O. Z. Livaneli

Bliss: a Novel O. Z. Livaneli 1st edition

Fifteen-year-old Meryem lives in a rural village in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Her simple, conventional way of life changes dramatically after her uncle, a sheikh in a dervish order, rapes her?and condemns her to death for shaming the family. Asked to carry out the ?honor killing? is his son Cemal, a commando in the Turkish army. So begins a long, mystifying voyage for Meryem as her shell-shocked cousin ushers her to the shining metropolis of Istanbul where another troubled soul, the Harvard-educated professor Irfan, embarks on his own journey of transformation?one that catapults him into the heart of Meryem and Cemal?s conflict. The crossed-paths and interwoven destinies of these three characters makes for an affecting, by turns brutal and life-affirming portrayal of traditional and modern-day Turkey that no reader will soon forget. ?Livaneli is an essential force in Turkey?s musical, cultural, and political scene.?
--Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Prize Winner and author of Snow
 
?Bliss is eye-opening and deeply moving.?
--Kirkus Reviews (starred)
 
?Compelling [for] American readers ?hard to put down.?
--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
?With lush scenes of Turkish life and nuanced depictions of the [characters?] inner lives. . .a convergence of lost, likable souls.?
--Entertainment Weekly  O. Z. Livaneli, one of Turkey?s most prominent authors, is also an accomplished composer, and previously served as an elected member of the Turkish Parliament.