First published 2021
Nunu stands outside a Parisian bookstore when she encounters M., the celebrated British author whose Istanbul novels she has long admired. After her mother's recent death, she has left Turkey for a cramped Paris apartment, carrying memories she struggles to understand. Their chance meeting leads to nighttime walks through the city and an unlikely friendship built on letters and conversation. M. is crafting a new novel set in Turkey, and Nunu finds herself sharing stories of her homeland to inspire his work. She describes her childhood games, family dinners, and the landscapes of her youth. But as their bond deepens, Nunu confronts harder truths about her silent, angry mother and her father's death. Istanbul itself grows more turbulent, reflecting her inner turmoil. The more she reveals to M., the more she fears giving away pieces of herself and her country. Most frightening is the guilt she carries about her mother and the stories she has constructed to shield herself from painful memories.
Genres: literary-fiction, grief, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Paris, Istanbul, Turkey
Period: contemporary
240 pages · Paperback · Tusquets Editores S.A.
Content warnings: mental-illness