Sabahattin Ali

The bestselling Turkish classic of love and loss in a changing world, with a new introduction by David Selim Sayers 'A heart-breaker . . . it has the kind of indefinably powerful impact of The Great Gatsby' Observer 'It is, perhaps, easier to dismiss a man whose face gives no indication of an inner life. And what a pity that is: a dash of curiosity is all it takes to stumble upon treasures we never expected.' A shy young man leaves his home in rural Turkey to learn a trade in 1920s Berlin. The city's crowded streets, thriving arts scene, passionate politics and seedy cabarets provide the backdrop for a chance meeting with a woman, which will haunt him for the rest of his life. Emotionally powerful, intensely atmospheric and touchingly profound, Madonna in a Fur Coat is an unforgettable novel about new beginnings and the unfathomable nature of the human soul. 'A miniature masterpiece' The National 'A gorgeously melancholic romance' Irish Times

Madonna in a Fur Coat

But our missed opportunities never leave us, and everytime they come back to haunt us, we ache.

I was willing, perhaps to an extreme, to be my true self, for all to see: but always on condition that I left the heart of the matter untouched.

"A shy young man leaves his home in rural Turkey to learn a trade and discover life in 1920s Berlin. There, amid the city's bustling streets, elegant museums, passionate politics and seedy cabarets, a chance meeting transforms his life forever. Caught between his desire for freedom and his yearning to belong, he struggles to hold on to the new life he has found"--

علي

Only now did I begin to understand why it was not always through words that people sought each other out and came to understand each other, and why some poets went to such lengths to seek out companions who could, like them, contemplate the beauties of nature in silence.

We have no choice but to accept such accidents for what they are, along with all the others that life thrusts upon us.

lilith

“Thank you for giving me the chance to be truly alive. Those few months were worth a few lifetimes, don’t you think?”

The bestselling Turkish classic of love and longing in a changing world, available in English for the first time. 'It is, perhaps, easier to dismiss a man whose face gives no indication of an inner life. And what a pity that is: a dash of curiosity is all it takes to stumble upon treasures we never expected.' A shy young man leaves his home in rural Turkey to learn a trade in 1920s Berlin. The city's crowded streets, thriving arts scene, passionate politics and seedy cabarets provide the backdrop for a chance meeting with a woman, which will haunt him for the rest of his life. Emotionally powerful, intensely atmospheric and touchingly profound, Madonna in a Fur Coat is an unforgettable novel about new beginnings and the unfathomable nature of the human soul. 'Passionate but clear . . . Ali's success is in ] his ability to describe the emergence of a feeling, seemingly straightforward from the outside but swinging back and forth between opposite extremes at its core, revealing the tensions that accompanies such rise and fall.' Atilla zkirimli, writer and literary historian

gitsa

“For me, love is something else entirely. It’s beyond all logic and impossible to describe or define. It’s one thing to like someone. To be consumed, body and soul, by desire is quite another. That’s what love is to me – desire that’s all-consuming. Desire that’s impossible to resist!”

the understanding ,, the intimacy ✋🏻😭🤧❤️‍🔥

Anna Jasmine

“Last night he’d said to me, ‘We never got the chance to sit down and talk.’ But now I knew differently. Last night we’d spoken for many long hours.

That same night, he’d left his life behind and entered mine. And there he would remain, truly alive – more so than anyone I’d ever known. Wherever I went, he’d be there at my side.”

“Had I been spared this chance encounter, I might have carried on living as before, oblivious to the truth. You were the one who taught me that another life was possible, and that I had a soul. And it is not your fault that it ended too soon … Thank you for giving me the chance to be truly alive. Those few months were worth a few lifetimes, don’t you think?”

Still cant stop thinking of this book. Finished it days ago. Vivid portrait of the limerence we all experience.

angel abad cesa 

"'Its just that we shouldn't shy away from speaking openly about things that could hurt our relationship later. If we find we cannot get along, then we'll just say goodbye and go our separate ways... Where's the tragedy in that? The essence of life is in solitude - wouldn't you agree? All unions are built on falsehood. People can only get to know each other up to a point and then they make up the rest, until one day, seeing their mistake, turn their backs on sadness and run away... ...we would never, whatever the cost agree to live on a lie."

grace

Unsure of what to say, I thought for a time before saying: 'If a person truly has the ability to love, then he can never monopolize his beloved. And neither can his beloved monopolize him. The more he spreads his love, the more he adores his one and only true love. When love spreads, it does not diminish.'

The pension's dark stairwell now seemed quite charming and the corridor's stale air almost sweet.

A beautifully heartbreaking love story, shining a light into what it’s like to be consumed by the love you have for another human 

Riley Lawes

First time rating a piece of translated fiction this low so I don’t know if it’s right for me to do so ?

I can’t comment on the writing style since I didn’t read from the original text, but it’s maybe the only thing I liked or kept me going (lol (it’s “readable”)) so props to the translator I guess. At first I didn’t like how slow it read for a book that’s less than 200 pages, but I came to realize that that will be the less of my concerns when I actually got to the real story.

I like unlikeable characters and narrators in any form of media, but Raif and Maria …. They took “kindred souls” too literally.

Their voices are exactly the same ! If you erase their names in dialogue parts, you wouldn’t know who’s talking ? Not sure if that’s Ali’s writing style or is it the translator ? None of them had any redeeming qualities for me to care about their asses. And that’s saying a lot as someone who just finished Angel by Elizabeth Taylor recently (and I loved Angel as a character). Both Raif and Maria are hypocritical in their monologues like, every time they go on a tangent about love and their life it’s going to contradict in the 5th sentence or the more they go on and I just want to rip my hair out. The whole Berlin bit is just very, VERY repetitive.

Filled with romantic verses but I don’t see the romance ? Raif tells about this “meaningful conversations” they have and same with their letters later on but ??? Where is it ??? One of my pet peeves especially in romance novels is when a character (or the writer) claims they have this insane chemistry or thinks alike or “this character is so smart” but.. then they act like they don’t have any of those when I continue reading and I’m just arghhhhh WHERE ??

Also, they are NOT complicated characters. Raif says he doesn’t have any relationships because it doesn’t work out when it’s a him problem ?? Throughout the whole book, all the characters you get introduced to tries to connect with him yet he’s the one who doesn’t even try. He complains about his family and how he is always shadowed but they’re always there for him or helping him out ??? Girl … bffr. Same goes with Maria. The only thing that’s complicated with them (especially Maria) is that they’re homophobic and xenophobic. 😐

I liked the story better in the beginning with the unnamed narrator and Raif. This was the most unromantic romance novel I’ve ever read. 

Nica

First time rating a piece of translated fiction this low so I don’t know if it’s right for me to do so ?

I can’t comment on the writing style since I didn’t read from the original text, but it’s maybe the only thing I liked or kept me going (lol (it’s “readable”)) so props to the translator I guess. At first I didn’t like how slow it read for a book that’s less than 200 pages, but I came to realize that that will be the less of my concerns when I actually got to the real story.

I like unlikeable characters and narrators in any form of media, but Raif and Maria …. They took “kindred souls” too literally.

Their voices are exactly the same ! If you erase their names in dialogue parts, you wouldn’t know who’s talking ? Not sure if that’s Ali’s writing style or is it the translator ? None of them had any redeeming qualities for me to care about their asses. And that’s saying a lot as someone who just finished Angel by Elizabeth Taylor recently (and I loved Angel as a character). Both Raif and Maria are hypocritical in their monologues like, every time they go on a tangent about love and their life it’s going to contradict in the 5th sentence or the more they go on and I just want to rip my hair out. The whole Berlin bit is just very, VERY repetitive.

Filled with romantic verses but I don’t see the romance ? Raif tells about this “meaningful conversations” they have and same with their letters later on but ??? Where is it ??? One of my pet peeves especially in romance novels is when a character (or the writer) claims they have this insane chemistry or thinks alike or “this character is so smart” but.. then they act like they don’t have any of those when I continue reading and I’m just arghhhhh WHERE ??

Also, they are NOT complicated characters. Raif says he doesn’t have any relationships because it doesn’t work out when it’s a him problem ?? Throughout the whole book, all the characters you get introduced to tries to connect with him yet he’s the one who doesn’t even try. He complains about his family and how he is always shadowed but they’re always there for him or helping him out ??? Girl … bffr. Same goes with Maria. The only thing that’s complicated with them (especially Maria) is that they’re homophobic and xenophobic. 😐

I liked the story better in the beginning with the unnamed narrator and Raif. This was the most unromantic romance novel I’ve ever read. 

buddy read with @jellypoppd !

U do not know yearning until you read Madonna in a fur coat!!!!

Puhyu

Silva

I know understand why everybody's telling me to read this book. I'm so glad I went in without reading any reviews or summaries. I'm pretty sure this will be one of my best reads this year.

Bibi

marlisa

i truly, truly get it now, why the people i know read this. i’m glad i was able to find this book through those people. 

kite

Devotion, limerence, longing, solitude — all were felt deeply in this novel.

I couldn't even say a word when I finished this.. I felt solitude wash over my soul.

beautiful writing + always fun to indulge in an All Consuming Love story.

 did feel a little too Written by a Man in the 40s for me

petrina

beautiful writing + always fun to indulge in an All Consuming Love story.

 did feel a little too Written by a Man in the 40s for me

I didn't think I'd like this book. Stories about lonely, introverted, hopeless romantic guys aren't usually my thing, but this one was so beautifully written.

It's a Turkish novel from the 1940s. The story follows Raif, a man who feels a lot but struggles to express himself. One day, he comes across a painting of a woman in a fur coat, and he's completely captivated. He ends up spending hours, even days, just staring at it.

If I'm going to talk about love, it'll turn into a 20-page deep dive where I lay everything bare, so I'd rather just keep it to myself.

I didn't think I'd like this book. Stories about lonely, introverted, hopeless romantic guys aren't usually my thing, but this one was so beautifully written.

It's a Turkish novel from the 1940s. The story follows Raif, a man who feels a lot but struggles to express himself. One day, he comes across a painting of a woman in a fur coat, and he's completely captivated. He ends up spending hours, even days, just staring at it.

If I'm going to talk about love, it'll turn into a 20-page deep dive where I lay everything bare, so I'd rather just keep it to myself.

love, love, love! this book is my favourite i have every read. it’s sooo good. i could not recommend this enough. the writing is fantastic. it’s soo sad though.

Olivia

Madonna in a Fur Coat was a super quick and insightful book. The book gives the readers a glimpse of the pivotal moments of Raif and Maria's story which is their budding relationship with each other. Rather than a love story, I felt like the characters were representatives of a series of "what ifs" and how a single person can impact your life. While I did enjoy the story itself, I found it difficult to fully understand and comprehend Raif's actions and thoughts. In modern times, Raif would be considered a sad boy but the timeline in the story made him into a male yearner. 

Lane Loyola

None of us have experienced true yearning...

shaymaa

One of my favourite things about reading and writing reviews is the diversity of perspectives a person can naturally take when approaching a piece of work. Hence, I have seen Madonna in a Fur Coat, a novel by Turkish author Sabahattin Ali bounce around various corners of my timeline with both praise for its yearning romance and derision for its principal protagonists. Regardless, most of the analysis centres on the romantic psychology between its two love interests: what do we gain when we allow ourselves to open up, to allow someone access to us completely? What do we risk? And while it is true the romance in this book cuts deep and festers, I found myself more drawn to the novel’s peripheries, with the net effect being me enjoying this novel mostly in a way which surprised even myself.

Madonna begins in 1940s Turkey. An unnamed narrator is fired from his job at a bank, and during his brief period of depressed unemployment, manages to gain access to a sinecure out of nepotism. It is during this job he meets the firm’s translator, Raif Efendi, a despondent old man who happily takes abuse from both his colleagues and his family, and this subservience arouses a curiosity in the narrator, who befriends him during a spell of sickness. When Raif’s sickness worsens, the narrator is tasked to retrieve his journal, and through the reading of this journal we are provided with the main narrative frame of the novel.

The journal is simply one entry describing Raif Efendi’s entire life (and so there is no real epistolary element here). He grows up in the Ottoman Empire in a state of violence and upheaval, and his childhood is spent nurturing an isolation from people and a shyness that prevents him from forming any connections. His only interest is art, but he discovers that getting good at art requires revealing something of his soul, and this fear of intimacy prevents him from committing to it properly. He much prefers the fictional world over the real, much to the disappointment of his family.

He is sent to Germany to study the business of soap manufacturing. It is there he falls in love with a self-portrait lovingly described by an art critic as the ‘Madonna in a Fur Coat’, likening the woman in the portrait’s sadness and depth to the Virgin Mary depicted in ‘Madonna of the Harpies.’ Raif is obsessed with the painting, an obsession bordering on the pathological, and through a series of compulsions he comes to meet the artist, Maria Puder, and is instantly smitten. However, it is, from the start, a doomed union. The man filled with secrets but afraid of intimacy has fallen in love with a completely open but unreachable woman, and his solution is to therefore follow her like a dog, never revealing anything, anxious in preserving her love like sand slipping through fingers. Attached to an almost suicidal degree, her love has opened within him his generalised love for humanity, and a temporary connection to the world around him. It is a house of cards though—how long can the relationship last before collapse?

To me, strangely, this main romantic relationship was one of my least favourite parts of the novel. Not for any moralistic reasons, and in general I like the dynamic of Maria having power over Raif and being able to define what she looks for in love on her own terms (a kind of progressive view for the time the novel was written). And the beats do elicit that painful, yearning feeling. But my criticism is more that the love story doesn’t seek to do anything new—its timeline of tragedy was described as ‘cliche’ in the introduction to the novel and I can’t say I disagree (which doesn’t necessarily mean it is bad!)

But, as mentioned, it’s in the periphery where the novel shines. Sabahattin Ali belongs to the realist school of literature, and you'll find his style and focus very similar to a Dostoevsky or Hamsun. Short, incisive sentences, bleakness and greyness everywhere, the social realities of poverty always given centre stage, abusive and corrupt power structures, the breakdown of the familial unit, and a high-strung psychological style of dialogue can all be found in this novel. I loved the portrayal of The Ottoman Empire/Turkey and Germany—it's a complete disillusionment of European romanticism, and wonderfully reflects the narrator’s depressed state of mind. The tone added to the novel through this depiction was wonderful; the fantastic introduction by David Salim Sayers helped me ground the novel in its historical context. 

Sabahattin Ali was a Communist (and was potentially assassinated because of this) and this sense of working-class solidarity between people trapped in the system is a theme that arises very early in the novel. In this sense, I would probably say that the frame narrative and the narrator’s relationship with Raif Efendi moved me more than Raif Efendi’s relationship with Maria Puder. For with Raif and Maria you are already given the novel’s ending from the beginning. But it is this singular continuity between the depressive life of the narrator and the depressing end-state of Raif which really made me feel.

What is beautiful about this novel is therefore that the sense of ‘opening up’ to people isn’t confined to romantic relationships—we can all open up to one another, and behind every normal person who seems a brutish automaton, there is a vivid composite human to be discovered. All it takes, Sabahattin Ali poses, is the courage to connect, and the courage to be intimate. For through just one connection, romantic or otherwise, one begins to properly perceive the world’s beauty. And it is only from there one can begin to live.

shain

One of my favourite things about reading and writing reviews is the diversity of perspectives a person can naturally take when approaching a piece of work. Hence, I have seen Madonna in a Fur Coat, a novel by Turkish author Sabahattin Ali bounce around various corners of my timeline with both praise for its yearning romance and derision for its principal protagonists. Regardless, most of the analysis centres on the romantic psychology between its two love interests: what do we gain when we allow ourselves to open up, to allow someone access to us completely? What do we risk? And while it is true the romance in this book cuts deep and festers, I found myself more drawn to the novel’s peripheries, with the net effect being me enjoying this novel mostly in a way which surprised even myself.

Madonna begins in 1940s Turkey. An unnamed narrator is fired from his job at a bank, and during his brief period of depressed unemployment, manages to gain access to a sinecure out of nepotism. It is during this job he meets the firm’s translator, Raif Efendi, a despondent old man who happily takes abuse from both his colleagues and his family, and this subservience arouses a curiosity in the narrator, who befriends him during a spell of sickness. When Raif’s sickness worsens, the narrator is tasked to retrieve his journal, and through the reading of this journal we are provided with the main narrative frame of the novel.

The journal is simply one entry describing Raif Efendi’s entire life (and so there is no real epistolary element here). He grows up in the Ottoman Empire in a state of violence and upheaval, and his childhood is spent nurturing an isolation from people and a shyness that prevents him from forming any connections. His only interest is art, but he discovers that getting good at art requires revealing something of his soul, and this fear of intimacy prevents him from committing to it properly. He much prefers the fictional world over the real, much to the disappointment of his family.

He is sent to Germany to study the business of soap manufacturing. It is there he falls in love with a self-portrait lovingly described by an art critic as the ‘Madonna in a Fur Coat’, likening the woman in the portrait’s sadness and depth to the Virgin Mary depicted in ‘Madonna of the Harpies.’ Raif is obsessed with the painting, an obsession bordering on the pathological, and through a series of compulsions he comes to meet the artist, Maria Puder, and is instantly smitten. However, it is, from the start, a doomed union. The man filled with secrets but afraid of intimacy has fallen in love with a completely open but unreachable woman, and his solution is to therefore follow her like a dog, never revealing anything, anxious in preserving her love like sand slipping through fingers. Attached to an almost suicidal degree, her love has opened within him his generalised love for humanity, and a temporary connection to the world around him. It is a house of cards though—how long can the relationship last before collapse?

To me, strangely, this main romantic relationship was one of my least favourite parts of the novel. Not for any moralistic reasons, and in general I like the dynamic of Maria having power over Raif and being able to define what she looks for in love on her own terms (a kind of progressive view for the time the novel was written). And the beats do elicit that painful, yearning feeling. But my criticism is more that the love story doesn’t seek to do anything new—its timeline of tragedy was described as ‘cliche’ in the introduction to the novel and I can’t say I disagree (which doesn’t necessarily mean it is bad!)

But, as mentioned, it’s in the periphery where the novel shines. Sabahattin Ali belongs to the realist school of literature, and you'll find his style and focus very similar to a Dostoevsky or Hamsun. Short, incisive sentences, bleakness and greyness everywhere, the social realities of poverty always given centre stage, abusive and corrupt power structures, the breakdown of the familial unit, and a high-strung psychological style of dialogue can all be found in this novel. I loved the portrayal of The Ottoman Empire/Turkey and Germany—it's a complete disillusionment of European romanticism, and wonderfully reflects the narrator’s depressed state of mind. The tone added to the novel through this depiction was wonderful; the fantastic introduction by David Salim Sayers helped me ground the novel in its historical context. 

Sabahattin Ali was a Communist (and was potentially assassinated because of this) and this sense of working-class solidarity between people trapped in the system is a theme that arises very early in the novel. In this sense, I would probably say that the frame narrative and the narrator’s relationship with Raif Efendi moved me more than Raif Efendi’s relationship with Maria Puder. For with Raif and Maria you are already given the novel’s ending from the beginning. But it is this singular continuity between the depressive life of the narrator and the depressing end-state of Raif which really made me feel.

What is beautiful about this novel is therefore that the sense of ‘opening up’ to people isn’t confined to romantic relationships—we can all open up to one another, and behind every normal person who seems a brutish automaton, there is a vivid composite human to be discovered. All it takes, Sabahattin Ali poses, is the courage to connect, and the courage to be intimate. For through just one connection, romantic or otherwise, one begins to properly perceive the world’s beauty. And it is only from there one can begin to live.

Que leitura linda! Acho que se tornou o meu favorito! Mal posso esperar pra reler!

I wish I could put together the words that would capture how I am feeling right now, and yet I feel as though there are none that could do it justice.

The writing in this book was just phenomenal, it reads to me as though it was written in English all along! What a wonderful thing to have translators who do their job so beautifully and so tastefully, I felt as though I were Raif himself reading this book.

The yearning in this book is haunting, almost. Knowing that what you are reading is already gone and in the past and there is nothing you can do to change it, to keep everything as it is. I do not think I have felt such raw emotion from a book in such a long time, and it has touched me in a way I will never forget.

This book is absolutely breathtaking, the knowledge that the love– the passion and desire you are reading of is never meant to last, is constantly lurking over your shoulder as a reminder that it will inevitably be shattered. It encapsulates the love of a lifetime, of the person who you want so dearly and yet can never quite grasp– no matter how much you both wish to.

It truly makes your heart ache, the helplessness of something so delicate and true slipping through your fingers. It was so hauntingly beautiful, how Ali has managed to capture this in 192 pages I could never comprehend. Every single word has its place, and my goodness, it is wonderful.

iris may

I wish I could put together the words that would capture how I am feeling right now, and yet I feel as though there are none that could do it justice.

The writing in this book was just phenomenal, it reads to me as though it was written in English all along! What a wonderful thing to have translators who do their job so beautifully and so tastefully, I felt as though I were Raif himself reading this book.

The yearning in this book is haunting, almost. Knowing that what you are reading is already gone and in the past and there is nothing you can do to change it, to keep everything as it is. I do not think I have felt such raw emotion from a book in such a long time, and it has touched me in a way I will never forget.

This book is absolutely breathtaking, the knowledge that the love– the passion and desire you are reading of is never meant to last, is constantly lurking over your shoulder as a reminder that it will inevitably be shattered. It encapsulates the love of a lifetime, of the person who you want so dearly and yet can never quite grasp– no matter how much you both wish to.

It truly makes your heart ache, the helplessness of something so delicate and true slipping through your fingers. It was so hauntingly beautiful, how Ali has managed to capture this in 192 pages I could never comprehend. Every single word has its place, and my goodness, it is wonderful.

Picking this up on a whim because it was all over my twitter feed was probably one of the best decisions ever.

Talk about missed moments, unrequited love and yearning and by the time I was done with this book my heart was on the floor and my soul shattered.

diya

Picking this up on a whim because it was all over my twitter feed was probably one of the best decisions ever.
Talk about missed moments, unrequited love and yearning and by the time I was done with this book my heart was on the floor and my soul shattered.

kentuckymeatshower

in all honesty, i found this book a little bit boring. i think my slight indifference serves as a testament to ali's acuity. i have never been fond of "romanticizing the mundane," because it's often lackluster compared to the simple, direct beauty of routine, which i find ironically finite within the bounds of florid imagery. i didn't notice any romanticization while reading madonna in a fur coat. it was real and intimate and tedious and a little unbearable. in that way it was just as lovely as it was about love.

falling in love is a tedious yet unpredictable process not many can endure. its most intriguing part is how it begins, and its second is how it ends. ali refuses to pander to the reader, never treating raif and maria's history as a montage of key moments, but instead as Days Spent Together, tender with abrasion and affection both. ali illustrates the beauty of love in all its monotony that beats a dead horse until its corpse mysteriously disappears without notice. 

when raif says, “thank you for giving me the chance to be truly alive. those few moments were worth a few lifetimes, don’t you think?” all the while the reader is still desperate to feel the same vibrancy, just as the narrator invades his friend’s most raw, vulnerable experience of his life, ough ..... ough like wow. as an uncomfortable outsider, i'm a little apathetic and yet vaguely fascinated and emotional, as i would a long debrief from a friend involving terrible, confidential information on strangers i don’t care about. ali invokes in the reader the same indifference one would feel to a lifelong childhood friend of whom one knows every painstaking detail about. i will think about this a Lot

the novel is a beautifully written exploration of love, loss, and the search for meaning in life. ali's prose is evocative and captures the atmosphere of 1920s berlin perfectly. the characters are complex and well-developed, and their relationships are portrayed with sensitivity and nuance. love love love it

Thank you for giving me the chance to be truly alive. Those few months were worth a few lifetimes, don’t you think?

The melancholic vibes of this book remind me of Dostoevsky, especially with how introspective Raif is about his conflicted emotions and his dissatisfaction with his choices and himself. While 

 strikes me as a gentle book in many ways, both works feature deeply expressive characters who experience emotions so profoundly that it resonates powerfully with me, as the reader.

alghi

The melancholic vibes of this book remind me of Dostoevsky, especially with how introspective Raif is about his conflicted emotions and his dissatisfaction with his choices and himself. While Madonna strikes me as a gentle book in many ways, both works feature deeply expressive characters who experience emotions so profoundly that it resonates powerfully with me, as the reader.

The author and translators did an absolutely amazing job on this story. I think there's something beautiful about this book that's hard to explain . You truly have to read it yourself to make your own decision 

Madonna in a Fur Coat

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