A Year in Ankara
This book is excellent. The author doesn't explain everything that happens at once, but gives clues that accumulate until the reader understands what is going on. She uses a lot of description to bring to life the experiences of an American family living in the Middle East in the 1970s. Anyone who read and liked "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini or "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi should enjoy this novel.
A minor criticism: If there were any dervishes (members of Muslim religious orders who take a vow of poverty) in the book, I missed them.
Highly recommended.
Rated of 5
by Linda (Lancaster PA)
Dervishes - Review
I thoroughly enjoyed this engrossing story of a mother and daughter trying to make sense of their relationships to each other while also trying to fit into the claustrophobic world created by a handful of other expatriates living in Ankara, Turkey. While the father disappears for months at a time on business, Canada, a young girl of twelve, learns to navigate the landscape of the city, broadening and moving away from the rarefied atmosphere of the adults who spend their time socializing, having affairs and drinking too much. While Canada strains to move away and blend into the Turkish landscape, Grace, her mother, struggles to ingratiate herself into the inner circle of wives left behind by their traveling husbands.
Told from both the mother and daughter's point of view, one gets a sense of how both are floundering to find their own place in this exotic world while growing apart from each other. As the plot develops, the cultural differences between East and West begin to alter the storyline and one can feel the characters being propelled to a tragic conclusion. Well developed female characters who are flawed yet deserving of sympathy in their ignorance and an interesting plot line made this novel well worth reading. I would definitely recommend this book.
Rated of 5
by Karla (Dana Point CA)
Dervishes
An American officer and his family are transferred to Turkey by the US government. The officer leaves on long secret missions while wife and daughter get involved in situations they know nothing about. Their behavior is too noticeable to ignore. They are warned but do not heed. The surprising ending leaves the reader with many unanswered questions.
Rated of 5
by Ellen (West Hollywood CA)
Dervishes
Beth Helms has written an excellent first novel and I look forward to reading her story collection.
This was an absolutely beautifully written book - descriptive, mysterious and magical. From the first few pages I was immediately drawn to the story of Canada and her mother and father. The author writes in an almost poetic form and I truly felt as though I knew this family as well as the places they lived.
I loved this book - it was entertaining yet also very personal - a story we can all relate to on many levels. I highly recommend this book.
Rated of 5
by Louise (Los Altos CA)
Dervishes
Like the Dervishes, this novel left my head spinning. Having toured through Turkey, I could almost taste the sights and sounds of Istanbul and Ankara. This alone would make the time spent reading worthwhile. At its conclusion I found myself ordering a box of Turkish Delight aka Lokum.
Though all the characters are evil, and not totally believable, I couldn't put the book down. What a fun read.
Rated of 5
by Sylvia (Scottsdale AZ)
Dervishes
This very well written novel set in Turkey in the 1970's provides a new view of the clash between West and East. In fact everything and everyone seems to be clashing: the children with their parents, the husbands with their wives, lovers, frends, just to name a few. There are some very lyrical and wonderful passages and I was kept interested by the promise of secrets uncovered....secrets which proved to be underwheming when finally revealed. I thought the loneliness, alienation and despair that most of the characters operated in was so real that the novel reeked of bleakness, Certainly not for the reader who wants entertainment, but a well-crafted, beautifully expressed and believable book.
Rated of 5
by Beth (Sioux Falls SD)
Dervishes by Beth Helms
This swirling novel gives insight into both Turkish life in Ankora in 1975 and the families of diplomats and military personnel coping with postings in unfamiliar cultures. The characters are well drawn and it could be an interesting book group discussion choice. However it is occassionally hard to follow the rapid switching in voices. I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it.
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