bookerage's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Slow paced, but compelling story about Meryem, a girl condemned to her own "honor killing" by her cousin Cemal. On their long journey to Istanbul they eventually meet Irfan, who has his own troubles. A friendship develops between these very different characters.
amiraandthecats's review against another edition
3.0
Starts like a Marquez book and ends like a Elif Shafak one... Disappointed.
msgtdameron's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This is really a story about Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) (I have PTS and hate the word "disorder" I don't have a disorder, That's why I dropped the D.) First Meherium, Turkish for Mary. One, her mother died in childbirth, her aunt, moms sister, feels obligated to look after Mary, but Auntie hates mary and takes every chance to tell her, she is constantly beat, and finally at 15 her Uncle rapes her and the local boys drag her through the village. Next Celb Mary's cousin and the son of her rapist. He is a Commando in the Turkish forces fighting the PPK, Kurdish Communists, in eastern Anatolian. Two years living at the sharp end of a thousand year old fight that continues to this day. Ambushes, counter ambushes, patrols, barracks down time, bitter cold and blazing heat with a rainy season that lasts from Nov through late December so it's not a warm gentle rain, it's liquid ice at around .5 C. I spent 21 months in Central Turkey during my 23 years in the Air Force so I can relate. He has PTS. He comes home after discharge gets a lot of accolades from his family and the village, then dad tells him to take his cousin to Istanbul and kill her as she has dishonored the family. Yup, same guy who raped her now wants his son to kill the child he raped. The third member of our cast is Isfahar, an Istanbul University professor who has left the university, his wife, his friends, cleared out his personal bank account, rents a forty foot sail boat and leaves for the Aegean. His life is not filled with violence, but he is just a Dilbert in academic cubical land. Isfahar just wants out of his life, but can't bring himself to suicide or go out in style. He daydreams about going in style but doesn't have the courage. The real story is how each person deals with his and her own demons. I really enjoyed this work and related to the PTS issues that each character has.
readsnjava's review against another edition
4.0
http://mariandyreads.blogspot.com/2012/11/bliss.html
lostyouth's review against another edition
4.0
The story begins in a village in Eastern Anatolia where ignorant customs and beliefs plague the population. A fifteen year old raped girl, Meryem, is believed to have committed a major 'sin' and stained the honor of the family whereas her rapist uncle remains pious as ever. According to the tradition, Meryem must commit suicide to restore the honor of family. But she defies the custom and wants to live.
Her uncle, who happens to be a sheikh in the village, is one of those men who preach virtues and morals to others and conceal their own sins and trashiness under the garb of piety and religiosity. Women are considered evil and lowly beings who must spend their entire lives behind the doors.
The ignorance and stupidity of the people is further aggravated by remaining secluded and clueless about the world outside the village.
Her twenty year old cousin, Cemal (i.e Jemal) is a commando in Turkish army fighting against Kurdish guerillas on the mountains. On his return to village after being discharged from the army service, he is commanded by his father to take Meryem to Istanbul and and murder her there.
Cemal learns violence instead of rationality and is deeply influenced by his father's preaching.
On the other hand, we follow the story of a 44 year old professor, Irfan, going through existential crisis after living a pretentious and pompous life among elite-class. He is described as being 'Don Quixote at night' and 'Sancho Panza in the morning'. Instead of becoming a creative thinker, irfan became a pretentious dandy who couldn't produce anything worthwhile - since he judged himself to be devoid of noteworthy thoughts or feelings.
The paths of these three characters collide and their lives change significantly.
Irfan, Meryem and Cemal - in Turkish film, Mutluluk (Bliss)
The novel is slow paced but a compelling read. The premise sounds much too grim but the book isn't always so. The character development in the story is excellent and each character serves a means to observe various point of views. There are various themes in the novel especially patriarchy and misogyny with underlying political and social commentary. The disparity existing among people of different class, culture and background is brought to light. A country torn into Eastern tradition and Western modernity. . There's religion, nihilism, secularism and people having different morals, traditions and customs reflecting their outlook on life.
The novel is about broadening one's horizon about world and people inhabiting it. Learning to shed the shell of prejudices and cherished beliefs. So do these characters, to some extent at least.
It's a story of courage amidst adversity with a ray of triumph and hope that will surely make you think at several points.
---
Archive.org link to borrow the book:
https://archive.org/details/bliss0000liva
Her uncle, who happens to be a sheikh in the village, is one of those men who preach virtues and morals to others and conceal their own sins and trashiness under the garb of piety and religiosity. Women are considered evil and lowly beings who must spend their entire lives behind the doors.
The ignorance and stupidity of the people is further aggravated by remaining secluded and clueless about the world outside the village.
Her twenty year old cousin, Cemal (i.e Jemal) is a commando in Turkish army fighting against Kurdish guerillas on the mountains. On his return to village after being discharged from the army service, he is commanded by his father to take Meryem to Istanbul and and murder her there.
Cemal learns violence instead of rationality and is deeply influenced by his father's preaching.
On the other hand, we follow the story of a 44 year old professor, Irfan, going through existential crisis after living a pretentious and pompous life among elite-class. He is described as being 'Don Quixote at night' and 'Sancho Panza in the morning'. Instead of becoming a creative thinker, irfan became a pretentious dandy who couldn't produce anything worthwhile - since he judged himself to be devoid of noteworthy thoughts or feelings.
The paths of these three characters collide and their lives change significantly.
Irfan, Meryem and Cemal - in Turkish film, Mutluluk (Bliss)
The novel is slow paced but a compelling read. The premise sounds much too grim but the book isn't always so. The character development in the story is excellent and each character serves a means to observe various point of views. There are various themes in the novel especially patriarchy and misogyny with underlying political and social commentary. The disparity existing among people of different class, culture and background is brought to light. A country torn into Eastern tradition and Western modernity. . There's religion, nihilism, secularism and people having different morals, traditions and customs reflecting their outlook on life.
The novel is about broadening one's horizon about world and people inhabiting it. Learning to shed the shell of prejudices and cherished beliefs. So do these characters, to some extent at least.
It's a story of courage amidst adversity with a ray of triumph and hope that will surely make you think at several points.
---
Archive.org link to borrow the book:
https://archive.org/details/bliss0000liva
christythelibrarian's review against another edition
1.0
Couldn't finish this book. I don't know if was the translation or what, but there was a lot of "telling" and not enough "showing." It was also a rather abrupt style - both in transitions and in plot development.
sushai's review against another edition
3.0
I like books like this where I can learn about other cultures, but I just feel like I could have liked the characters more. I found myself just reading on (or listening, in this case) just to find out how it ends rather than enjoying the journey.
jlsyao's review against another edition
2.0
I got this as a present from someone dear, so I had placed it high on my reading list. I was intrigued because the only other author I know well from Turkey is Orhan Pamuk, so I was excited to see what someone else had to say about the entire headscarf issue in Turkey.
Reading it, I cringed so many times at the obvious plot devices and narrative style which was not done subtly enough. They were so blatant and in your face that it was painful to get through. This however was a translation, so I've no idea if the style in the original version was so coarse.
That aside, after finishing the book, I was actually disappointed.
Entering this book you could tell the atmosphere was that of an "awareness book", which most books not based in UK or US are, in an attempt to let the world know more about an issue, a country, etc. But, it felt one-sided.
The author wasn't trying to raise awareness with this book, he was trying to sell his ideal to the public. It was clear where his bias was, and issues were not presented with as many sides as possible. It was not a neutral book.
The main theme in this story is how a female overcomes the double-standards placed unto her by a wayward society.
First with the rape, we get that it's wrong and awful. It was interesting and eye-opening to see how possibly in rural villages they would have wanted her to die for her "sin". I thought it would have meant so much more if we could see the consequences of the rape from the perspective of the rapist. He is a religious man, and pre-marital sex of any sort should be considered a sin; I really wanted to see what drove him to the rape, what made him abandon his so-called religious beliefs, and if he believed them at all.
Then, the entire headscarf issue. I wanted to see the other perspective of a girl who wore the headscarf because she wasn't forced to, but simply because she wanted to. No one had anything nice to say about the headscarf at all. Meryem who wore it hated it, and Selahattin's sister supposedly wore it simply because she was misguided. In Japanese there's a saying called 十人十色 (Jyuu nin to iro) which means that there are many different opinions and ways to look at things. I was disappointed that the author chose to ignore these points in regards to the headscarf issue.
That being said, because I am disappointed of the ways some issues have been presented, it has made me suspicious of the rest of the things the book has touched on. It strikes me that the book is probably prejudiced in many ways and it upsets me that I was not given a more holistic view of Turkey.
Reading it, I cringed so many times at the obvious plot devices and narrative style which was not done subtly enough. They were so blatant and in your face that it was painful to get through. This however was a translation, so I've no idea if the style in the original version was so coarse.
That aside, after finishing the book, I was actually disappointed.
Entering this book you could tell the atmosphere was that of an "awareness book", which most books not based in UK or US are, in an attempt to let the world know more about an issue, a country, etc. But, it felt one-sided.
The author wasn't trying to raise awareness with this book, he was trying to sell his ideal to the public. It was clear where his bias was, and issues were not presented with as many sides as possible. It was not a neutral book.
The main theme in this story is how a female overcomes the double-standards placed unto her by a wayward society.
First with the rape, we get that it's wrong and awful. It was interesting and eye-opening to see how possibly in rural villages they would have wanted her to die for her "sin". I thought it would have meant so much more if we could see the consequences of the rape from the perspective of the rapist. He is a religious man, and pre-marital sex of any sort should be considered a sin; I really wanted to see what drove him to the rape, what made him abandon his so-called religious beliefs, and if he believed them at all.
Then, the entire headscarf issue. I wanted to see the other perspective of a girl who wore the headscarf because she wasn't forced to, but simply because she wanted to. No one had anything nice to say about the headscarf at all. Meryem who wore it hated it, and Selahattin's sister supposedly wore it simply because she was misguided. In Japanese there's a saying called 十人十色 (Jyuu nin to iro) which means that there are many different opinions and ways to look at things. I was disappointed that the author chose to ignore these points in regards to the headscarf issue.
That being said, because I am disappointed of the ways some issues have been presented, it has made me suspicious of the rest of the things the book has touched on. It strikes me that the book is probably prejudiced in many ways and it upsets me that I was not given a more holistic view of Turkey.
karenks's review against another edition
3.0
Loved the first half of this book, but the second half when Meryem and Cemal meet Irfan was a let down. I never really connected with these characters even with the heavy subject of honor killing I just never really got involved in the story line. However since I just returned from Istanbul enjoyed the description of Istanbul and the Turkish countryside.