Honor: A Novel | 
pick4 Stars • Honor by Elif Shafak traces a Turkish-Kurdish family, focusing on twin sisters Jamila and Pembe. Jamila stays in their village, while Pembe moves to London with her husband and three children. In the 1970s, Pembe‘s innocent connection with another man leads her son Iskender, driven by traditional notions of honor, to kill her.
First time op shopping in Singleton yesterday and Lifeline provided the goods. The stationery is for #LitsyLove There were some other beautiful clothes I tried on that didn‘t fit, daisy print jeans and a polka dot crossover for ballet. Oh well! I chop the shoe inserts up to raise the platform in one shoe as I am a bit wonky. I love breathable shoes for work in summer. I am one of the lucky ones with an air conditioner in my classroom though.
Just finished! A fine book about cultural shock, difficulties of integration and twin sisters. It is set mainly in late 70's London, with members from a migrant Turkish family as main characters. A murder makes this world tumbling down only to be reshaped through resilience. Good and fluent read !
Ok, fine.. this one is colorful too... and so pretty. #tbr #colorful #readingresolutions @Jess7
pick#readaroundtheworld Turkey
A story of family, and a look at old ways vs. the modern world, especially the dynamics between the sexes. I enjoyed this story of how there are so many ways to honor your family, and to dishonor it. Written in 2012, it was longlisted for the Asian Booker Prize. I will be looking for more by Ms. Shafak.
pickHonor tells the complicated story of a son who kills his mother. The story moves back and forth in time from the mother's time as a girl in Turkey to the end of her son's prison sentence in London. It's told through multiple perspectives and Shafak weaves a beautiful tapestry with tremendous depth. Highly recommend.
pickDas war mein erstes Buch von Elif Shafak und ich war wirklich positiv überrascht! Besonders gut hat mir gefallen, dass die Geschichte aus den verschiedenen Perspektiven der Protagonisten erzählt wurde, so konnte man ihr Verhalten besser nachvollziehen. Welches Buch von Shafak würdet ihr mir als nächstes empfehlen? ☺️
#ehre #elifshafak
pickElif Shafak is a beautiful surprise. Next to Margaret Atwood my 2017 top.
Beautiful story about bad influence, possesive love which we feel to our parents, about how womens body isn't their but belong to whole male community.
#elifshafak #feminism
#MayBookFlowers Day 26 - Set in the Middle East
A few amazing books set in a fascinating part of the world!
My #TBR #ownvoices picks for #diverseathon this week! This is overly ambitious but I like to have options. 🤓 On book one right now (Being Jazz!).
pick"We are all half-fool, half wise. There is no wisdom without foolishness. And no pride without shame."
Strong enough!
My Reading Around the World project is starting to take shape. I'm still researching books (would love any suggestions you may have!!) but I'm also starting to order in those I've decided on. Here is my baby RAW TBR pile at the moment.
#PhotoADayNov16 Day 20 - Set in Eastern Europe
The country of Turkey straddles the border between Europe and Asia - the Dardanelles literally split it into European Turkey and Asian Turkey. In that spirit, I've chosen HONOR by Turkish author Elif Shafak - exploring the concept of "honor killing" in the realm of fiction.
#setineasterneurope
Serenity at its best!
pickBeautifully written, very powerful and moving - especially near the end, I definitely teared up a bit. I love family sagas and exploring how one small choice or one minor error can completely change not just your own life but so many around you. My only issue was it was a little hard to remember exactly who was who, how people were related in the different time periods. But overall a lovely, painful book. 4/5 ⭐️
Pembe could hear someone scream. A piercing howl in the wind. It would be another minute before she realized the sound was coming from her. She couldn't budge, for she had no body. She had no substance. She was only a voice. Her entire being was reduced--or magnified--to a cry that gave way to new ones in spirals, independent of her will, spinning, swirling, melting into an endless echo.
pick"Not everyone would understand this, but their honor 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, but for the rest of the world things were different. The less a man had, the higher was the worth of his honor."
#readtheworld Turkey
The valley was alive with spirits. There were creatures here no bigger than grains of rice, imperceptible to the naked eye but potent and perilous nevertheless. Birds tapped on the windows, insects bounced off the water in the buckets as if skittering across the surface of a lake. Everything had a language, she believed. The thunderstorm, the morning dew, the ants crawling in her sugar bowl...Sometimes she thought she understood what they said.
This is my second book of Shafak's and it is proving to be well worth my time! This intro quote sums the beginning chapters perfectly. (Great parenting quote, as well- reminded me of the Nation of Wimps book.) Another great line: "Until that day, he hadn't known that you can love someone with all your heart and yet be ready to hurt them."
