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Book Reviews Turquoise: A Love Story by Ayshe Talay-Ongan Review by Chris Broadribb Turquoise is a beautifully written novel: an unconventional love story set partially in Turkey and partially in the USA. (Australia gets a few brief mentions but doesn't feature in it.) The protagonist is a 31-year-old Turkish woman named Yasmin who is a psychologist and university lecturer living in Istanbul. Having turned down a declaration of love from the man she plays tennis with, she falls in love at first sight with another man, Renan, whom she meets at the bar. The only minor problem being that he's married to her old school friend Ani and has a child with her. For a while, Yasmin sees Renan and Ani socially while secretly fantasising about him. She detects some corresponding interest on his part. However, the couple move away to Australia and Yasmin later escapes the political turmoil in Turkey by moving to the USA. She finds a new job and sees other men while still thinking about Renan. Her relationship with him seems doomed before it has even started... or is it? The novel is mainly about love: unrequited love, marriages of convenience, family love, love for a child. It follows Yasmin's life through the years: her work, friendships, relationships, hobbies and interests, and travels. It's also about politics: social and economic problems within Turkey and the long-standing Turkish\Armenian conflict. It discusses the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire back in 1915, which was denied by the successor state Turkey. Yasmin tries to avoid conflict, however, as she has Turkish relatives and Armenian friends she can't help but be drawn into the crossfire of people's beliefs and actions. One of her family members even becomes a victim of the conflict. Turquoise was self-published through Sid Harta, but is well-written enough to be published conventionally, and I'm surprised that it wasn't. It was published in 2011. A small note: it's best not to read the blurb on the back cover if you don't want to know what will happen between Yasmin and Renan, as it implies too much in the first paragraph. That's often the case with blurbs. A novel is more interesting if you have no idea what will happen. Chris Broadribb is an emerging writer who is working on a novel and blogs (sometimes) athttp://www.echidnaz.blogspot.com
Set against transcendent love, unrelenting hatred and loyalties to friends and family, Turquoise is the story of an enduring and passionate love affair between Yasmin and Renan, which spans two decades, two marriages and three continents Read more about “Turquoise”