The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif ShafakFrom the backlist of Elif Shafak, author of The Architect's Apprentice, The Bastard of Istanbul is a tale of an extraordinary family curse and was longlisted for the 2008 Orange Fiction Prize. One rainy afternoon in Istanbul, a woman walks into a doctor's surgery. 'I need to have an abortion', she announces. She is nineteen years old and unmarried. What happens that afternoon will change her life. Twenty years later, Asya Kazanci lives with her

Emperor Chandragupta's beloved teacher

through bad times as well as good

A headmaster makes his way to work

his unforgettable friends believe he is well on his way to receiving her hand in marriage and inheriting the company

sweet and gentle

and redemptive power

philosophes errants

but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves

why love is expressed in marble as in the Taj Mahal

shocking conditions

Armed gangs roam a lawless land where each farm and house supports a column of dark smoke

The characters are guilty