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Friday, September 9, 2022

At the Breakfast Table by Defne Suman

 

At the Breakfast Table by Defne Suman.

Translated by Betsy Gӧksel.

Published 1st September 2022 by Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

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.

Prinkipo Island, Turkey, 2017. In the glow of a late summer morning, family gather for the 100th birthday of the famous artist Sirin 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 also of an era when imperial forces fought over her homeland.

But the deep past is something Sirin has spent a lifetime trying to conceal. Her grandchildren, Nur and Fikret, and great grandchild, Selin, do not know what Sirin is hiding, though they are intimately aware of the secret's psychological consequences. The siblings invite family friend and investigative journalist Burak along to interview Sirin for his weekly column in celebration of her 100th year. They hope he will help unravel the family secrets and persuade her to talk. Sirin's life-long servant, Sadik, is determined to do all he can to protect the artist.

Eventually Sirin begins to express her pain the only way she knows how. She paints the story onto her dining room wall, revealing a history wiped from public consciousness and the cause of her family's anguish that has sat, ruinous, in their subconscious for generations.

***********

Prinkipo Island, Turkey, 2017. A family gather to celebrate the the 100th birthday of famous artist Sirin Saka. In attendance are her granddaughter Nur, Nur's brother Fikret, and Fikret's daughter Celine - and of course, Sirin's life-long servant and friend Sadik, who never leaves her side. They have also invited journalist and family-friend Burak to both share in the quiet celebrations, and record events by interviewing Sirin about her long and eventful life. 

This is a family marked by the weight of things unsaid, and difficult relationships that have been unknowingly fashioned by the secrets that Sirin has kept from them. Almost as soon as the little party gathers, the tension is palpable. Fikret is obsessed with finding out more about his grandmother's family history, and urges Burak to probe her memories for details, but Burak's motives for being there actually relate to his desire to reignite the flame that once burned between him and Nur. Meanwhile, Nur is lonely and reflecting on the gulf that has arisen between her and her absent husband Ufuk as a result of secrets of her own, and young Celine is convinced she is in love with Burak. Sirin herself is mostly consumed by the fog of her memories, and all the while Sadik quietly takes care of them all, observing their actions and keeping what he knows close.

The morning before Sirin's birthday, Fikret goes missing. Over the course of a single day the fall-out of Fikret's disappearance sparks many revelations, and Sirin finally tells the tale of the pain and anguish her family have kept hidden for generations in the only way she knows how - by expressing everything she has kept inside through her artistic talents. 

The story is told through the eyes of Nur, Celine, Burak and Sadik, crafting a many layered story that beautifully combines a family drama full of aching passion, regret and loss, with a sweeping story of that explores how terrible events from history shape the fate of the generations that follow. I am wary of revealing too much here, as so much is laid bare over the course of this tale, but can tell you that Suman works spellbinding magic in the way she spins every single thread of this incredible book, delving into the private thoughts of, and relationships between, the younger characters, while doing the same in parallel with the mystery of Sirin and Sadik's enmeshed past - and all the while dropping clues that eventually force you to confront some of history's worst moments during the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The characters are necessarily complex and it is not easy to like them all, or the behaviours they exhibit. I was not overly fond of Burak, with his arrogant determination to pursue Nur, nor of Celine's immaturity, but they are factors integral to how this story plays out. My favourite of them all was Sadik, with his attention to the needs of everyone around him, especially in the way he protects Sirin, which was very moving.

If you have read Suman's breath-taking English language debut The Silence of Scheherazade then you will already know how she can bring history alive while immersing you in the lives of living-breathing characters that really drive a story. The cast of characters is much smaller and more intimate here, and the feel of the book is rather different in the way it combines contemporary issues with a difficult past, but the scope of the history she touches upon is every bit as fascinating, and emotionally compelling, and something about the contrast between personal dramas that occupy the younger generations and the heart-rending moments that define Sirin and Sadik's story is magical. I loved the way she ties many of the significant episodes of this book to moments around 'the breakfast table', whispers notions of family insanity, and works in a repeated theme of women's talent being overshadowed that is used subtly, but with real impact.

As in The Silence of Scheherazade, this book is translated with impressive skill by Betsy Gӧksel. This is a book in which you experience every intense moment, and at no time do you feel distanced from the characters, their spirit, or the weight of their burdens. There is such poignancy here and it touches you deeply, which is probably the highest praise I can give to the work of a translator. 

This is a powerfully affecting book. It draws you in and gets under your skin, taking you on a journey that stays with you long after your have turned the final page. If you have yet to discover Defne Suman, then you are in for an absolute treat.

At the Breakfast Table is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a hardcover copy of this book, in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Defne Suman was born in Istanbul and grew up on Prinkipo Island. She gained a Masters in sociology from the Bosphorus University and 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. The Silence of Scheherazade was first published in Turkey and Greece in 2016 and is her English language debut.



About the translator:

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




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