Review of 'The Bastard of Istanbul'

The Bastard of Istanbul is a gripping tale of love, lovelessness and family secrets painted on a canvass of Turkey’s vivid cultural melange. The characters depict a lot of passion both in their rebelliousness and conformity, portraying in them the conflicts of daily life living the modern life with the burden of the past.

I picked up this book as a predecessor to the much acclaimed The 40 Rules of Love, a book I loved for its intense mystic undertones. The exceptionally creative narrative made me an instant Elif Shafak fan. The narrative is quite different as compared to 40 Rules. But interleaving time-spans to narrate intricate tale seems to be a favourite common factor. Intense characterisation with highly sensitive handling of characters’ emotions stays with you. For example the balloon seller sailing away on the boat over Bosphorus remains vivid in its detail days after closing the book.

The Bastard beautifully brings out the nuances of the cultural and political modern history of Turkey. If you are interested in the vicissitudes of Turkish and Armenian lives through the modern history of Turkey, this is as good a book that provides an up close and personal view. Be prepared for an insider’s perspective on the culture based political conflicts as well as generational differences in interpretations. It raises interesting questions like What’s better –to remember your history or the forget it or not know it all? How much are you accountable for the actions of your societal ascendants? The book is an interesting journey in the gastronomic essence of Turkish culture. Are the chapter titles the ingredients of Ashure? If yes, that’s another neat dimension to the narration. And when the ingredient list is done, you know that Ashure is ready. But, still, I did not see that end coming.

Elif Shafak is my favourite contemporary literary fiction writer in just two books in a little over as many months; three more arrived a few days back.  Bastard of Istanbul is a must read if you like to explore the exotic.

-Gowrish