Thursday, July 31, 2008

Bliss by O.Z. Livaneli

I've totally been slacking on updating this blog. It's too much effort to go back and update on what I've read the past several months (er, half year), so let's just start fresh and new where I am now, okay?

Bliss is excellent. It is set in Turkey, and the author is Turkish. The book is beautifully written, though painful to read because of what happens to the main characters, the 15-year-old Meryem in particular (she is raped by her uncle and has thus "shamed her family"), though her cousin is also traumatized by war. However, it ends with hope.

The novel is a fascinating look at Turkey, where modern and traditional worlds clash. It was a quick read for me, and I found the language flowing and enjoyable.

I highly recommend this book