Exile

Overview

A collection of short stories from a female Turkish writer: brief, hard-hitting, and reminiscent of Man Booker winner Lydia Davies

Exile is a collection of short stories with the taste of a novel. The overriding theme is the melancholy of those who have been alienated from their homeland, from their families, or from society. By offering the reader short, vivid glimpses into other worlds—be they of real or fictional characters—Ilhan builds a patchwork of stories which highlight the lives of the dispossessed. As a woman writing in modern day Turkey, she is not afraid to take on the themes of honor killings or the American occupation of Iraq. All stories are open to her empathy and understanding.

Reviews

''The stories in Exile are monologues by a variety of real-life and fictional characters. Ilhan has a wide-ranging and deep understanding of human experience and suffering and she is capable of expressing the multi-faceted realities of life strikingly and plainly.'' —European Prize for Literature committee

Author Biography

Çiler Ilhan has worked as a hotelier; a freelance writer for Bogaziçi, Time Out Istanbul, and other publications; and an editor for Chat and Travel+Leisure. Ilhan now works as the public relations manager of the Çiragan Palace Kempinski hotel. In 1993, she received a prestigious youth award for a short story. Ilhan's stories, essays, book reviews, travel articles, and translations into Turkish have been published in a variety of journals and newspaper supplements.