Elif Shafak's Top Book Recommendations

Elif ShafakIn the academic/journalistic literature on Turkey it is not easy to come across personal stories. Amidst all the macro theories, political analyses, and sociological overviews, I would also recommend this book because it vividly brings out the voices of expat women in Turkey today. Some of them are married to Turkish men, some of them are working or raising their kids in Turkey, and some of them... (Source)

Elif ShafakHere is a lovely book that is very different from the ones presented above. Turkey cannot be understood without understanding its Ottoman past. (Source)

Elif ShafakThough not a book on Turkey per se, I would still recommend this to gain a better understanding of the region, the veil, and the question of ‘otherness’. (Source)

Elif ShafakTurkey has gone through a tremendous transformation after the 1980s as its state institutions, political and cultural elite and the role of the army have been opened up to discussion. Here is a book that sheds light on this bouncy journey and helps us to understand better today’s debates and conflicts. (Source)

Elif ShafakThis is one of my favourite books and an excellent gateway to Turkey’s social, cultural, and political complexity. It is composed of numerous articles by leading scholars in different fields and is therefore, quite multi-disciplinary. Herein you will read well-observed and well-analysed essays on a variety of subjects, ranging from language to cinema, black humour to the globalised new middle... (Source)