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

grace

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

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.'

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."

Anna Jasmine

“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?”

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

“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.”

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!”

lilith

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

علي

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

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.

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.

Madonna in a Fur Coat quotes

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