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A review by jukietoss
The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Savaş
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I really loved this snapshot of a couple living abroad and building a life. It manages to be both hyper-specific and universal in the most appealing and magnetic ways. So much of what Asya, the main character, thinks or says is deeply relatable--it can be transposed onto a reader's life as easily as it applies in the book--and yet so many details about where the book takes place or where the main characters are from remains obscured. The result is a story that puts into words the observations and anxieties of early adulthood that often go unnamed.
As the story begins, Asya is reflecting on "life in the abstract" and yearns "for a specific existence" (pg 44). The rest of the book exposes both in such beautiful ways. Asya is at a point where rather than running on autopilot or mindlessly participating in the status quo she is thinking about every act, every ritual, and deciding "whether it was the right one for me" (pg 91). We see her trying on different behaviors, approaches, habits, and routines and determining which will become a part of her and which she'll shed. In the traditional sense, there is not much action in this book--it's a book of daily life. But the focus this story brings to each moment in our lives, to each decision we make, was truly striking. Asya wants to build a "sturdy" life, and I'm so drawn to the ways in which she defined this and evaluated elements as to whether or not they contributed to sturdiness.
I tend to love a book that articulates that which I've thought, experienced, or noticed but for which I haven't found the words. That is fundamentally what this book did for me, and the result is a crisp study of how we build our lives and the trade-offs we make--be it in geographical location, in relationships, or in how we spend our time. The Anthropologists masterfully reflected the world and prompted me, as a reader, to hold up a mirror.
As the story begins, Asya is reflecting on "life in the abstract" and yearns "for a specific existence" (pg 44). The rest of the book exposes both in such beautiful ways. Asya is at a point where rather than running on autopilot or mindlessly participating in the status quo she is thinking about every act, every ritual, and deciding "whether it was the right one for me" (pg 91). We see her trying on different behaviors, approaches, habits, and routines and determining which will become a part of her and which she'll shed. In the traditional sense, there is not much action in this book--it's a book of daily life. But the focus this story brings to each moment in our lives, to each decision we make, was truly striking. Asya wants to build a "sturdy" life, and I'm so drawn to the ways in which she defined this and evaluated elements as to whether or not they contributed to sturdiness.
I tend to love a book that articulates that which I've thought, experienced, or noticed but for which I haven't found the words. That is fundamentally what this book did for me, and the result is a crisp study of how we build our lives and the trade-offs we make--be it in geographical location, in relationships, or in how we spend our time. The Anthropologists masterfully reflected the world and prompted me, as a reader, to hold up a mirror.