Ayşe Kulin

Last Train to Istanbul

John W. Baker

Traditional Chinese edition of Last Train to Istanbul (Original Turkish title: Nefes Nefese). Disowned by their families, the last of the royal of the Ottoman Empire and a Jewish man married and went to live in France right before WWII. The historical novel is based on a true story and highlights the courageous effort by Turkish diplomats who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews caught in Nazi occupied France. In Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

Safiya 

This is the saddest novel I've read this year and I won't mind it if it had been more tragic but grateful the author didn't try my nerves.

The historical moment around which this novel was articulated has been one of darkest for humanity during the WW2 when all of a sudden besides the violence and cruelty of war, large numbers of jews were persecuted and mass murdered... As a child who grew up reading about la raffle du Vel d'Hiv specifically in a magazine 
   "Je lis des histoires vraies"
:

 

I was yet back again to the dread and fear I have felt some 14 years ago... It was inhumane and far from reflecting any modernity... What changed this time aside from the maturity of the years, was going behind the scenes and that was the genius of the writer to include what was happening between France (Vichy); Germany, Britain, Russia and Turkey. 

But I'm astonished again, how we let the same massacres repeatedly happen and the only change that occurs regards which new target minority is being tortured... I wish I was more proud of belonging to Humanity, and that there weren't as many struggles... I hope it is not too much trouble to ask for it.

Par ailleurs, this is a novel about longing, separation and union... Challenging well-established social norms and turning a deeply rooted heritage upside down... The struggle of each generation it seems, coming too far from what they have grown into only to find out they'd better get back to what their parents did....

I will miss reading this on the train... But our great challenge remains in finding the eternal in the ephemeral, the continuous in the temporal.... (Love, Henry) 

Musical Pick :
https://youtu.be/5NosYGbaOio

Ian P

Finally finished this, but not sure it was worth the effort honestly. I had high hopes but this was largely a let down and I had to force myself to stay in it. My review just essentially echoes those before - I want to believe this was a beautiful book in its original form in Turkish, but the translation makes it read like a 13 year old who fills the pages with statements and basic clauses. There's no soul to the writing, and nothing particularly descriptive to keep you interested. Also the synopsis is misleading, and wasn't really what I expected at all. Not really sure why I'm giving it two stars as I wouldn't recommend it, other than that somehow I want to believe this piece was eloquent and charming in its native form. Good luck, if you decide to read this!

Jessica Smith

This is a compelling story about a part of history that I knew very little about before I began reading. That said, parts of it were better than others. I was debating with myself whether to give it five stars, but I had just a few niggles - a few poorly-written passages, a subplot that seemed completely pointless, and a climax that wasn't particularly climactic. However, this was very worth reading for its account of Turkish diplomats in Nazi-occupied Europe, and the lengths they went to to save their citizens from harm. I'm not sure how much of it is embellished, but the story told here is fascinating and well worth reading.

Last Train to Istanbul

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