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Honor
An honor killing shatters and transforms the lives of Turkish immigrants in 1970s London
Internationally bestselling Turkish author Elif Shafak’s new novel is a dramatic tale of families, love, and misunderstandings that follows the destinies of twin sisters born in a Kurdish village. While Jamila stays to become a midwife, Pembe follows her Turkish husband, Adem, to London, where they hope to make new lives for themselves and their children.
In London, they face a choice: stay loyal to the old traditions or try their best to fit in. After Adem abandons his family, Iskender, the eldest son, must step in and become the one who will not let any shame come to the family name. And when Pembe begins a chaste affair with a man named Elias, Iskender will discover that you could love someone with all your heart and yet be ready to hurt them.
Just published to great acclaim in England, Honor is a powerful, gripping exploration of guilt and innocence, loyalty and betrayal, and the trials of the immigrant, as well as the love and heartbreak that too often tear families apart.
Internationally bestselling Turkish author Elif Shafak’s new novel is a dramatic tale of families, love, and misunderstandings that follows the destinies of twin sisters born in a Kurdish village. While Jamila stays to become a midwife, Pembe follows her Turkish husband, Adem, to London, where they hope to make new lives for themselves and their children.
In London, they face a choice: stay loyal to the old traditions or try their best to fit in. After Adem abandons his family, Iskender, the eldest son, must step in and become the one who will not let any shame come to the family name. And when Pembe begins a chaste affair with a man named Elias, Iskender will discover that you could love someone with all your heart and yet be ready to hurt them.
Just published to great acclaim in England, Honor is a powerful, gripping exploration of guilt and innocence, loyalty and betrayal, and the trials of the immigrant, as well as the love and heartbreak that too often tear families apart.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2011
About the author
Elif Shafak
62 books29.3k followersElif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and the most widely read female author in Turkey. She writes in both Turkish and English, and has published seventeen books, eleven of which are novels. Her work has been translated into fifty languages. Shafak holds a PhD in political science and she has taught at various universities in Turkey, the US and the UK, including St Anne's College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow. She is a member of Weforum Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy and a founding member of ECFR (European Council on Foreign Relations). An advocate for women's rights, LGBT rights and freedom of speech, Shafak is an inspiring public speaker and twice a TED Global speaker, each time receiving a standing ovation. Shafak contributes to major publications around the world and she has been awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. In 2017 she was chosen by Politico as one of the twelve people who would make the world better. She has judged numerous literary prizes and is chairing the Wellcome Prize 2019. www.elifshafak.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,277 reviews
January 13, 2015
I am so blown away by this novel, I can't even begin...... The Guardian review saying that Shafak's writing style is similar to Isabel Allende is correct. Shafak like Allende, is able to tell a story from the point of view of many characters without being confusing. However Shafak also has something of Amin Malouf in that she writes about cultural identities. Most of all, Elif Shafak has her own unique style that combines historical fiction,cultural issues, a little bit of spirituality without being preachy or religious and just plain good storytelling. I could not put this book down. The subject matter might make it seem like it would be a downer, however it's not, it's more bittersweet. Rather than feeling like you're "watching a train wreak in slow motion", reading this book was more like putting together a fascinating, sad and beautiful puzzle that only comes together at the very end. I can't wait to read more books by this author!
November 7, 2017
This is such a phenomenal- interesting - page -turning very enjoyable novel. I was drawn into the storytelling instantly....[ I THINK EVERY ONE OF MY FRIENDS WILL BE TOO].....it’s mesmerizing and brilliant. This is also my first book by Elif Shafak. It won’t be the last.
I’ve not read another book quite like this one. It’s rich in Turkish/Kirdish culture - yet its literary fiction written in English.
I can’t ever remember reading a novel about an honor killing in the Muslim culture. Had Elif Shafak not been such a gifted storyteller — it could have felt like reading
Wikipedia. But this novel was equally fascinating historically as it was emotionally.
Iskender Toprak was only 16 years of age, Turkish/Kirdish origin, when he stabbed his mother, Pembe Toprak, to death in Hackney in an act of honour killing in front of his family Home on Lavender Grove.
Pembe, 33 years old, mother of three, (Iskender, Esma, and Yunus), had an extramarital affair. Pembe, no longer lived with her husband, Adem, ( who has a gambling addiction), although they remained married.
When the father is absent, the mother’s honour is guarded by the eldest son, which in this case was Iskender. Police were investigating whether the teenager acted alone or if he was used as a pawn by other family members to carry out a collective murder plan.
In 1970, the Toprak Family moved to England, from Istanbul ( living in a small village in Euphrates), shorty before Yunas, youngest child was born. Pembe‘ twin sister, Jamila, stays behind and becomes a virgin midwife.
This book is many things —� it’s an immigration story—(Muslims living in England) a story about honour, couture, pride, and its a story about marriage and family. Struggles, taboos, dreams, betrayal, love,loss, regret, grief, and the inequities of the ancient ways between men and women.
A heartbreaking story....written with skill and compassion - thought provoking - and a downright utterly fabulous read!!!!!
Thank you *Isa*, very much for the gift of this book .....
..... and thank you for introducing me to an author I had never read - which would have been a missed opportunity!
I’ve not read another book quite like this one. It’s rich in Turkish/Kirdish culture - yet its literary fiction written in English.
I can’t ever remember reading a novel about an honor killing in the Muslim culture. Had Elif Shafak not been such a gifted storyteller — it could have felt like reading
Wikipedia. But this novel was equally fascinating historically as it was emotionally.
Iskender Toprak was only 16 years of age, Turkish/Kirdish origin, when he stabbed his mother, Pembe Toprak, to death in Hackney in an act of honour killing in front of his family Home on Lavender Grove.
Pembe, 33 years old, mother of three, (Iskender, Esma, and Yunus), had an extramarital affair. Pembe, no longer lived with her husband, Adem, ( who has a gambling addiction), although they remained married.
When the father is absent, the mother’s honour is guarded by the eldest son, which in this case was Iskender. Police were investigating whether the teenager acted alone or if he was used as a pawn by other family members to carry out a collective murder plan.
In 1970, the Toprak Family moved to England, from Istanbul ( living in a small village in Euphrates), shorty before Yunas, youngest child was born. Pembe‘ twin sister, Jamila, stays behind and becomes a virgin midwife.
This book is many things —� it’s an immigration story—(Muslims living in England) a story about honour, couture, pride, and its a story about marriage and family. Struggles, taboos, dreams, betrayal, love,loss, regret, grief, and the inequities of the ancient ways between men and women.
A heartbreaking story....written with skill and compassion - thought provoking - and a downright utterly fabulous read!!!!!
Thank you *Isa*, very much for the gift of this book .....
..... and thank you for introducing me to an author I had never read - which would have been a missed opportunity!
December 15, 2016
" if there is no harmony inside that person, he will always be angry "
A heart-touching novel about the misleading meaning of honor in the east and some other countries all over the world , honor that concerned only with bodies, women bodies !
This is the story of Pembe and Jamila , Kurdish-Turkish twins and their suffering though life among the retardation ,superstition and injustice .
After reading the Bastard of Istanbul i decided to read more for Elif Şafak , she handles important and complicated cases in such fantastic rationality and neutrality , there are no bad guys, only there are humans that as much as they make mistakes she keep giving an explanations for their attitudes .
As the bad Community that Adam brought-up in was a reason to his transformation to that bad father , and the same reason why he didn't marry the one he loved . The way that Adam was , was one of the reason to make Iskender the angry teenager .
“Never had it occurred to him that you could deceive the person you held dear. It was his first lesson in the complexity of love.”
The lies that the mother Pembe lied when she promised him as he was a child that she would not make the doctor circumscribe him , and when he trusted his father that he would not kill the sheep .. but then they let him down , they lied , they lost him at these points but they didn't recognized that until he did his crime .
And the most important thing , the little secrets that we ignore and won't tell our partners about them and how could they grow bigger and bigger until they choke or even turn worst , they make as lose the people we love and ourselves .
And these contradictions of men they drink , gamble and have sexual relationships and contaminate their honor while forcing their wives and sisters to polish theirs !
"some women are married and alone ,some like me are merely alone "
As usual Elif showed amazing indirect meanings and lessons , in an interesting way she fancies you and makes you feel that the novel is more than ordinary at the beginning and at the last third she turns the table and make you think again and re-read some pages again , amazes you at the end .
The third novel i read to Elif and absolutely won't be the last .
A heart-touching novel about the misleading meaning of honor in the east and some other countries all over the world , honor that concerned only with bodies, women bodies !
This is the story of Pembe and Jamila , Kurdish-Turkish twins and their suffering though life among the retardation ,superstition and injustice .
After reading the Bastard of Istanbul i decided to read more for Elif Şafak , she handles important and complicated cases in such fantastic rationality and neutrality , there are no bad guys, only there are humans that as much as they make mistakes she keep giving an explanations for their attitudes .
As the bad Community that Adam brought-up in was a reason to his transformation to that bad father , and the same reason why he didn't marry the one he loved . The way that Adam was , was one of the reason to make Iskender the angry teenager .
“Never had it occurred to him that you could deceive the person you held dear. It was his first lesson in the complexity of love.”
The lies that the mother Pembe lied when she promised him as he was a child that she would not make the doctor circumscribe him , and when he trusted his father that he would not kill the sheep .. but then they let him down , they lied , they lost him at these points but they didn't recognized that until he did his crime .
And the most important thing , the little secrets that we ignore and won't tell our partners about them and how could they grow bigger and bigger until they choke or even turn worst , they make as lose the people we love and ourselves .
And these contradictions of men they drink , gamble and have sexual relationships and contaminate their honor while forcing their wives and sisters to polish theirs !
"some women are married and alone ,some like me are merely alone "
As usual Elif showed amazing indirect meanings and lessons , in an interesting way she fancies you and makes you feel that the novel is more than ordinary at the beginning and at the last third she turns the table and make you think again and re-read some pages again , amazes you at the end .
The third novel i read to Elif and absolutely won't be the last .
September 11, 2017
I am blown away , I am actually at a loss of words.... There are so many thoughts going around in my head about this marvellous book! I just need to let time pass in order to fully grasp everything!Just wow, plain and simple as that! Did I say wow?!Wow!
March 5, 2020
If there is one thing this book succeeds in impressing upon the mind of reader, it is that it takes years and lots of suffering and pain to let go off deep-seated notions of righteousness, passed down through generations in a conservative society. One of the most horrific outcomes of such practices is ‘honour killing’ where a woman is murdered in cold blood to supposedly keep the honour of family intact in case she deviates from the rules of modesty dictated by the system. While it is also true that sometimes the awareness of oppressive practices especially prejudices against women, is stifled by the patriarchal systems vigorously lest it upends the existing rules of male dominance.
But what happens when such an act results in a kind of introspection by the perpetrator. When the dark, dingy cells of a prison, lets the murderer come to face with the darkness inside his own heart. When the burden of his own act gets the better of him and he looks for penance, which might never come his way.
This book has at its heart, one such murder – that of a mother by her teenage son. But this book is also so much more than that. It is a window into a world largely unknown to the developed world, into its customs and mores. It effectively portrays the deprivation of a world that clings to its traditions and rituals to keep a sense of belongingness intact. More importantly, it brings to the fore, the muffled voices of the oppressed women as well as of the sometimes-confused voices of the oppressor, who have never questioned the long held beliefs, who haven’t felt liberated either from the societal expectations.
And then this book is a page turner too. I was left in awe of Shafak’s ability to hold reader’s attention with a fast pacing plot, which gratifies literary senses too.
But what happens when such an act results in a kind of introspection by the perpetrator. When the dark, dingy cells of a prison, lets the murderer come to face with the darkness inside his own heart. When the burden of his own act gets the better of him and he looks for penance, which might never come his way.
This book has at its heart, one such murder – that of a mother by her teenage son. But this book is also so much more than that. It is a window into a world largely unknown to the developed world, into its customs and mores. It effectively portrays the deprivation of a world that clings to its traditions and rituals to keep a sense of belongingness intact. More importantly, it brings to the fore, the muffled voices of the oppressed women as well as of the sometimes-confused voices of the oppressor, who have never questioned the long held beliefs, who haven’t felt liberated either from the societal expectations.
And then this book is a page turner too. I was left in awe of Shafak’s ability to hold reader’s attention with a fast pacing plot, which gratifies literary senses too.
February 7, 2017
ملاحظة مهمة: للرواية جزء ثانٍ صدر حديثا عن دار الآداب.
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تساءلت بعد الانتهاء من هذه الرواية عن السبب الذي يجعل التركية أليف شافاك كاتبة عالمية، بينما لا تحظى معظم الكاتبات العربيات بهذه الفرصة (أو ربعها) رغم أنهن لا ينقصن عنها موهبة أو إبداعًا!
قد يقول أحدكم بأن السبب في ذلك أن شافاك تكتب رواياتها باللغة الإنجليزية مما يوفر لها فرصة أكبر للوصول إلى مساحة أكثر اتساعًا من القراء، بينما ضيقت الكاتبات العربيات مساحة قرائهن حين كتبن باللغة العربية، فعدا عن كونها لغة شعوب لا تقرأ، فهي أيضًا لا تحظى بنفس درجة الانتشار الذي تحظى به اللغة الإنجليزية أو الفرنسية على سبيل المثال!
ولكن الترجمة استطاعت إزالة هذا الحاجز نوعًا ما فهناك الكثير من الكتاب الذي استطاعوا الوصول إلى العالمية بلغاتهم الأصلية
أعتقد أن السبب الحقيقي يكمن في ابتعاد الكاتبات العربيات عن تناول القضايا اللصيقة بمجتمعاتهن إما تعاليًا أو خوفًا .. من ردات ��لفعل!
في المقابل، لا يكاد يخلو كتاب من كتب أليف شافاك من مشكلة / قضية مغرقة في المحلية تتناولها بدون أي حرج أو خوف، وكأنها تقول للعالم: هذه بضاعتي من المشاكل، حتى لو بدت لكم سخيفة أو تافهة أو محرجة، إلا أنها مشاكلي التي تشكل جزءا من هويتي وهوية مجتمعي، ولن أخجل منها أو منكم!
أليست جرائم الشرف التي تتناولها هذه الرواية أكثر وضوحًا في بعض المجتمعات العربية منها في تركيا؟
وماذا عن الصدام بين التقاليد والحداثة؟
أو العنف الأسري ضد النساء؟
أو تسلط الذكور؟
إليف شافاك جعلت من البعد القطري في روايتها هذه (وغيرها) الوسيلة الأنجع نحو بلوغ العالمية، فالمتأمل لتفاصيل الرواية، يجدها تحتفي في معظمها بالمكان الأم/تركيا: شعبها المتعدد الأعراق، مدنها وأزقتها، عاداتها وطقوسها .. إلخ من خلال هذه التفاصيل على سبيل التمثيل لا الحصر نجد أن أليف شافاك صعدت سلم العالمية من أول أدراجه: أي من إهتمامها المفرط بما هو محلي. فالدرس البليغ من تجربة شافاك هذه ، يكمن في ضرورة تأصيل الأدب العربي وجعله أكثر إلتصاقاً بقضايا الواقع المحلي، أكثر من الانهماك في تناول قضايا هامشية!
----
تساءلت بعد الانتهاء من هذه الرواية عن السبب الذي يجعل التركية أليف شافاك كاتبة عالمية، بينما لا تحظى معظم الكاتبات العربيات بهذه الفرصة (أو ربعها) رغم أنهن لا ينقصن عنها موهبة أو إبداعًا!
قد يقول أحدكم بأن السبب في ذلك أن شافاك تكتب رواياتها باللغة الإنجليزية مما يوفر لها فرصة أكبر للوصول إلى مساحة أكثر اتساعًا من القراء، بينما ضيقت الكاتبات العربيات مساحة قرائهن حين كتبن باللغة العربية، فعدا عن كونها لغة شعوب لا تقرأ، فهي أيضًا لا تحظى بنفس درجة الانتشار الذي تحظى به اللغة الإنجليزية أو الفرنسية على سبيل المثال!
ولكن الترجمة استطاعت إزالة هذا الحاجز نوعًا ما فهناك الكثير من الكتاب الذي استطاعوا الوصول إلى العالمية بلغاتهم الأصلية
أعتقد أن السبب الحقيقي يكمن في ابتعاد الكاتبات العربيات عن تناول القضايا اللصيقة بمجتمعاتهن إما تعاليًا أو خوفًا .. من ردات ��لفعل!
في المقابل، لا يكاد يخلو كتاب من كتب أليف شافاك من مشكلة / قضية مغرقة في المحلية تتناولها بدون أي حرج أو خوف، وكأنها تقول للعالم: هذه بضاعتي من المشاكل، حتى لو بدت لكم سخيفة أو تافهة أو محرجة، إلا أنها مشاكلي التي تشكل جزءا من هويتي وهوية مجتمعي، ولن أخجل منها أو منكم!
أليست جرائم الشرف التي تتناولها هذه الرواية أكثر وضوحًا في بعض المجتمعات العربية منها في تركيا؟
وماذا عن الصدام بين التقاليد والحداثة؟
أو العنف الأسري ضد النساء؟
أو تسلط الذكور؟
إليف شافاك جعلت من البعد القطري في روايتها هذه (وغيرها) الوسيلة الأنجع نحو بلوغ العالمية، فالمتأمل لتفاصيل الرواية، يجدها تحتفي في معظمها بالمكان الأم/تركيا: شعبها المتعدد الأعراق، مدنها وأزقتها، عاداتها وطقوسها .. إلخ من خلال هذه التفاصيل على سبيل التمثيل لا الحصر نجد أن أليف شافاك صعدت سلم العالمية من أول أدراجه: أي من إهتمامها المفرط بما هو محلي. فالدرس البليغ من تجربة شافاك هذه ، يكمن في ضرورة تأصيل الأدب العربي وجعله أكثر إلتصاقاً بقضايا الواقع المحلي، أكثر من الانهماك في تناول قضايا هامشية!
July 28, 2020
More of 3.5 stars. This novel suffers from too much being crammed into it. The theme of honor in Turkish and Kurdish culture, then carried into an immigrant situation, is an interesting one. It got bogged down by confusing timelines, too many characters, weird themes like twins and midwives, etc. I was often lost.
I do think the topic of honor killings is important to address, and I wish it had more clarity in these pages. Then I could recommend it as a fictionalized resource, perhaps.
I do think the topic of honor killings is important to address, and I wish it had more clarity in these pages. Then I could recommend it as a fictionalized resource, perhaps.
September 15, 2016
Esma nam u ovom romanu pripovijeda o nekoliko generacija svoje porodice: svojoj majci i tetki, nani, svom ocu i njegovoj porodici, o svojoj braći i sebi. Njena majka i tetka rođene su '40ih godina XX vijeka na obali Eufrata kao sedmo i osmo dijete. Blizankinje su, a njihovi životi kreću različitim putanjama nakon što se Pembe, Esmina majka, seli u London, a njena sestra, Esmina tetka, Džemile, ostaje u rodnom kraju....
Elif je u ovom romanu uspjela na tako vješt način ispričati sudbinu nekoliko generacija. Roman prati događaje 40ih, 70ih i 90ih godina. Svako poglavlje pripovijeda drugi lik i svako se radnjom nadovezuje na prethodno sve dok u konačnici ne dobijemo potpunu sliku događaja koji su prethodili raspadu Esmine porodice. Ono što je posebno zanimljivo je slika Londona 70ih godina i predrasude njegovih stanovnika prema ljudima druge rase i religije. Bez obzira na broj stranica i tematiku koju obrađuje, roman se jako brzo čita, a u nekoliko navrata sam naišla na lijepe citate o ljubavi i porodici. Od mene velika preporuka! :)
"Kad se jednom pogledaš očima zaljubljenog u tebe, više nisi ista osoba."
Elif je u ovom romanu uspjela na tako vješt način ispričati sudbinu nekoliko generacija. Roman prati događaje 40ih, 70ih i 90ih godina. Svako poglavlje pripovijeda drugi lik i svako se radnjom nadovezuje na prethodno sve dok u konačnici ne dobijemo potpunu sliku događaja koji su prethodili raspadu Esmine porodice. Ono što je posebno zanimljivo je slika Londona 70ih godina i predrasude njegovih stanovnika prema ljudima druge rase i religije. Bez obzira na broj stranica i tematiku koju obrađuje, roman se jako brzo čita, a u nekoliko navrata sam naišla na lijepe citate o ljubavi i porodici. Od mene velika preporuka! :)
"Kad se jednom pogledaš očima zaljubljenog u tebe, više nisi ista osoba."
March 22, 2016
Well. I think I can officially put Elif Shafak on my favorite authors list.
Watch my full review https://youtu.be/PJdmjkXNhXg
Watch my full review https://youtu.be/PJdmjkXNhXg
February 21, 2014
Honor by Elif Shafak is a tragic story of a shocking honor killing that stuns and shatters the lives and hopes of a Turkish emigrant family living in London in the 1970s.
This book opens with a very strong and beautiful dedication from the author which reads as follows;
When I was seven years old We lived in a green house, one of our neighbours a talented tailor would often beat his wife. In the evenings we listened to the shouts, the crys the swearing. In the mornings we went on with our lives as usual. The entire neighbourhood pretended not to have heard. Not to have seen.
This novel is dedicated to those who hear, those who see.
The stroy within the novel is tragic and powerful and certainly does make you ponder on the lives of those women who deal with situaltion like this everyday. The authors writing and account of an emigrant family living and adapting to life in London in 1970 is very well portrayed. I found the writing good and the characters real and vivid.
The narrative does get a little confusing at times as the stroy deals with a lot of characters and goes back and forth between diffferent time spans, countries and characters and at times the story became quite disjounted for me as a result. I was disappointed with the ending of the novel as it just didn't work for me.
Overall an interesting book and in places very powerful stroy telling from Elif Shafak and I would certainly look out for more books by this author.
February 7, 2017
افضل ما قرأت لال��ف شافاق
تركيز جميل على دواخل النفس الانسانيه
تنوع فى ثقافة ابطال الروايه باختلاف بلدانهم واماكن معيشتهم تضعك فى قلب الحدث وتجبرك على التفاعل مع تطور الروايه واحداثها
روايه ببساطه تطوف بك العالم
تركيز الكاتبه على الطوائف المهمشه يسحر ويجبرك على احترامها(الارمن فى لقيطة استانبول والاكراد فى شرف)
وتقدمهم باسلوب راقى فعلا
تركيز جميل على دواخل النفس الانسانيه
تنوع فى ثقافة ابطال الروايه باختلاف بلدانهم واماكن معيشتهم تضعك فى قلب الحدث وتجبرك على التفاعل مع تطور الروايه واحداثها
روايه ببساطه تطوف بك العالم
تركيز الكاتبه على الطوائف المهمشه يسحر ويجبرك على احترامها(الارمن فى لقيطة استانبول والاكراد فى شرف)
وتقدمهم باسلوب راقى فعلا
December 22, 2017
An honor killing in London is not your typical theme for a novel, so the characters radiating out from this event were interesting to get to know. I was drawn in by the twin sisters and enjoyed how it came to light that the sister who found love was left alone. The twin who did marry had reasons other than passion for doing so.
Although the chapter headings were very clearly marked with location and date, I think they could have been better shuffled to reveal some key items of interest earlier. Had I known sooner why Jamila was alone, her character would have pulled more empathy from me. She was an interesting young lady, and additional details about her life, as opposed to that of Adem, would have drawn me toward her character. It wasn't until nearly too late that I felt a connection with her.
Similarly, I might have cared more about Adem and how his young life experiences impacted his son had the dam scene been revealed a bit earlier. Flashbacks and different points of view are common devices in novels, but there is a risk in waiting too long for certain characters' individual stories to reveal themselves. A better editor could have realigned these timelines and made me love the story's inhabitants much sooner.
The reasons behind the actual honor killing by Alex were not drawn with very much depth. Yes, we know the basics - but for this loving son to have acted with a shallowly described motive mildly insults his emotions and internal conflict. One had to assume that his father had told him ugly stories about his own mother, rather poisoning him toward women, but we know that he was loathe do so. This area wasn't woven with much detail.
Ultimately, I did not feel much of a connection to any of the characters aside from Pembe. A mild point of irritation for me was that the author brought up conjoined twins who were of two different genders. One egg can split into identical twins, but obviously they must be of the same sex.
3.5 for the unusual topic and the surprises.
Although the chapter headings were very clearly marked with location and date, I think they could have been better shuffled to reveal some key items of interest earlier. Had I known sooner why Jamila was alone, her character would have pulled more empathy from me. She was an interesting young lady, and additional details about her life, as opposed to that of Adem, would have drawn me toward her character. It wasn't until nearly too late that I felt a connection with her.
Similarly, I might have cared more about Adem and how his young life experiences impacted his son had the dam scene been revealed a bit earlier. Flashbacks and different points of view are common devices in novels, but there is a risk in waiting too long for certain characters' individual stories to reveal themselves. A better editor could have realigned these timelines and made me love the story's inhabitants much sooner.
The reasons behind the actual honor killing by Alex were not drawn with very much depth. Yes, we know the basics - but for this loving son to have acted with a shallowly described motive mildly insults his emotions and internal conflict. One had to assume that his father had told him ugly stories about his own mother, rather poisoning him toward women, but we know that he was loathe do so. This area wasn't woven with much detail.
Ultimately, I did not feel much of a connection to any of the characters aside from Pembe. A mild point of irritation for me was that the author brought up conjoined twins who were of two different genders. One egg can split into identical twins, but obviously they must be of the same sex.
3.5 for the unusual topic and the surprises.
February 10, 2017
حاجتين في الرواية دايقوني أوي، أولا الغلاف، حاسس إن مصممة الغلاف دة أخدت الرسمة اللي ابنها رسمها وهو في حضانة وعملتها غلاف عشان تجبر بخاطرو، تاني حاجة المترجم، حوالي خمس أو ست عبارات بيترجمهم ترجمة حرفية ضيعت المعنى تماما، ثقافتو ضعيفة أوي في المصطلحات الإنجليزية الغير رسمية، مثلا الكاتبة كتبت إن واحدة قالت على واحد إنو
asshole
تقصد بالمعنى المتعارف عليه غبي أو رخم أو رزل، قام الكاتب كتبها بالمعنى الحرفي "فتحة شرج"، وطبعا حاجة تموت من الضحك
غير كدة، من أحلى الروايات الهادفة اللي قريتها
في بداية قرأتي للرواية دي كان في دماغي إن التقييم يبقى بتلت نجوم لا أكثر
الرواية بتبدأ بشاب عندو تلاتين سنة وخارج من السجن، برة السجن بتنتظرو أختو، بنعرف الجريمة اللي ارتكبها، و��و عندو 16 سنة قتل مامتو. وبعد كدة بتبدأ فلاش باك طول الرواية تحكي قصة ثلاثة أجيال، قصة جدة الشاب دة، قصة والدتو وأخواتها، قصة والدو وإخواتو، قصة الشاب نفسو وإخواتو، القصص متداخلة لا يتم سردها مرة واحد، يعني موقف من سنة 1978، موقف من سنة 1991، موقف من سنة 1951، وهكذا
بعد منتصف الرواية عرفت الكاتبة بتعمل ايه، وعرفت عبقرية هذا العمل، وطبعا كان قرار الخمس نجوم واجب، بتحكي قصة ثلاثة أجيال عشان تورينا الأحداث اللي مرت في خلال أربعين عاماً وأدت إن مراهق في السادسة عشر من عمره يقوم بقتل والدته، في نهاية الرواية هتتعاطف مع العائلة كلها، وهتفهم ايه اللي حصل عشان الولد يعمل كدة
رواية مؤثرة، خلتني وأنا بقرأ أبص لبنتي ذات العام والنصف وأقول أنا أموت أحسن من إن أنا أخرب الأسرة الصغيرة اللي أنا أنشأتها، عشان الأخطاء لا تموت، بتعيش مع الجيل اللي بعدينا وبعد بعدينا كمان.
لو قارنا هذا العمل بعمل الكاتبة الأشهر "قواعد العشق الأربعون" هنقول إن قواعد العشق ممتع أكثر، بس هذه الرواية، هتعيش معاك أكتر بكتير وهتأثر فيك أكتر بكتير
asshole
تقصد بالمعنى المتعارف عليه غبي أو رخم أو رزل، قام الكاتب كتبها بالمعنى الحرفي "فتحة شرج"، وطبعا حاجة تموت من الضحك
غير كدة، من أحلى الروايات الهادفة اللي قريتها
في بداية قرأتي للرواية دي كان في دماغي إن التقييم يبقى بتلت نجوم لا أكثر
الرواية بتبدأ بشاب عندو تلاتين سنة وخارج من السجن، برة السجن بتنتظرو أختو، بنعرف الجريمة اللي ارتكبها، و��و عندو 16 سنة قتل مامتو. وبعد كدة بتبدأ فلاش باك طول الرواية تحكي قصة ثلاثة أجيال، قصة جدة الشاب دة، قصة والدتو وأخواتها، قصة والدو وإخواتو، قصة الشاب نفسو وإخواتو، القصص متداخلة لا يتم سردها مرة واحد، يعني موقف من سنة 1978، موقف من سنة 1991، موقف من سنة 1951، وهكذا
بعد منتصف الرواية عرفت الكاتبة بتعمل ايه، وعرفت عبقرية هذا العمل، وطبعا كان قرار الخمس نجوم واجب، بتحكي قصة ثلاثة أجيال عشان تورينا الأحداث اللي مرت في خلال أربعين عاماً وأدت إن مراهق في السادسة عشر من عمره يقوم بقتل والدته، في نهاية الرواية هتتعاطف مع العائلة كلها، وهتفهم ايه اللي حصل عشان الولد يعمل كدة
رواية مؤثرة، خلتني وأنا بقرأ أبص لبنتي ذات العام والنصف وأقول أنا أموت أحسن من إن أنا أخرب الأسرة الصغيرة اللي أنا أنشأتها، عشان الأخطاء لا تموت، بتعيش مع الجيل اللي بعدينا وبعد بعدينا كمان.
لو قارنا هذا العمل بعمل الكاتبة الأشهر "قواعد العشق الأربعون" هنقول إن قواعد العشق ممتع أكثر، بس هذه الرواية، هتعيش معاك أكتر بكتير وهتأثر فيك أكتر بكتير
April 11, 2024
Има книги, от които боли, книги, за които знаеш, че ще разбият сърцето ти на парчета но въпреки това ги четеш с огромно удоволствие и накрая се влюбваш в историята и героите. Обичам “Чест” на Елиф Шафак от първата до последната страница и знам, че дълго ще я помня. Най-любимата ми нейна книга, а и не само 💞
Много ми е трудно да разкажа за романа, защото не ми се иска да издавам повече от споменатото в анотацията. Семейна история, която ни води през няколко поколения, държави и родословието на една фамилия. Шафак ни потапя в тайните, спомените и травмите на главните ни герои по един невероятен и умел начин. Стилът е лек и поетичен. Аз бях с тях и до тях през цялото време. В кюрдското село до река Ефрат с Пембе и Джамила, в изоставената къща в Хакни, Лондон с Юнус и Тобико, в Истанбул с Адем и за малко в България с Роксана. Въпреки, че сюжета прескача през различни времеви периоди и гледните точки на различните герои, които се менят буквално всяка следваща глава, в мен нито за миг нямаше объркване и чуденка къде съм и кой разказва в момента.
Както винаги ролята и образа на майката в книгата силно ме развълнува, впечатли, притесни, тормози и дори уплаши. Феноменална Шафак!!!
“Майка ми умря два пъти.” - няма такова първо изречение…
“Майките не отиват на небето, след като умрат. Получават специално разрешение от Бог да поостанат още малко и да наглеждат децата си, каквото и да се е случило между тях през краткия им земен живот.”
“Предполагам, че това съперничество между роднините няма край. Надпреварвате се за любовта на родителите дори, когато тях вече ги няма.”
Много ми е трудно да разкажа за романа, защото не ми се иска да издавам повече от споменатото в анотацията. Семейна история, която ни води през няколко поколения, държави и родословието на една фамилия. Шафак ни потапя в тайните, спомените и травмите на главните ни герои по един невероятен и умел начин. Стилът е лек и поетичен. Аз бях с тях и до тях през цялото време. В кюрдското село до река Ефрат с Пембе и Джамила, в изоставената къща в Хакни, Лондон с Юнус и Тобико, в Истанбул с Адем и за малко в България с Роксана. Въпреки, че сюжета прескача през различни времеви периоди и гледните точки на различните герои, които се менят буквално всяка следваща глава, в мен нито за миг нямаше объркване и чуденка къде съм и кой разказва в момента.
Както винаги ролята и образа на майката в книгата силно ме развълнува, впечатли, притесни, тормози и дори уплаши. Феноменална Шафак!!!
“Майка ми умря два пъти.” - няма такова първо изречение…
“Майките не отиват на небето, след като умрат. Получават специално разрешение от Бог да поостанат още малко и да наглеждат децата си, каквото и да се е случило между тях през краткия им земен живот.”
“Предполагам, че това съперничество между роднините няма край. Надпреварвате се за любовта на родителите дори, когато тях вече ги няма.”
December 3, 2016
Un roman care m-a atras de la primele pagini.
April 8, 2024
Напълно заслужени ПЕТ звезди за тази книга.
Ето така съм си представяла срещата си с Шафак, когато съм чела „Любов“ и „Копелето на Истанбул“, с които, уви, не се харесахме напълно. Има-няма десет години по-късно историята в „Чест“ беше всичко онова, което очаквах – емоционална, разтърсваща, съсипваща и оставяща много въпроси след себе си. Със сигурност съдбата на тези герои ще се настани задълго в главата ми. Така и трябва да бъде.
Ето така съм си представяла срещата си с Шафак, когато съм чела „Любов“ и „Копелето на Истанбул“, с които, уви, не се харесахме напълно. Има-няма десет години по-късно историята в „Чест“ беше всичко онова, което очаквах – емоционална, разтърсваща, съсипваща и оставяща много въпроси след себе си. Със сигурност съдбата на тези герои ще се настани задълго в главата ми. Така и трябва да бъде.
September 20, 2024
A heartbreaking saga of a family torn apart by resentment, misunderstanding, and the fragile interpretation of honor. Lyrical and reflective, this novel explores the bittersweet immigrant experience, the pains of leaving one home to create another, the balancing of tradition and assimilation, and the nuances of cultural expectations and expressions. It is a look into the ways that withheld truths both save and damn us, how our freedoms are almost never without cost, and how the things meant to empower us can be used as a means of harm when in the wrong hands. It is a devastating look at misguided youth, of aching hearts, of intentions and actions, of sisterly love and of sacrificing one happiness for the chance at another. Gripping, and full of the dire choices many women must make everyday, Honor is a stunning account of a life lived with great pain, but great love as well.
March 6, 2013
Disclaimer: I read this as an ARC via Netgalley. Thank you, Penguin.
Good literature, a good story, stirs something in you besides emotion. This is because we, humans, learn though stories. Whether it is though the fables of Aesop or the narrative that the nightly news uses, stories are an integral part of your life. A good story, or to be more exact, a good presentation of story makes the listener or reader think, to move outside of herself, to move beyond the habit and culture that she knows. A good story tries to explain the unexplainable.
This is what Honour by Elif Shafak does.
At first glance, the book seems to be along the lines of Brick Lane - a story of two sisters, Pembe and Jamila – one of whom immigrants to London where she meets her eventual fate at the hands of her son. At second glance, the book looks like a fictional story about an honor killing in the United Kingdom. Both glances are right and both are wrong.
In many ways this book is similar to Brick Lane, though Pembe is not depressed and the story is more active, and it is about an honor killing. Yet the book’s main focus is honor, but honor beyond that of the idea of honor that leads to what critics call “so called honor” murder. It is honor that sets the story in motion, long before the birth of Pembe, Jamila, or Pembe’s children Iskender, Esma, or Yunus. It is an old honor code that effects the lives of Pembe, and her husband Adem, and not the type of honor you are thinking of as you read this.
The narrative is told though shifting viewpoints, covering most of the family members, and this choice puts the reader in a unique, and perhaps, disconcerting place. In her book about honor killings, Rana Husseini relates her encounters with the men in the families who sanctioned the killings of their female relatives or those men who killed the women. She wanted to understand or at least come close to an explanation of for the action. That is in part what Shafak does here. By using multiple viewpoints, by having the reader know a crucial outcome of the story, Shafak is able to get the reader to see what drove Iskender to the murder. The reader may not like Iskender but the reader does not feel hate towards him. In part because the reader can see the forces that move him – the racism in society, the displacement, the lack of a father figure, the choosing of someone to replace that figure, the rejection by family - that lead to the action. The reader can also see what saves his two siblings from making the same choices or reacting the same way. The society that is liberating for some can cause others to fail, fall, and crash if a safety net is not there.
I confess that I was somewhat surprised to see the viewpoint of Iskender but in many ways, his viewpoint is central to the novel. The first thing it does is stop the book from being like the movie of the week or the sensationalism that some news stories use. It goes deep, and the reader not only recoils in horror but also sorrows with pity and anger. There is a desire for change in the novel – change at every level not just in the family but in both types of societies – the Kurdish region of Turkey that Pembe and Jamila come from and the society of England that Pembe lives in. The sisters are let down by both even as other members of the family are supported by both.
Shafak’s style not only invokes the settings of her novels, but she captures characters well, engages the reader without preaching to the reader. There is intensity in the writing, but there is also a story telling quality to it. In many ways, it feels like the reader is sitting with Shafak at table, on which sits sesame halva and tea.
Good literature, a good story, stirs something in you besides emotion. This is because we, humans, learn though stories. Whether it is though the fables of Aesop or the narrative that the nightly news uses, stories are an integral part of your life. A good story, or to be more exact, a good presentation of story makes the listener or reader think, to move outside of herself, to move beyond the habit and culture that she knows. A good story tries to explain the unexplainable.
This is what Honour by Elif Shafak does.
At first glance, the book seems to be along the lines of Brick Lane - a story of two sisters, Pembe and Jamila – one of whom immigrants to London where she meets her eventual fate at the hands of her son. At second glance, the book looks like a fictional story about an honor killing in the United Kingdom. Both glances are right and both are wrong.
In many ways this book is similar to Brick Lane, though Pembe is not depressed and the story is more active, and it is about an honor killing. Yet the book’s main focus is honor, but honor beyond that of the idea of honor that leads to what critics call “so called honor” murder. It is honor that sets the story in motion, long before the birth of Pembe, Jamila, or Pembe’s children Iskender, Esma, or Yunus. It is an old honor code that effects the lives of Pembe, and her husband Adem, and not the type of honor you are thinking of as you read this.
The narrative is told though shifting viewpoints, covering most of the family members, and this choice puts the reader in a unique, and perhaps, disconcerting place. In her book about honor killings, Rana Husseini relates her encounters with the men in the families who sanctioned the killings of their female relatives or those men who killed the women. She wanted to understand or at least come close to an explanation of for the action. That is in part what Shafak does here. By using multiple viewpoints, by having the reader know a crucial outcome of the story, Shafak is able to get the reader to see what drove Iskender to the murder. The reader may not like Iskender but the reader does not feel hate towards him. In part because the reader can see the forces that move him – the racism in society, the displacement, the lack of a father figure, the choosing of someone to replace that figure, the rejection by family - that lead to the action. The reader can also see what saves his two siblings from making the same choices or reacting the same way. The society that is liberating for some can cause others to fail, fall, and crash if a safety net is not there.
I confess that I was somewhat surprised to see the viewpoint of Iskender but in many ways, his viewpoint is central to the novel. The first thing it does is stop the book from being like the movie of the week or the sensationalism that some news stories use. It goes deep, and the reader not only recoils in horror but also sorrows with pity and anger. There is a desire for change in the novel – change at every level not just in the family but in both types of societies – the Kurdish region of Turkey that Pembe and Jamila come from and the society of England that Pembe lives in. The sisters are let down by both even as other members of the family are supported by both.
Shafak’s style not only invokes the settings of her novels, but she captures characters well, engages the reader without preaching to the reader. There is intensity in the writing, but there is also a story telling quality to it. In many ways, it feels like the reader is sitting with Shafak at table, on which sits sesame halva and tea.
August 25, 2012
I feel mean giving this book such a low rating but while it deals with the difficult subject matter with sensitivity and empathy it just has too many similarities with the two best-known British novels dealing with the immigrant experience: Zadie Smith's White Teeth and Monica Ali's Brick Lane. The divided sisters motif in Brick Lane is reproduced here, and the central Iskander character is uncomfortably close to Smith's Millat - while his brother Yunus is almost a copy of the same novel's Josh, a naive kid with a crush on a punk chick. Shafak's attempts to write a polyvocal novel flounder against an inability to maintain a consistent style for each character, and there is a serious clash of tones between a kind of magical realism which is more in the style of Hawthorne than Garcia Marquez, and the broad, almost parodic treatment of the squatters, and Iskander's almost buffoonish spiritual mentor - amongst others. This worked in Smith's Dickensian sprawl of a novel, but it doesn't fit with the serious tone of the rest of the book. Like Ali's Brick Lane, the denoument is unrealistically redemptive, leaving little to linger in the mind after reading.
Shafak's real strength is in domestic settings and intimate relationships: I would certainly read another novel that played to these, but 'Honour' feels like old ingredients in a new sauce.
Shafak's real strength is in domestic settings and intimate relationships: I would certainly read another novel that played to these, but 'Honour' feels like old ingredients in a new sauce.
September 30, 2017
«مادرم دو بار مرد» اثر الیف شافاک.
داستانی درمورد زنان و مردانیه که به خاطر طرز فکر های سنتی خانواده هاشون سبک زندگیشون تغییر میکنه و تمام زندگیشون تحت تاثیر مفاهیمی مثل شرافت، ناموس ، غیرت و ... قرار میگیره. کل داستان بر محوریت قتل مادر خانواده به دست پسر بزرگش و به اتهام زیر سوال بردن شرافت خانواده بیان میشه. داستان زندگی چند نسل از این خانواده و تباه شدن زندگی هاشون به خاطر مفاهیم غلط رایج در جامعه شرح داده میشه. عشق هایی که درون سینه دفن میشن، زندگی هایی که بالاجبار ادامه پیدا می کنن، خیانت، دخترانی که سرنوشتی جز نابودی ندارن، پسرانی که به خاطر نقش های غلطی که جامعه بهشون القا میکنه به تباهی کشیده میشن و ...
بنظرم کتاب خیلی خیلی زیبایی بود. برای دومین بار اثری از الیف شافاک خوندم و تحسینش کردم. کتاب چه از لحاظ محتوا و موضوع و چه از لحاظ قلم و شیوه ی نوشتار به شدت زیباست.. و توی این کتاب شباهت خیلی زیادی بین فرهنگ سنتی حاکم بر ترکیه و فرهنگ سنتی ایران پیدا می کنید..
داستانی درمورد زنان و مردانیه که به خاطر طرز فکر های سنتی خانواده هاشون سبک زندگیشون تغییر میکنه و تمام زندگیشون تحت تاثیر مفاهیمی مثل شرافت، ناموس ، غیرت و ... قرار میگیره. کل داستان بر محوریت قتل مادر خانواده به دست پسر بزرگش و به اتهام زیر سوال بردن شرافت خانواده بیان میشه. داستان زندگی چند نسل از این خانواده و تباه شدن زندگی هاشون به خاطر مفاهیم غلط رایج در جامعه شرح داده میشه. عشق هایی که درون سینه دفن میشن، زندگی هایی که بالاجبار ادامه پیدا می کنن، خیانت، دخترانی که سرنوشتی جز نابودی ندارن، پسرانی که به خاطر نقش های غلطی که جامعه بهشون القا میکنه به تباهی کشیده میشن و ...
بنظرم کتاب خیلی خیلی زیبایی بود. برای دومین بار اثری از الیف شافاک خوندم و تحسینش کردم. کتاب چه از لحاظ محتوا و موضوع و چه از لحاظ قلم و شیوه ی نوشتار به شدت زیباست.. و توی این کتاب شباهت خیلی زیادی بین فرهنگ سنتی حاکم بر ترکیه و فرهنگ سنتی ایران پیدا می کنید..
February 18, 2019
"Inima omului e ca soba. Producem căldură, facem energie, în fiecare zi. Dar când acuzăm pe alții, când spunem lucruri cumplite, energia dinăuntru se duce în altă parte. Inima se răcește.
E întotdeauna mai bine să privești înăuntru. Lasă-i pe ceilalți să-și poarte singuri de grijă. Fiecare amărăciune e bagaj greu. De ce să-l cari? Ești un balon cu aer cald. Spune-mi unde vrei să mergi în sus sau în jos? Lasă în urmă furia, durerea, lasă sacii să cadă.
Cand deveneai prima oara tata, iti inchipuiai copilul ca pe o prelungire a ta. Te umplea de mandrie, de un sentiment de implinire si inradacinare, pana ajungeai sa-ti dai seama, incetul cu incetul, ca un copil era propria lui creatie. Nu se abatea de la destinul lui, oricat de mult ti-ai fi dorit, l-ai fi indemnat sau l-ai fi silit sa mearga pe urmele tale."
E întotdeauna mai bine să privești înăuntru. Lasă-i pe ceilalți să-și poarte singuri de grijă. Fiecare amărăciune e bagaj greu. De ce să-l cari? Ești un balon cu aer cald. Spune-mi unde vrei să mergi în sus sau în jos? Lasă în urmă furia, durerea, lasă sacii să cadă.
Cand deveneai prima oara tata, iti inchipuiai copilul ca pe o prelungire a ta. Te umplea de mandrie, de un sentiment de implinire si inradacinare, pana ajungeai sa-ti dai seama, incetul cu incetul, ca un copil era propria lui creatie. Nu se abatea de la destinul lui, oricat de mult ti-ai fi dorit, l-ai fi indemnat sau l-ai fi silit sa mearga pe urmele tale."
Read
May 30, 2020A book I read a while ago and which I remembered when I saw an altercation between a couple.
"Honor" - begins with a murder : a son stabs his mother, for that he suspects her of adultery, and for that he thinks it his duty to defend the honor of the family.
It is the last gesture, which explodes the consequences of a set of values, in which men are born for honor, and women - for shame.
It is something that happens in traditionalist Muslim communities, including immigrant communities.
The story is built from several perspectives - one of the killer son, imprisoned in the '90, but will continue with that of his sister, Esme, who wants to write about their family, especially the mother, and to preserve them somehow, his presence.
The third angle is offered by the narrator's gaze, which has acces to the past of the other characters.
By resorting to flashbacks, the narrator brings to the book stories that talk about traditionalist mentalities, and about how they conflict with individual needs, and freedom of choice.
Elif Shafak describes a complicated model of existence, in which immigrants from a culture with rigid norms - experience a culture shock, in the loan country, but they find themselves appreciating certain values and freedoms guaranteed here.
It is a book that credibly problematizes life situations, that in the extreme - lead to death.
A world where women have a bitter slice, whatever the context.
A distinction that will operate for three generation, one that begins to be erased by the voice of Esme - the writer-sister, who denounces the injustice of such stereotypes.
"Honor" - begins with a murder : a son stabs his mother, for that he suspects her of adultery, and for that he thinks it his duty to defend the honor of the family.
It is the last gesture, which explodes the consequences of a set of values, in which men are born for honor, and women - for shame.
It is something that happens in traditionalist Muslim communities, including immigrant communities.
The story is built from several perspectives - one of the killer son, imprisoned in the '90, but will continue with that of his sister, Esme, who wants to write about their family, especially the mother, and to preserve them somehow, his presence.
The third angle is offered by the narrator's gaze, which has acces to the past of the other characters.
By resorting to flashbacks, the narrator brings to the book stories that talk about traditionalist mentalities, and about how they conflict with individual needs, and freedom of choice.
Elif Shafak describes a complicated model of existence, in which immigrants from a culture with rigid norms - experience a culture shock, in the loan country, but they find themselves appreciating certain values and freedoms guaranteed here.
It is a book that credibly problematizes life situations, that in the extreme - lead to death.
A world where women have a bitter slice, whatever the context.
A distinction that will operate for three generation, one that begins to be erased by the voice of Esme - the writer-sister, who denounces the injustice of such stereotypes.
May 4, 2022
"Mothers don’t go to heaven when they die. They get special permission from God to stay around a bit longer and watch over their children, no matter what has passed between them in their brief mortal lives."
November 25, 2022
This novel deals with a Kurdish family who emigrates to London and their challenges to integrate into a brand new culture.
Though Iskender grows up in the English culture and becomes a young, handsome man who loves listening to the Bee Gees with his English girlfriend, he will not be able to escape the deeply rooted family traditions and obligations as a man to ‘save the honor’.
And dear me (!) have I been shocked by this guy´s actions for the sake of "saving the honor"!
You broke my heart, Iskender!! 💔💔💔😭
Though Iskender grows up in the English culture and becomes a young, handsome man who loves listening to the Bee Gees with his English girlfriend, he will not be able to escape the deeply rooted family traditions and obligations as a man to ‘save the honor’.
And dear me (!) have I been shocked by this guy´s actions for the sake of "saving the honor"!
You broke my heart, Iskender!! 💔💔💔😭
June 10, 2021
A beautiful, gut-wrenching, multi-generational tale of love and honour that revolves around family values, deeply inscribed cultural misconceptions, dilemma and suffering.
The majority of the story is told through the perspectives of Pembe, her identical twin sister Jamila, her children Iskender, Esma and Yunus, her husband Adem and her lover Elias. While primarily the book deals with the subject of honour killings, it is much more than that. It talks of how culture defines us and the things we do today are a result of inter-generational learning and suppression.
Elif Shafak is a natural storyteller and excels in building realistic characters - it was difficult not to feel compassion for even the most flawed of them. Her vivid storytelling helps you establish an instant connection with them and feel their deepest emotions.
Shafak also brings our focus to issues like racism, immigration crisis, sexism and substance abuse. Despite the seriousness of these topics, Shafak deals with them in an easygoing manner without making it triggering for the readers. Honestly, I'm upset that I only discovered Shafak now when she has been writing for years. I will definitely be adding more of her works to my TBR.
4 beautiful 🌟 for this beauty!
TW: Racism, Domestic Violence, Suicide, Death and Substance Abuse.
The majority of the story is told through the perspectives of Pembe, her identical twin sister Jamila, her children Iskender, Esma and Yunus, her husband Adem and her lover Elias. While primarily the book deals with the subject of honour killings, it is much more than that. It talks of how culture defines us and the things we do today are a result of inter-generational learning and suppression.
Elif Shafak is a natural storyteller and excels in building realistic characters - it was difficult not to feel compassion for even the most flawed of them. Her vivid storytelling helps you establish an instant connection with them and feel their deepest emotions.
Shafak also brings our focus to issues like racism, immigration crisis, sexism and substance abuse. Despite the seriousness of these topics, Shafak deals with them in an easygoing manner without making it triggering for the readers. Honestly, I'm upset that I only discovered Shafak now when she has been writing for years. I will definitely be adding more of her works to my TBR.
4 beautiful 🌟 for this beauty!
TW: Racism, Domestic Violence, Suicide, Death and Substance Abuse.
March 18, 2021
ეს იცით, როგორი წიგნია?
აი წარმოიდგინეთ, რომ ხართ თურქეთში, ოღონდ არა სტამბულში ან ეგეთ გაპრიალებულ ტურისტულ ქალაქში. სადმე უფრო სიღრმეში: საქარიაში, ადაპაზარში, ორდუში ან სადმე სხვა სუფთა თურქუ��� მშვიდ ქალაქში, რომელიც დახუნძლულია ტრადიციებით, თქმულებებით, გვარებით, შთამომავლობებით, არომატებით, გემოებით, შეხედულებებით, ცრურწმენებითა და ძალიან გემრიელი ჩაით. ჰოდა, ჩამოჯექით სადმე ადგილობრივ ჩაიხანაში, ენის ქვეშ დაიდეთ შაქარყინული და მიაყოლეთ ყველაზე გემრიელი ჩაი დედამიწაზე. ოღონდ გახსოვდეთ, რომ შაქარყინული ჩაის ბოლო ყლუპამდე უნდა გეყოთ და ის უნდა გამოიზოგოთ. აი ასეთი წიგნია ელიფ შაფაქის “ღირსებაც”, რომელიც უნდა გამოიზოგოთ და ნელ-ნელა დააგემოვნოთ.
“ღირსება” ძალიან სწრაფად გაქრა წიგნების მაღაზიების თაროებიდან და დიდი პოპულარობით სარგებლობს საქართველოში. ეს ალბათ იმის დამსახურებაა, რომ ქართველები მენტალურ სიახლოვეს გრძნობენ წიგნის ზოგიერთ პერსონაჟთან. ღირსებასთან დამოკიდებულებაში რაღაც მსგავსებას ხედავენ. ჩემი აზრით, კი შაფაქი ზუსტად იმ მანკიერ მენტალობას კიცხავს, რომელთანაც თვითიდენტიფიცირებას ახდენენ ქართველები.
წიგნის სიუჟეტი ვითარდება სოფელში, მდინარე ევფრატის პირას და ლონდო��ში ქურთი-თურქი ტყუპი დების გარშემო. ტყუპი დების ცხოვრება და ბედისწერა მაგიურად არის ერთმანეთში გადახლართული. მათი ცხოვრება, მიუხედავად იმისა, თუ სად ცხოვრობენ, სავსეა ტრაგიზმით და ბედისწერის გარდაუვლობით. მათი გზები იყოფა, სხვადასხვა ქვეყანაში ცხოვრობენ, მაგრამ მათი ბედისწერა იოტისოდენადაც არ შორდება ერთმანეთს. მე მიყვარს წიგნები, სადაც ბედისწერა ცალკე პერსონაჟივითაა გამოყოფილი, რომელიც თითქოს იმდენად მყარია და ცოცხალი, რომ ხელსაც შეახებ. მთელი წიგნი სავსეა მაგიურობით, სადაც ყველა დიდი თუ პატარა მოვლენა, გადაწყვეტილება, ნაბიჯი, სიტყვა იწვევს სხვა მოვლენებს და გადაწყვეტილებებს. სადაც ყველა შედეგი მოქმედი გმირების გადადგმული ნაბიჯების ბრალია. ხშირად კი ეს ნაბიჯები ათობით წლის წინ იქნა გადადგმული…
მენტალური პრობლემა, რომელიც წიგნში დგას, ძალიან აქტუალურია ჩვენთვისაც. არსებობს კულტურები, სადაც ღირსება თითქოს ქალის სხეულშია ჩადებული, გეგონება ქალი ღირსების მატარებელი ჭურჭელი იყოს. რა თქმა უნდა, მსგავსი დამოკიდებულება უცხოა დასავლეთის ქვეყნებისათვის და წესით უცხო უნდა იყოს ჩვენთვისაც. წესით.. მაგრამ სამწუხაროდ, ისევე როგორც ისლამურ კულტურებში, ჩვენთანაც ქალის პასუხისმგებლობა სხვაა და კაცის – სხვა. სწორედ ეს დისბალანსი პასუხისმგებლობებში არის ბილეთი გენდერული უთანასწორობისაკენ. არ შეიძლება, ქალს მეტი აკრძალვები ჰქონდეს და კაცს – ნაკლები. არ შეიძლება, ქალი იყოს ღირსების მატარებელი ჭურჭელი და კაცის ღირსება იყოს ცოლის ან ქალიშვილის ქცევა. ამ დროს კი კაცი იყოს ცოლის მოღალატე, ლოთი, უსაქმური, მაგრამ მაინც ღირსების მქონე. ეს არასწორია. არ შეიძლება, ადამიანები აცხოვრო აკრძალვებში, მხოლოდ იმიტომ, რომ შენ რაღაც ახირებული წარმოდგენები გაქვს “ღირსებაზე”.
ამ წიგნის ყველა პერსონაჟს თავისებური შეხედულება აქვს ღირსებასა და დანაშაულზე. შაფაქის წიგნში არ არსებობენ უბრალოდ დადებითი და უარყოფითი პერსონაჟები. აქ დეტალურად, ნაბიჯ-ნაბიჯ არის აღწერილი ყველა მოვლენა, რომელმაც სავალალო შედეგის დადგომამდე მიგვიყვანა. ეს არ არის გამართლება ვიღაცის ცუდი ნაბიჯის – ეს არის გზა, რომელმაც რადიკალურ გადაწყეტილებამდე მიიყვანა ესა თუ ის პერსონაჟი. ეს ის გზაა, რომელსაც ჩვენც გავდივართ ყოველდღიურად. და ისევე როგორც ჩვენ, ეს გმირებიც უშვებენ შეცდომებს. შაფაქი კი უბრალოდ გვანახებს გზას, რომლის ბოლოშიც ესა თუ ის შედეგი დგება. წიგნი დეტალურად გვიხსნის ტრადიციებსა და მათდამი დამოკიდებულებას, გვაჩვენებს ამ კონკრეტული კულტურის ნიუანსებს. მიუხედავად იმისა, რომ ისინი ლონდონში გადადიან საცხოვრებლად, ისინი მაინც ქურთი-თურქები არიან. გარდა ღირსების საკითხებსა, ამ წიგნში ძალიან კარგად არის ნაჩვენები მენტალური სხვაობა თაობებს შორის. კარგად ჩანს, რომ მშობლების თაობა, თავის გარშემო ცდილობს ნაჭუჭი ააშენოს, სადაც თავის კულტურაში, თავის ტრადიციებში იცხოვრებს, იმ დროს როცა ახალგაზრდები, სწრაფად იცვლიან შეხედულებებს და ერგებიან ახალ გარემოს და ახალ რეალობებს. მაგრამ რა ხდება მაშინ, როდესაც ხარ ახალგაზრდა, ახალ რეალობასაც ეგუები, ცხოვრობ ლონდონში, გყავს ინგლისელი შეყვარებული, ხარ ბოქსიორი და მაინც შენი შეხედულებები “ქალის” და “ოჯახის” “ღირსებაზე” ისევ მდინარე ევფრატის პირას მდებარე სოფლის სირღმიდან მოდის? “ისინი გაექცნენ სამშობლოს, საკუთარ თავს კი – ვერა”, ვერც საკუთარ კულტურას.
ეს წიგნი რამდენიმე ოჯახის ამბავს გვიყვება, რამოდენიმე თაობის დიდ თავგადასავალს. ევფრატის პირას მყოფ სოფელსა და ლონდონის წვიმიან ამინდებში ტრიალდება დრამა, სადაც მომხდარში ყველა დამნაშავეა და ყველა – მსხვერპლი. ეს ასევე არის წიგნი პატარა საიდუმლოებზე, რომელსაც ერთმანეთს ვერ ვუმხელთ, რომელზეც ერთმანეთს ვერ ველაპარაკებით, რომლის გამხელასაც ვერ ვბედავთ. პატარა საიდუმლოებზე, რომელიც დღითიდღე დიდდება, ბევრდება მანამ, სანამ ზვავივით არ წალეკავს ყველაფერს გარშემო, სანამ მეწყერის მსგავსად სამუდამოდ არ შეცვლის ჩვენი ცხოვრების ლანდშაფტს.
მე მგონი, სჯობს, რომ ყველამ ჩვენს ღირსებასა და ჩვენს ქცევებს მივხედოთ. ჩვენი ღირსების პასუხისმგებლობა ჩვენ ვატაროთ და ჩვენს დებს, დედებს, ცოლებს ვაცადოთ ცხოვრება, ვაცადოთ ბედნიერება, ვცეთ პატივი და საკუთარი წილი ღირსება და პასუხისმგებლობა თვითონ ატარონ წელში გამართულებმა და თავისუფლებმა.
ყველაზე ლამაზი ქალი დამოუკიდებელი და ბედნიერი ქალია.
ყველაზე ძლიერი ოჯახი კი ის ოჯახია, სადაც ერთმანეთისგან საიდუმლოები არ აქვთ დამალული.
მე თუ მკითხავთ, “ღირსება” Must Read წიგნია!
აი წარმოიდგინეთ, რომ ხართ თურქეთში, ოღონდ არა სტამბულში ან ეგეთ გაპრიალებულ ტურისტულ ქალაქში. სადმე უფრო სიღრმეში: საქარიაში, ადაპაზარში, ორდუში ან სადმე სხვა სუფთა თურქუ��� მშვიდ ქალაქში, რომელიც დახუნძლულია ტრადიციებით, თქმულებებით, გვარებით, შთამომავლობებით, არომატებით, გემოებით, შეხედულებებით, ცრურწმენებითა და ძალიან გემრიელი ჩაით. ჰოდა, ჩამოჯექით სადმე ადგილობრივ ჩაიხანაში, ენის ქვეშ დაიდეთ შაქარყინული და მიაყოლეთ ყველაზე გემრიელი ჩაი დედამიწაზე. ოღონდ გახსოვდეთ, რომ შაქარყინული ჩაის ბოლო ყლუპამდე უნდა გეყოთ და ის უნდა გამოიზოგოთ. აი ასეთი წიგნია ელიფ შაფაქის “ღირსებაც”, რომელიც უნდა გამოიზოგოთ და ნელ-ნელა დააგემოვნოთ.
“ღირსება” ძალიან სწრაფად გაქრა წიგნების მაღაზიების თაროებიდან და დიდი პოპულარობით სარგებლობს საქართველოში. ეს ალბათ იმის დამსახურებაა, რომ ქართველები მენტალურ სიახლოვეს გრძნობენ წიგნის ზოგიერთ პერსონაჟთან. ღირსებასთან დამოკიდებულებაში რაღაც მსგავსებას ხედავენ. ჩემი აზრით, კი შაფაქი ზუსტად იმ მანკიერ მენტალობას კიცხავს, რომელთანაც თვითიდენტიფიცირებას ახდენენ ქართველები.
წიგნის სიუჟეტი ვითარდება სოფელში, მდინარე ევფრატის პირას და ლონდო��ში ქურთი-თურქი ტყუპი დების გარშემო. ტყუპი დების ცხოვრება და ბედისწერა მაგიურად არის ერთმანეთში გადახლართული. მათი ცხოვრება, მიუხედავად იმისა, თუ სად ცხოვრობენ, სავსეა ტრაგიზმით და ბედისწერის გარდაუვლობით. მათი გზები იყოფა, სხვადასხვა ქვეყანაში ცხოვრობენ, მაგრამ მათი ბედისწერა იოტისოდენადაც არ შორდება ერთმანეთს. მე მიყვარს წიგნები, სადაც ბედისწერა ცალკე პერსონაჟივითაა გამოყოფილი, რომელიც თითქოს იმდენად მყარია და ცოცხალი, რომ ხელსაც შეახებ. მთელი წიგნი სავსეა მაგიურობით, სადაც ყველა დიდი თუ პატარა მოვლენა, გადაწყვეტილება, ნაბიჯი, სიტყვა იწვევს სხვა მოვლენებს და გადაწყვეტილებებს. სადაც ყველა შედეგი მოქმედი გმირების გადადგმული ნაბიჯების ბრალია. ხშირად კი ეს ნაბიჯები ათობით წლის წინ იქნა გადადგმული…
მენტალური პრობლემა, რომელიც წიგნში დგას, ძალიან აქტუალურია ჩვენთვისაც. არსებობს კულტურები, სადაც ღირსება თითქოს ქალის სხეულშია ჩადებული, გეგონება ქალი ღირსების მატარებელი ჭურჭელი იყოს. რა თქმა უნდა, მსგავსი დამოკიდებულება უცხოა დასავლეთის ქვეყნებისათვის და წესით უცხო უნდა იყოს ჩვენთვისაც. წესით.. მაგრამ სამწუხაროდ, ისევე როგორც ისლამურ კულტურებში, ჩვენთანაც ქალის პასუხისმგებლობა სხვაა და კაცის – სხვა. სწორედ ეს დისბალანსი პასუხისმგებლობებში არის ბილეთი გენდერული უთანასწორობისაკენ. არ შეიძლება, ქალს მეტი აკრძალვები ჰქონდეს და კაცს – ნაკლები. არ შეიძლება, ქალი იყოს ღირსების მატარებელი ჭურჭელი და კაცის ღირსება იყოს ცოლის ან ქალიშვილის ქცევა. ამ დროს კი კაცი იყოს ცოლის მოღალატე, ლოთი, უსაქმური, მაგრამ მაინც ღირსების მქონე. ეს არასწორია. არ შეიძლება, ადამიანები აცხოვრო აკრძალვებში, მხოლოდ იმიტომ, რომ შენ რაღაც ახირებული წარმოდგენები გაქვს “ღირსებაზე”.
ამ წიგნის ყველა პერსონაჟს თავისებური შეხედულება აქვს ღირსებასა და დანაშაულზე. შაფაქის წიგნში არ არსებობენ უბრალოდ დადებითი და უარყოფითი პერსონაჟები. აქ დეტალურად, ნაბიჯ-ნაბიჯ არის აღწერილი ყველა მოვლენა, რომელმაც სავალალო შედეგის დადგომამდე მიგვიყვანა. ეს არ არის გამართლება ვიღაცის ცუდი ნაბიჯის – ეს არის გზა, რომელმაც რადიკალურ გადაწყეტილებამდე მიიყვანა ესა თუ ის პერსონაჟი. ეს ის გზაა, რომელსაც ჩვენც გავდივართ ყოველდღიურად. და ისევე როგორც ჩვენ, ეს გმირებიც უშვებენ შეცდომებს. შაფაქი კი უბრალოდ გვანახებს გზას, რომლის ბოლოშიც ესა თუ ის შედეგი დგება. წიგნი დეტალურად გვიხსნის ტრადიციებსა და მათდამი დამოკიდებულებას, გვაჩვენებს ამ კონკრეტული კულტურის ნიუანსებს. მიუხედავად იმისა, რომ ისინი ლონდონში გადადიან საცხოვრებლად, ისინი მაინც ქურთი-თურქები არიან. გარდა ღირსების საკითხებსა, ამ წიგნში ძალიან კარგად არის ნაჩვენები მენტალური სხვაობა თაობებს შორის. კარგად ჩანს, რომ მშობლების თაობა, თავის გარშემო ცდილობს ნაჭუჭი ააშენოს, სადაც თავის კულტურაში, თავის ტრადიციებში იცხოვრებს, იმ დროს როცა ახალგაზრდები, სწრაფად იცვლიან შეხედულებებს და ერგებიან ახალ გარემოს და ახალ რეალობებს. მაგრამ რა ხდება მაშინ, როდესაც ხარ ახალგაზრდა, ახალ რეალობასაც ეგუები, ცხოვრობ ლონდონში, გყავს ინგლისელი შეყვარებული, ხარ ბოქსიორი და მაინც შენი შეხედულებები “ქალის” და “ოჯახის” “ღირსებაზე” ისევ მდინარე ევფრატის პირას მდებარე სოფლის სირღმიდან მოდის? “ისინი გაექცნენ სამშობლოს, საკუთარ თავს კი – ვერა”, ვერც საკუთარ კულტურას.
ეს წიგნი რამდენიმე ოჯახის ამბავს გვიყვება, რამოდენიმე თაობის დიდ თავგადასავალს. ევფრატის პირას მყოფ სოფელსა და ლონდონის წვიმიან ამინდებში ტრიალდება დრამა, სადაც მომხდარში ყველა დამნაშავეა და ყველა – მსხვერპლი. ეს ასევე არის წიგნი პატარა საიდუმლოებზე, რომელსაც ერთმანეთს ვერ ვუმხელთ, რომელზეც ერთმანეთს ვერ ველაპარაკებით, რომლის გამხელასაც ვერ ვბედავთ. პატარა საიდუმლოებზე, რომელიც დღითიდღე დიდდება, ბევრდება მანამ, სანამ ზვავივით არ წალეკავს ყველაფერს გარშემო, სანამ მეწყერის მსგავსად სამუდამოდ არ შეცვლის ჩვენი ცხოვრების ლანდშაფტს.
მე მგონი, სჯობს, რომ ყველამ ჩვენს ღირსებასა და ჩვენს ქცევებს მივხედოთ. ჩვენი ღირსების პასუხისმგებლობა ჩვენ ვატაროთ და ჩვენს დებს, დედებს, ცოლებს ვაცადოთ ცხოვრება, ვაცადოთ ბედნიერება, ვცეთ პატივი და საკუთარი წილი ღირსება და პასუხისმგებლობა თვითონ ატარონ წელში გამართულებმა და თავისუფლებმა.
ყველაზე ლამაზი ქალი დამოუკიდებელი და ბედნიერი ქალია.
ყველაზე ძლიერი ოჯახი კი ის ოჯახია, სადაც ერთმანეთისგან საიდუმლოები არ აქვთ დამალული.
მე თუ მკითხავთ, “ღირსება” Must Read წიგნია!
July 9, 2024
یاشار کمال نویسندهٔ کُرد میگوید:
کشتن مادر خیلی سخت است.
هرکسی نمیتواند مادرش را بکشد
کُشتن مادر خیلی دل میخواهد
باید یکی مثل رستمزال باشد
یا یکی مثل کوراوغلو
یا آدمی مثل مصطفی کمال…
چندی پیش داستانی از یاشار کمال نویسنده کُرد خواندم به نام «اگر مار را بکُشند» که در آن شخصیت اصلی «حسن» مادرش را میکُشد…
داستانی که اعتقادات و سنتهای غلط جامعهی کُرد-تُرک را نشان میدهد…
یاشار کمال به وجدان و یا عدم وجدان حسن«قاتل»میپردازد…
در داستان یاشار کمال محرک اصلی عموی حسن و مادربزرگش هستند که او را تشویق میکنند تا مادر را به قتل برساند؛
دلیل:
بخاطر آنکه شرافت خانواده را حفظ کرده باشد…
حالا نویسنده تُرک الیف شافاک که او را بیشتر از بیش دوستدارم.
*گویا از این داستان وام گرفته و داستان یک خانودهی تُرک-کُرد را روایت میکند…
کتاب با این جمله شروع میشود:
«مادرم دوبار مُرد»
«اسکندر»پسر بزرگ پمبه، مادر را در *قلب اروپا با چاقو به قتل میرساند چرا که مغز همان است که بود!
شافاک در این کتاب از زوال و انحطاط ارزشهای یک خانوادهی بزرگ به نام خانوادهی «توپراک»تا فروپاشی کامل آن میگوید…
از سنتهای حل ناشدنی شرق در غرب میگوید!
کتاب شرافت یا افتخار بحث جامعهای عقب افتاده است، که به جای تازیدن به سنتهای غلط، به آن«افتخار» میکند…
کشتن مادر خیلی سخت است.
هرکسی نمیتواند مادرش را بکشد
کُشتن مادر خیلی دل میخواهد
باید یکی مثل رستمزال باشد
یا یکی مثل کوراوغلو
یا آدمی مثل مصطفی کمال…
چندی پیش داستانی از یاشار کمال نویسنده کُرد خواندم به نام «اگر مار را بکُشند» که در آن شخصیت اصلی «حسن» مادرش را میکُشد…
داستانی که اعتقادات و سنتهای غلط جامعهی کُرد-تُرک را نشان میدهد…
یاشار کمال به وجدان و یا عدم وجدان حسن«قاتل»میپردازد…
در داستان یاشار کمال محرک اصلی عموی حسن و مادربزرگش هستند که او را تشویق میکنند تا مادر را به قتل برساند؛
دلیل:
بخاطر آنکه شرافت خانواده را حفظ کرده باشد…
حالا نویسنده تُرک الیف شافاک که او را بیشتر از بیش دوستدارم.
*گویا از این داستان وام گرفته و داستان یک خانودهی تُرک-کُرد را روایت میکند…
کتاب با این جمله شروع میشود:
«مادرم دوبار مُرد»
«اسکندر»پسر بزرگ پمبه، مادر را در *قلب اروپا با چاقو به قتل میرساند چرا که مغز همان است که بود!
شافاک در این کتاب از زوال و انحطاط ارزشهای یک خانوادهی بزرگ به نام خانوادهی «توپراک»تا فروپاشی کامل آن میگوید…
از سنتهای حل ناشدنی شرق در غرب میگوید!
کتاب شرافت یا افتخار بحث جامعهای عقب افتاده است، که به جای تازیدن به سنتهای غلط، به آن«افتخار» میکند…
April 1, 2024
Не знам колко счупен трябва да е един човек, за да измисли такава история. Признавам, че изпитвах огромен страх(и все още го изпитвам), от книгите на Шафак. Чувал съм много полюсни мнения, нооо ЧЕСТ ми разби сърцето ба милион частици и някак след това успя да го събере. Изключително силна семейна история, която просто ме накара да се влюбя в нея по много извратен начин…
April 13, 2022
Elif Shafak's novel Honor revolves around the murder of a woman by her 16 year old son. The story moves between Turkey, Kurdistan, England, and UAE. Told in pieces like a jigsaw puzzle, it moves back and forth in time until the reader has assembled the whole.
The key theme of this novel is gender roles and expectations and how they are shaped by the culture in which one is raised. This novel contrasts England's independent women and more egalitarian society of the late 1970's with that of recent immigrants from Kurdistan and its heavy patriarchal society. Honor is extremely important to the Kurdish man and is frequently defined through the behavior of his family, especially the women.
"Not everyone would understand this, but their honour was all that some men had in this world. The rich could afford to lose and regain their reputation, buying influence as perfunctorily as ordering a new car or refurnishing their mansions, bur for the rest of the world things were different. The less means a ma had, the higher was the worth of his honour. The English didn't understand these ancient rules. Their wives could kiss other men, drink and dance with strangers, and they would look on smiling.
A [Kurdish] man who had been cheated of the honour that was his due was a dead man. You could not walk on the street any more, unless you got used to staring at the pavement. You could not go to a tea house and play a round of backgammon or watch a football match at the beer house. Your shoulders would droop, your fists would be clenched, your eyes would sink into their cavities, and your entire being would be a listless mass, shrinking more and more with every rumour. No one would pay heed to you when you spoke; your word would be no more valuable than dried dung. The cigarette you offered would be left unsmoked, the coffee you drank bitter to the end. You would not be invited to the weddings , circumcisions or engagements, lest you bring your ill luck with you."
Shafak gives me a look at what I consider repressed women of this culture and well as the men they raise. Pembe raises her oldest son as elevated in status, constantly referring to him as "my sultan" and "my lion." In adulthood, Yunus, the younger brother asks his sister, "But he was the eldest. You were always going on about being treated differently because you were a girl, and I found it tough to be the youngest child. But did you ever consider that maybe it was harder on Iskender?"
Though only 16, as the eldest son with a mostly absent father, Iskander is encouraged by his uncle to be the man of the family and therefore responsible for the actions of its members. In their culture this includes his mother's behavior. When Iskander believes his mother is having an affair, he is confused and conflicted. He, like his enclave, have not questioned long-held beliefs and feels the weight of his patriarchal society's expectations pressing down on him.
The opportunity to look at situations from different perspectives is one of the reasons I read. While I do not condone Iskander's action, Safak gives me a nuanced look at this situation and shows me the complex experiences and patterns of human relationships behind it and I am able to see it through a different lens.
The key theme of this novel is gender roles and expectations and how they are shaped by the culture in which one is raised. This novel contrasts England's independent women and more egalitarian society of the late 1970's with that of recent immigrants from Kurdistan and its heavy patriarchal society. Honor is extremely important to the Kurdish man and is frequently defined through the behavior of his family, especially the women.
"Not everyone would understand this, but their honour was all that some men had in this world. The rich could afford to lose and regain their reputation, buying influence as perfunctorily as ordering a new car or refurnishing their mansions, bur for the rest of the world things were different. The less means a ma had, the higher was the worth of his honour. The English didn't understand these ancient rules. Their wives could kiss other men, drink and dance with strangers, and they would look on smiling.
A [Kurdish] man who had been cheated of the honour that was his due was a dead man. You could not walk on the street any more, unless you got used to staring at the pavement. You could not go to a tea house and play a round of backgammon or watch a football match at the beer house. Your shoulders would droop, your fists would be clenched, your eyes would sink into their cavities, and your entire being would be a listless mass, shrinking more and more with every rumour. No one would pay heed to you when you spoke; your word would be no more valuable than dried dung. The cigarette you offered would be left unsmoked, the coffee you drank bitter to the end. You would not be invited to the weddings , circumcisions or engagements, lest you bring your ill luck with you."
Shafak gives me a look at what I consider repressed women of this culture and well as the men they raise. Pembe raises her oldest son as elevated in status, constantly referring to him as "my sultan" and "my lion." In adulthood, Yunus, the younger brother asks his sister, "But he was the eldest. You were always going on about being treated differently because you were a girl, and I found it tough to be the youngest child. But did you ever consider that maybe it was harder on Iskender?"
Though only 16, as the eldest son with a mostly absent father, Iskander is encouraged by his uncle to be the man of the family and therefore responsible for the actions of its members. In their culture this includes his mother's behavior. When Iskander believes his mother is having an affair, he is confused and conflicted. He, like his enclave, have not questioned long-held beliefs and feels the weight of his patriarchal society's expectations pressing down on him.
The opportunity to look at situations from different perspectives is one of the reasons I read. While I do not condone Iskander's action, Safak gives me a nuanced look at this situation and shows me the complex experiences and patterns of human relationships behind it and I am able to see it through a different lens.
February 8, 2017
أسلوب إليف شافاق لا يقاوم أبدا ،، فإمكانك قراءة 1000 صفحة حتى بدون اى انقطاع وبشكل متواصل إذا كانت مكتوبة بقلم إليف !
وبالرغم من اتباع المؤلفة اسلوب غير مباشر ف سرد الأحداث إلا ان القارئ يجد نفسه منجذبا بشكل كامل إلى الرواية ويغوص ف احداثها لدرجة تجعله ينسى الوقت ولا ينتبه إلا بعد أن يجد نفسه أمام انتهاء الصفحات بشكل مفاجئ !
كنت أتوقع ألا اجد تلك الرواية ف مثل براعة لقيطة أستنابول وقواعد العشق الأربعون إلا أن ظنى قد خاب ولله الحمد ، ولكن تأكد لى شيئاً آخر أن الكاتبة هذه من نوعية لا يمكن أن تتجاهل جودة روايتها أو أن تمنع نفسك من قراءة جميع ما يصدر عنها !
سأسارع بالتأكيد إلى قراءة الجزء الثانى من شرف حتى اغوص مرة آخرى فى عالم إليف شافاق
وبالرغم من اتباع المؤلفة اسلوب غير مباشر ف سرد الأحداث إلا ان القارئ يجد نفسه منجذبا بشكل كامل إلى الرواية ويغوص ف احداثها لدرجة تجعله ينسى الوقت ولا ينتبه إلا بعد أن يجد نفسه أمام انتهاء الصفحات بشكل مفاجئ !
كنت أتوقع ألا اجد تلك الرواية ف مثل براعة لقيطة أستنابول وقواعد العشق الأربعون إلا أن ظنى قد خاب ولله الحمد ، ولكن تأكد لى شيئاً آخر أن الكاتبة هذه من نوعية لا يمكن أن تتجاهل جودة روايتها أو أن تمنع نفسك من قراءة جميع ما يصدر عنها !
سأسارع بالتأكيد إلى قراءة الجزء الثانى من شرف حتى اغوص مرة آخرى فى عالم إليف شافاق
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