Lady Life
A magnificent coming-of-age story about freedom and desire by the acclaimed author of I Will Never See the World Again. Winner of the Prix Femina Étranger.
Istanbul is changing, its society decomposing. When his father dies, Fazil learns that one's entire world can change in an instant. Lost are the security and privileges of his family, replaced now by the precarity of poverty. And yet, despite this dramatic change in circumstance, Fazil pursues his desire to study literature at university.
As he attempts to navigate this new, darker world, he begins a romance with Sila, a striking young student who shares his love of Virginia Woolf and who understands his current predicament. But it is the exuberant Madame Hayat, passionate, carefree and with a vivacious lust for life, who captivates Fazil. He attempts to create a new freedom through her person, but around them, the dangers of their changed society grow and increasingly surround them.
Written from his prison cell, Ahmet Altan's latest novel offers an insightful view of modern Turkey and shows how, even in the darkest times, light can be found.
Ahmet Altan is one of Turkey's most important writers. In the purge following the failed coup in July 2016, Altan was sent to prison pending trial for giving 'subliminal messages' in support of the coup. In February 2018 he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for attempting to overthrow the government. 51 Nobel laureates signed an open letter to President Erdogan calling for Altan's release.
Yasemin Çongar is a writer and translator. Her translation of Ahmet Altan's I Will Never See The World Again was long-listed for Baillie Gifford Prize in 2019.