Bliss: A Novel

Fifteen-year-old Meryem lives in a rural village in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Her simple, conventional way of life changes dramatically after her uncle, a sheikh in a dervish order, rapes her—and condemns her to death for shaming the family. Asked to carry out the "honor killing" is his son Cemal, a commando in the Turkish army.

So begins a long, mystifying voyage for Meryem as her shell-shocked cousin ushers her to the shining metropolis of Istanbul where another troubled soul, the Harvard-educated professor Irfan, embarks on his own journey of transformation—one that catapults him into the heart of Meryem and Cemal's conflict. The crossed paths and interwoven destinies of these three characters makes for an affecting, by turns brutal and life-affirming portrayal of traditional and modern-day Turkey that no reader will soon forget.

"With lush scenes of Turkish life and nuanced depictions of the [characters'] inner lives . . . a convergence of lost, likable souls." — Entertainment Weekly

"Fresh, original, and warm-hearted . . . the work of a cosmopolitan insider and multitalented artist." —Louis de Bernières, bestselling author of Birds Without Wings

"A lyrical novel." — The Wall Street Journal

"A gripping contemporary story that gets behind stereotypes of exotic Islam to reveal the diversity in individual people and the secrets and lies, cruelty and love, in family, friendship, and public life . . . This will make a terrific book-club selection." — Booklist