanbul a woman walks into a doctor's surgery. 'I want an abortion,' she announces. She is nineteen years old, and unma...

Discover more

Ratings and reviews

24 reviews

Doina Macovei

September 15, 2019

This is my first book written by Elif Shafak that I read. I didn't actually read what it was about, just started reading the book. I must say, although the Jewish genocid became alot of attention, the Armenian genocide - didn't. This book is a little bit about it. I actually really liked the book. Except the last chapter - which, I'm sorry to say, it was very boring. But overall, i liked the book, and I will definitely read other books by Elif Shafak.

4 people found this review helpful

anne Ozcan

November 16, 2014

Too much exaggerated on unimportant details. It makes me boring...

5 people found this review helpful

Ubaid Bukhari

November 23, 2016

Shafak on her best.

About the author

Elif Shafak is one of today's most influential international writers and intellectuals who straddle East and West. She is the acclaimed author of ten novels including The Architect's Apprentice and The Bastard of Istanbul, and is the most widely read female writer in Turkey. Her work has been translated into over forty languages and she has been awarded the prestigious Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. She is also a public speaker, a women's and LGBT rights activist and a commentator who regularly contributes to world publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel and La Repubblica. Elif has been longlisted for the Orange Prize, the Baileys Prize and the IMPAC Dublin Award, and shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the Ondaatje Prize. She lives in London and can be found at www.elifshafak.com.

Elif Shafak is one of today's most influential international writers and intellectuals who straddle East and West. She is the acclaimed author of ten novels including The Architect's Apprentice and The Bastard of Istanbul, and is the most widely read female writer in Turkey. Her work has been tra...

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets

Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.

Laptops and computers

You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.

eReaders and other devices

To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.

Flag as inappropriate