Tag Archives: North Africa Middle East and Central Asia

Istanbul: Memories of a City by Orhan Pamuk (Turkey)

A fascinating reflection on the childhood of a Nobel-prize winning author and on the cultural history of Istanbul

Elif Shafak’s novel ’10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World’ (Turkey)

NORTH AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST AND CENTRAL ASIA This is a bit of a throwback post, as some of it was first posted by me in 2019, and was in fact my fifth ever review on the blog. I’m re-posting with some additional discussion of publication prospects in the West for Turkish authors, as part of …

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Review no 83: Syrian feature documentary ‘For Sama’

I watched For Sama (2019) on All 4, knowing only that it was an Oscar-nominated film about the Syrian conflict, dedicated to the baby daughter of the journalist and film maker Waad al-Kateab (and co-directed by Edward Watts). I expected it to be harrowing, but I was unprepared for how gripping and powerful the film …

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