Elif Shafak
a tale of two grandmothers
Elif Shafak is an award-winning novelist and the most widely read female writer in Turkey. Critics have named her as ‘one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Turkish and world literature.’ Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages and she was awarded the honorary distinction of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.
Elif has published eleven books, eight of which are novels. She writes fiction in both Turkish and English. Her first novel, Pinham (The Mystic) was awarded the ‘Rumi Prize’ in 1998, and her novel, Bit Palas (The Flea Palace) has been a bestseller in Turkey and was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Her latest novel, Iskender (Honour), has topped the bestseller lists and has been acclaimed by both critics and readers of various ages and backgrounds. The novel has opened up a vivid debate in Turkey about family, love, freedom, redemption and the construct of masculinity.
also on
on writing during an earthquake
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coffee, communism and childhood
