Reviews with content warning for Incest - The Bastard of Istanbul

I was very busy this month with school stuff but I finally finished this weekend and I liked it! I recently did a project on The Armenian Genocide for school and I didn't know this book was about that until I started reading.

It was interesting to get so many perspectives and people in this book and it was satisfying how they were all connected. The backstories were my favorite parts

particularly Grandma Shushan's story and the pomegranate

. I also liked how everything was significant and there were no random plotlines or characters just to fill the pages.

I obviously loved the main characters Asya and Armanoush, as well as the aunts and grandmas. Seeing Armanoush's struggle with being Armenian-American, her identity, and her family overall was insightful.

I also thought Cafe Constantinople was an interesting addition to the book. I do wish Armanoush and Baron's relationship/friendship was further explored but that may have been too much to compact into one book.

The parallels between Asya and Aunt Zeliha were interesting to see and I think their relationship was perfectly explained in the book. Again, I do wish they healed a bit more from their conflicts, but I believe the ending alluded that they would eventually.

The setting and cultural aspects of the book were illustrated so well that I felt like I was in Istanbul myself. Overall, this book is a story about multigenerational trauma, family, and confronting the past. I would recommend this book.

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carlaaysem's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Elif Safak writes about Istanbul and its women with so much love and accuracy. I cried and laughed and cried while reading the Bastard of Istanbul. Safak also represents history with a great deal of nuance, and highlights the importance of peace and sisterhood despite the many voices in the world urging conflict. Overall, a beautiful story about being stuck in the past while wishing to erase it, and processing generational trauma. A must read for everyone. I definitely think this book went over a lot of Westerners’ heads, so interpret the majority of reviews with this in mind.

Content Warnings