Turkey Fiction

These aren't exactly light reading but they do give you a good feeling for the culture: *Portrait of a Turkish Family by Irfan Orga
*My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

I've been reading all winter in preparation for our RS Best of Turkey. I got all the books from our library, often through interlibrary loan. WooHoo! We leave home tomorrow! My suggestions:
Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres. This takes place in central Turkey about the time of WWI. It was helpful to have an historical atlas handy. Mysteries by Barbara Nadel take place in Istanbul in the 1990s. I read the first one looking up the locations in a guidebook. I found the later ones somewhat more interesting as mysteries. Mysteries by Jenny White. These take place in Istanbul in the 1870s-1880s. Portrait of a Turkish Family by Irfan Orga. I read an early printing and then found on the internet an afterward written by Orga's son sometime later. That added much to the book and made me wonder how much is true and how much is fiction. Interesting non-fiction: Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey by Anastasia M. Ashman and Jennifer Eaton Gokmen. Interesting, sometimes touching or funny, short personal essays by a wide range of women, perhaps more interesting to women than to men. Istanbul: Memories of the City by Orhan Pamuk. His experiences growing up in a wealthy family in the mid-20th century. Not always cheerful, but always interesting. A Fez of the Heart: Travels Around Turkey in Search of a Hat by Jeremy Seal. An account of Seal's travel during the early 1990s. Istanbul: The Collected Traveler: An Inspired Companion Guide by Barrie Kerper. A collection of mostly previously published articles about Istanbul. Most are current, but a few date back 100 years. You can skip around according to what interests you. What's still on my list: The Bastard of Istanbul (or others) by Elif Shafak Memed my Hawk by Yasher Kemal Enjoy the books!

Thank you George for posting the question and thank you Sharon and Marty for your great suggestions.

One other Orhan Pamuk to check out -- "Snow".

and this documentary was kind of interesting http://www.linktv.org/programs/future-express-turkey

I would recommend Turkish Reflections by Mary Lee Settle Some of the other books I read were confusing at the time but came to life as I saw the location of the places mentioned and heard more of the Turkish history from our guide. I plan to re-read some of
the books again.

Wow! What a helpful response... We are deeply grateful.

I think a good place to start is "Crescent and the Star:Turkey Between Two Worlds". This isn't fiction but is an easy read and provides a great background of the country and preparation for the trip.
I read many of the books already mentioned before we took our tour last year. My favorite is probably "The Bastard of Istanbul".

Great reading list for adults... would any of you recommend any of these for an 11 year old? (very advanced reader, so I am more concerned about content) He loves history and will be taking his first trip there in June...Also going to Greece, and he loves mythology...any reading ideas ?

I absolutely loved the book Birds Without Wings. It took awhile to get into, but once I did, it was a wonderful book ... packed full of Turkish History. Read it and then plan to take a road trip from Bodrum to Antalya after your tour. You can stop at Kayakoy, near Fethiye. (A deserted village much like the one described in the book.) We took four nights to drive from Bodrum to Antalya. loved it! That was enough time, but could have been nicer to have a few more nights. Places to stay: Dalyan Fethiye Kas small town near Olimpos (walk to Olimpos via the beach) Places to visit: Saklikent Gorge Kayakoy Oludeniz
Bezirgan I know you didn't ask for all this info. Thinking about that book just brought back to me such a great trip!

Jason Goodwin wrote a few murder mysteries set in mid 19th century Istanbul, if your tastes run in that direction. No blood, guts, etc.; his books fall in the Cozy Murder genre. The main character is a eunuch, so not much sex either...maybe OK for your younger reader but that's your call.