The Bastard of Istanbul

Abstract

Twenty years later, Asya Kazanci lives with her extended family in Istanbul. Due to a mysterious family curse, all the Kazancimen die in their early forties, so it is a house of women, among them Asya's beautiful, rebellious mother Zeliha, who runs a tattoo parlour; Banu, who has newly discovered herself as a clairvoyant; and Feride, ahypochondriac obsessed with impending disatstr. And whenAsya'sArmenian-American cousinArmanoush comes to stay, long-hidden family secrets connected with Turkey'sturbulent past begin to emerge. Elif Shafak is one of Turkey's most acclaimed and outspoken novelists. She was born in 1971 and is the author ofsix novels, most recently The Saint of Incipient Insanities, The Gazeand The Flea Palace,and one work of non-fiction. Sheteachesat the University ofArizonaand divides her time between the US and Istanbul. TO EYUP and I)EHRAZAT ZELDA Oncethere was; oncethere wasn't. God'screatures wereas plentifulas grainsAnd talking too muchwasasin.... -The preambleto a Turkish tale ...and to anArmenian one ONE Cinnamon W hatever falls fromthesky above, thou shall notcurseit. That includes therain. No matter what might pour down, no matter howheavy thecloudburst or howicy thesleet, you should neverever utter profanitiesagainst whatever the heavens might haveinstorefor us. Everybody knows this.And that includes Zeliha. Yet, thereshe was on this first Friday ofJuly, walking on asidewalk that flowed next to hopelessly clogged traffic; rushing to an appointment she was nowlatefor, swearing likea trooper, hissing one profanity afteranotherat the broken pavement stones, at her high heels, at the man stalking her, ateach and every driver who honked franticallywhen it was an urban fact that clamor had no effect on unclogging traffic, at the whole Ottoman dynasty for once upon a time conquering the city of Constantinople, and then stickingby its mistake,and yes,at therain ... this damn summer rain. Rain isan agony here. In other parts ofthe world,a downpour willin alllikelihood comeasa boon for nearly everyoneand