Nor did it help that Europe, in the meantime, was pushing the door shut.” It was so breathtakingly close that Turkey had put one foot through Europe’s doorway and tried to venture forth with all its might – only to find the opening was so narrow that, no matter how much the rest of its body wriggled and squirmed, it could not squeeze itself in.

Such closeness had to amount to something. The author says “All the same this city bordered on Europe. I have always wanted to visit Istanbul so I was excited to discover that the book was set in this intriguing city. The Polaroid is of four people a professor and his three female students stood outside the Bodleian Library in Oxford, “forever trapped inside one of the coldest days of that Winter.” We learn the importance of the Polaroid as the novel progresses and why the memories it evokes are so full of guilt. In a moment of recklessness Peri gives chase and in the ensuing tussle a Polaroid is dislodged along with memories from her past. Peri is on the way to a dinner party when her handbag is stolen from her by a beggar. “A fine wife, a fine mother, a fine housewife, a fine citizen, a fine modern Muslim.” Peri is increasingly experiencing a crisis of identity, “she could no longer tell how much of each day is defined by what was wished upon her and how much of it was what she really wanted.” The protagonist Nazperi, or Peri, is a good person in the eyes of her friends and family. Not only is it a good story but it is also beautifully written – a rare combination. After reading this book I can easily see why it has been on the Turkish bestselling list since it was published there in June.

Three daughters of eve review