Bliss

By: O.Z. Livaneli

Narrated by: Anna Fields

Already an international best seller, this lyrical and moving story embodies the sweep and contradictions of modern Turkey. In a rural Turkish village, young Meryem is raped by her uncle, a sheikh in a dervish order. Outcast for shaming her family, she is locked in the cellar, where she is expected to kill herself. But she is defiant.

Her commando cousin, Cemal, with whom she grew up, has returned a hero from fighting terrorists in the mountains. It is he who is chosen to execute his cousin outside the town, telling her he is going to "take her to Istanbul".

In Istanbul, a celebrity professor named Irfan leaves his wife and charters a boat to sail the Aegean. By chance, these three fugitives cross paths and embark on a journey that shows what unexpected things can happen in the space between wounded people. (Translation by Cigdem Aksoy Fromm.)

©2002 O. Z. Livaneli (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Livaneli offers readers a fascinating look at the diversity of Turkey today in his American debut....Highly recommended." (Library Journal)
"[A] romantic yet clear-eyed translation....Livaneli deftly folds his philosophical and political questioning into the psychology of his characters. Eye-opening and deeply moving - essential for anyone looking for decency in the world today." (Kirkus Reviews)

If you liked The Kite Runner

If you liked the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, you will enjoy this novel that also takes place in the world of Islam and explores the values and traditions of those people whose treatment of women is so different than those in the West. The author explores fully all stratas of Turkish society.

The characters were well drawn and a triumphant ending made for a satisfying listen. Anna Fields will be sadly missed as a wonderful narrator.

A rich tour of Turkey

If modern Turkey can be distilled into a novel that plays out a nation's major issues through its three main characters, Bliss is Livaneli's attempt to write that book. There's Meryem, a naive teenage girl from the countryside, who has been raped by her uncle. Then there is her taciturn, sullen cousin, Cemal, who has just returned from fighting Kurdish guerillas in the mountains of eastern Turkey, and is dispatched to kill Meryem on the road, in order to clear the family honor. Meanwhile, Irfan, a famous, if unaccomplished professor from Istanbul, is going through a midlife crisis and flees his posh existence in a sailboat, looking for something to give him new meaning. Eventually, these three find themselves drawn together.

While such a premise has every possibility of turning into a heavy-handed melodrama, Livaneli writes with a disarming lightness and directness that makes the story engaging. While I suspect that a well-educated Turk might find the book a little lightweight, for an American reader like me, the author's descriptions provided a flavorful portrait of a country struggling at many levels with its sense of identity. We learn much about religion versus secularism, the cosmopolitan elite versus the poor, tradition versus Westernization, ignorance versus education, and a sense of Turkish honor and nationhood that tries and fails to encompass all of the above. Though Livaneli never quite develops his characters beyond the "types" he makes them representatives of, or brings their shared story to an entirely satisfying conclusion, the tour he gives us of their country is a wonderful one.

Unflinching Tale of Conflict and Change

This is sweet story where complex religious, economic, political and personal clashes are illuminated through the deceptively simple words, thoughts and deeds of characters from divergent walks of life. It's a well written tale that gives us a peek into an unfamiliar world. At the same time, it reminds us that Turkey's socio-political challenges have ancient roots and a familiar universality. We are all in this struggle together. Perhaps we can make space for each other if we just pause to consider how the realities of our common humanity ultimately make us indistinguishable from one another.

What a story!

I had no preconceived notions about the book or the author and approached 'Bliss' with an open mind. What a delight!

"Bliss" is a clever mix of modern and ancient with a <i>Hansel & Gretel</i> sense of dread throughout. Livaneli's politics, gender or proclivities aren't in evidence, which I always appreciate in an author.

If you enjoy Naipal's women, Gaiman's mythology and Chabon's beautiful language, you'll happily lose yourself in "Bliss"

Yes, this is Turkey

I lived in Turkey for 6 years back in the 60's and I've been fascinated by Livaneli's descriptions of the cities and villages. So much has changed but unfortunately the essential elements of the civilization remain, as Livneli develops in this book. It is a gut wrenching story, sad because women are so badly treated. I haven't quite finished listening to it but I absolutely recommend Bliss to readers who have any interest in the Middle East, in understanding the culture and thoughts of this war torn arena.