Description

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Told from four different perspectives, At the Breakfast Table is a story of hidden histories and family secrets, from the author of The Silence of Scheherazade.

Buyukada, Turkey, 2017. In the glow of a late summer morning, family gather for the 100th birthday of the famous artist Shirin Saka. It ought to be a time of fond reminiscence, looking back on a long and fruitful artistic career, on memories spanning almost a century.

But the deep past is something Shirin has spent a lifetime trying to conceal. Her grandchildren, Nur and Fikret, and great-grandchild, Celine, do not know what she's hiding, though they are intimately aware of the secret's psychological consequences. The siblings invite family friend and investigative journalist Burak along to interview Shirin – in celebration of her centenary, and also in the hope of persuading her to open up.

Eventually Shirin begins to express her pain the only way she knows how. She paints a story onto her dining room wall, revealing a history wiped from public consciousness and generations of her family's history.

'Fiercely intelligent, finely textured and achingly beautiful.' Elif Shafak

About the Author

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Defne Suman was born in Istanbul and grew up on Buyukada. She gained a Masters in sociology from the Bosphorus University, then worked as a teacher in Thailand and Laos where she studied Far Eastern philosophy and mystic disciplines. She later continued her studies in Oregon, USA and now lives in Athens with her husband. Her English language debut The Silence of Scheherazade was published by Head of Zeus in 2021. Find out more: defnesuman.com; @defnesuman

Betsy Göksel is an American teacher and translator who has lived in Turkey since the 1960s. Her translations include The Hate Trap by Haluk Sahin and The Silence of Scheherazade by Defne Suman, as well as several books on art and architecture for the Istanbul Municipality.

Praise For…

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“In At the Breakfast Table, Defne Suman, one of Turkey's most popular writers, writes about family secrets, people's inner problems, love and the losses through life. Suman builds on Eastern philosophy and yoga, among other things, when she is to shed light on the book's great secret” —Anne Buset Vassbotn (Norway)

“It is very easy for Greek readers to love Suman, to identify with her heroes, to look for their own ancestral memories among the memories of her heroes. But the most important thing about a novel is that it hides a beautiful story, and the author knows how to tell it” —Erika Athanasiou (Greece)

“The image of the Prinkipo island with its carriages, bicycles, the blue sea that surrounds it, its blooming flowers and purple bougainvillea, give a brilliant tone to the novel. The historical touch offers realism and mystery” —Lefki Sarantinou (Greece)

“At the Breakfast Table is an excellent novel in the footsteps of modern Turkish literature as defined by Livaneli and Pamuk. It is a well-written book which reminds us that history is not necessarily what we learn in school” —Angelos Koutsoukis (Greece)

“Suman listens and understands a wounded geography with an open heart – a trait that is rarely found among Turkish intellectuals. She challenges the common belief and narrates beautifully” —Derya Beyatli, Yeni Düzen Newspaper (Turkey)

“In At the Breakfast Table Suman continues to explore the themes and tropes that prevail in her previous novels, presenting them to the reader in new dimensions... Altogether, these premises establish a narrative network of signification, through which the philosophical core of Suman's work can be discerned'” —Ülker Gökberk, Reed College

“Defne Suman brings lightness to the hearts of her readers as the characters of At the Breakfast Table reclaim their identity and freedom from the burden of family secrets and the false pretense of living as if no sin has been committed in this land” —Yaprak Çetinkaya, Pozitif Magazine (Turkey)

“Captivates readers with its plot but engages them on a deeper level with its historic and psychological detail” —Asymtote Journal

“A nuanced, beautifully paced novel, featuring an attentively drawn cast of characters and an immersive sense of place” —The Age

“Cleverly done... The story is set on a beautiful holiday island whose ambience is expertly conveyed” —Historical Novel Society