Publisher: Head of Zeus, September 19th 2021

Format: ebook

Pages: 512

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Set in the ancient city of Smyrna, this powerful novel follows the intertwining fates of four families as their peaceful city is ripped apart by the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. On an orange-tinted evening in September 1905, Scheherazade is born to an opium-dazed mother in the ancient city of Smyrna. At the very same moment, a dashing Indian spy arrives in the harbour with a secret mission from the British Empire. He sails in to golden-hued spires and minarets, scents of fig and sycamore, and the cries of street hawkers selling their wares. When he leaves, seventeen years later, it will be to the heavy smell of kerosene and smoke as the city, and its people, are engulfed in flames. But let us not rush, for much will happen between then and now. Birth, death, romance, and grief are all to come as these peaceful, cosmopolitan streets are used as bargaining chips in the wake of the First World War. Told through the intertwining fates of a Levantine, a Greek, a Turkish, and an Armenian family, this unforgettable novel reveals a city, and a culture, now lost to time.

My Review:

Thank you Head of Zeus for the copy of this book.
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Read if you like: historical fiction from multiple perspectives, literary writing.
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This book takes place in the city of Smyrna before, during, and after the First World War. We get to see the vast changes that come with the fall of the Ottoman Empire through the perspectives of Levantine, Greek, Turkish, and Armenian families., which provided a rich multitude of experiences.
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I thought the writing was beautiful and I love how the author was able to weave the past and present together and kept us trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened.
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CW: death, fire, sexual harassment and assault, buried alive, adultery, war burning, illness.