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The Bastard of Istanbul
- Narrated by: Alix Dunmore
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
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The Bastard of Istanbul
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Summary
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Bastard of Istanbul by Edif Shafak.
One rainy afternoon in Istanbul, a woman walks into a doctor's surgery. 'I need to have an abortion', she announces. She is 19 years old and unmarried. What happens that afternoon will change her life.
Twenty years later, Asya Kazanci lives with her extended family in Istanbul. Due to a mysterious family curse, all the Kaznci men die in their early 40s, so it is a house of women, among them Asya's beautiful, rebellious mother, Zeliha, who runs a tattoo parlour; Banu, who has newly discovered herself as clairvoyant; and Feride, a hypochondriac obsessed with impending disaster. And when Asya's Armenian American cousin Armanoush comes to stay, long hidden family secrets connected with Turkey's turbulent past begin to emerge.
Orange Prize for Fiction, Long-listed
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Critic reviews
"Wonderfully magical, incredible, breathtaking...will have you gasping with disbelief in the last few pages." (Sunday Express)
"A beautiful book, the finest I have read about Turkey." (Irish Times)
"Heartbreaking...the beauty of Islam pervades Shafak's book." (Vogue)
What listeners say about The Bastard of Istanbul
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gary Mitchell
- 11-03-21
loved it, I now really want to travel.to Istanbul.
I loved all the characters, the city, the food, the cafe. aAnd of course the story of 2 intertwinning families through the generations. wonderful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gill Claireaux
- 11-01-21
Amazing book.
Elif Shafak’s stories are spellbinding and take you to another place. Alix Dunmore’s tellings transport you to that other place.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Emma Morrison
- 13-03-23
Wow!!!
I am in awe of Elif Shefak for being able to create such a powerful story.
Cleverly weaving together the stories of different families and cultures.
Raising so many issues, as we follow parallel national and personal themes that raise similar questions. Should the children be protected from the crimes of their parents or should they face them and acknowledge the shame and horror. Sharing the burden of that knowledge between all involved in their different ways?
I have American Armenian relatives so for me it felt even more relevant and such an important book about past, present and individual and collective identity and trauma.
I really liked the narration. she brought the different characters to life
I loved it and recommend everyone reads this book
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 05-04-23
Not for me
I lost track of the history part of the story a bit, too many characters and back stories, none of which were really engaging enough. Also, the narrator read it SO fast! I had to listen at 0.7 x speed on audible just to keep up. Not really for me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 23-05-24
Beautifully read tale of family trauma and freedom
I loved the language and all the different characters, the history, the themes of flood and water, all of it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-04-24
The stories of each character
I love the setting in Turkey. The daughter calling her mother Auntie. The ending of Mustafa. Brilliant book!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 22-10-24
a heartbreaking family story
beautiful story about a Turkish and Armenian American family and how they are linked. about the consequences of fate
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- j r mitchell
- 17-11-19
aced it again...
another really enjoyable listen, and actually my new favourite from Elif Shafek. also really enjoy the narration by Alix Dunmore
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- gregory
- 28-03-24
it's a great book
I really enjoyed this book but found it hard to finish as it touches on difficult themes towards the end. It's fantastic written and flows beautifully navigating some very tricky painful topics.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- ruaa
- 09-06-24
Intertwined lives
enjoyed listening to this book, although it did take me a while to finish. sometimes the details felt too much. however the story is very interesting with unexpected twists.
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