The Bastard of Istanbul

Unquestionably an ambitious book, exuberant and teeming … a novel crammed with characters and themes, not unlike Istanbul itself * Guardian *
Wonderfully magical, incredible, breathtaking … will have you gasping with disbelief in the last few pages * Sunday Express *
Heartbreaking … the beauty of Islam pervades Shafak’s book * Vogue *
A writer whose artistry matches her ambition … she has taken on a subject of deep moral consequence * New York Times *
A brave and passionate novel
Tremendous exuberance … I do like a writer with a purpose * Margaret Forster *
An astonishingly rich and lively story … handled with an enchantingly light touch * Kirkus *
Overflows with a kitchen sink’s worth of zany characters … an entertaining and insightful ensemble novel that posits the universality of family, culture and coincidence * Publishers Weekly *
A tender and spirited novel… Steeped in the sights, colours and smells of Turkey’s capital, it grapples with the country’s dark legacies * NPR Books *
A beautiful book, the finest I have read * Irish Times *

Elif Shafak is an award-winning British Turkish novelist, whose work has been translated into fifty-seven languages. The author of twenty books, fourteen of which are novels, she is a bestselling author in many countries around the world. Shafak’s previous novel, THERE ARE RIVERS IN THE SKY, was the UK’s bestselling literary hardback novel of 2025, selling over 500,000 copies. Her work has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the RSL Ondaatje Prize and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, amongst others, and she is currently nominated for ‘Author of the Year’ at the British Book Awards. Elif Shafak was appointed President of the Royal Society of Literature in 2025. Her books have sold several million copies worldwide.

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