Wrapping Up Summer Reading (Mini Reviews)

The Door, by Magda Szabó Three and a half stars, read in August 2018. The story of a strange, dysfunctional relationship between two strange women who are both uniquely intimate with and completely closed off to each other. I found it difficult at times, how deeply (and pretty frequently) they hurt each other, but the exploration…

The White Castle, by Orhan Pamuk

Two stars, read in September 2018. I planned on two stars throughout the book and then was tempted to do more based on the last few pages—two and a half stars if not three—but for now, I can’t bring myself to rate it any higher. It’s only 145 pages but took forever to read, because…

Honor, by Elif Shafak

Four stars, read in September 2015. I definitely liked this better than The Bastard of Istanbul by the same author, although I’ve been wanting to reread that one and see if I still feel the same way about it. This is a book about an “honor killing” (a phrase I use with scare quotes not because…

The Bastard of Istanbul, by Elif Shafak

Two and a half stars, read in 2010. I had pretty mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, style-wise it was very irritating to read. On the other hand, there were some really beautiful parts, and the story delved into a culture that I’ve never known much about (but it turns out is…