Honour

'My mother died twice. I promised myself I would not let her story be forgotten . . .'

Leaving her twin sister behind, Pembe leaves Turkey for love - following her husband Adem to London. There the Topraks hope to make new lives for themselves and their children. Yet, no matter how far they travel, the traditions and beliefs the Topraks left behind stay with them - carried in the blood.

Their eldest is the boy Iskender, who remembers Turkey and feels betrayal deeper than most. His sister is Esma, who is loyal and true despite the pain and heartache. And, lastly, Yunus, who was born in London, and is shy and different.

Trapped by the mistakes of the past, the Toprak children find their lives shattered and transformed by a brutal act of murder . . .

A powerful novel set in Turkey and London in the 1970s, Honour explores pain and loss, loyalty and betrayal, the trials of the immigrant, the clash of tradition and modernity, as well as the love and heartbreak that too often tears families apart.

Praise for Elif Shafak:

'An honour killing is at the centre of this stunning novel . . . Exotic, evocative and utterly gripping.' The Times

'The novel jumps back and forth in place and time, from the 1940s to the 1990s, from east to west.'
Financial Times

'lushly and memorably magic-realist... This is an extraordinarily skilfully crafted and ambitious narrative.' '[Elif Shafak] joins writers such as Hanif Kureishi, Zadie Smith, Monica Ali, Aamer Hussein, Andrea Levy, Hanan al-Shakyh and Leila Aboulela, who offer us fictional glimpses of London's Others.' The Independent

'Colourfully woven and beguilingly intelligent.' Daily Telegraph

'A powerful book; thoughtful, provoking and compassionate.' Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

'A gorgeous, jewelled, luxurious book.' The Times

'Rich and wide as the Euphrates river along whose banks it begins and ends, Elif Shafak has woven with masterful care and compassion one immigrant family's heartbreaking story - a story nurtured in the terrible silences between men and women trying to grow within ancient ways, all the while growing past them. I loved this book.' Sarah Blake, author of The Postmistress

'Elif Shafak tells stories of great urgency, heart, and intellectual acuity. Honour is a powerful tale of family connection and heartbreak, offering us insight and delight in equal measure. This is a compulsively readable novel, an exquisite and deep rendering of the fullness of life.' Aurelie Sheehan, author of The Anxiety of Everyday Objects

'Heartbreaking . . . the beauty of Islam pervades Shafak's book.' Vogue

'Shocking, ambitious, exuberent and teeming.' Observer

'A cross-generational saga written with a freewheeling energy.' Guardian

www.elifshafak.com

http://twitter.com/Elif_Safak

http://www.facebook.com/Elif.Shafak