So what is a dervish you might ask? And why does Frances Kazan use it as her book title?
“Are the Sufis and the dervishes the same?” I asked.
“The two are like the threads on a loom. She replied. “Different colours, varying textures interwoven together to make a single carpet of immeasurable beauty.”
Perhaps it symbolises the unknown aspect, that thing just beyond our rational ideas, the reason we do certain things that can’t be explained. Not quite insanity, but on the way towards it and yet it is also that part of our nature that makes us feel most alive, that promises to make life interesting. When we choose not to indulge it, our lives, in consequence are more predictable, more balanced and much less exciting.
The protagonist of Frances Kazan’s novel Mary is an artist who lives in New York and is looking back on that period in her life just after she became a young widow, her husband was killed in France in WWI in the Battle of the Somme. Restless in New York, she responds to her sister’s invitation to join them in Istanbul where Connie’s husband works for the American consulate. In the last days of her time in Istanbul, the dervish becomes her sole subject to draw and paint, something about these mystical humanists resonating within her psyche and manifesting in her drawings.
Halide Edib
The story is set in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire post World War I, the country is occupied by the British which has spawned the establishment of the Turkish Nationalist movement. While the Americans are Allies of the British, they aren’t directly involved and therefore must exercise cautious diplomacy with whom they make friends. They have tentative relations with Turkish nationalists, but political tensions in the city are high and the two sisters have been warned to stay close to the consulate.
Unlike her sister who listens to that advice, Mary refuses to stay behind the protective walls of the embassy; a new city that embraces so many languages and cultures beckons her. These daring excursions result in her becoming witness to the murder by a British officer of the young son of Turkish Nationalist and to her being wanted for questioning by the British Army.
This encounter is a turning point in her visit, after which she befriends the Turkish novelist and feminist political leader Halide Edib Adivar who supported Mustafa Kemal (later Ataturk) in the resistance against the occupation of their country by a foreign power and she will also meet and more than befriend the father of the young man who was killed.
“I was born in the harem, in the same room as my mother and her mother before her. Once upon a time we felt safe within those old walls; I fear we dwelt in illusion.”
Mary’s is with Halide and her husband Dr. Adnan, who has been appointed as Minister of Health in recent elections, when they hear there is to be a coup d’etat, which put them all in danger and forced them to flee. It also resulted in a warrant for Mary’s arrest and set her off on an overland adventure with her friends.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
France Kazan has written this story around a subject that is clearly one of her passions in life, the history of the Ottoman Empire and many of the characters are real historical figures themselves. Not just a scholar of Turkish studies and an admirer of Halide Edib, but her late husband the film-maker Elia Kazan, was born in Istanbul. In his book and film by the same title, America America, he tells how, and why, his family left Turkey and moved to America.
It is an entertaining read, not too burdened with political and historical recounting. I found it a little difficult to believe the somewhat complicated relationship between Mary and Mustafa Pasha, and her decision to stay when her sister and husband decided to leave. Perhaps grief makes us less sensitive to risk and more inclined to reckless adventure.
And those whirling dervishes? I will leave the last words to Rumi:
Rumi, the founder of the Mevlevi Order in the 13th century said the dancing dervishes represent the solar system and the planets that revolve around the sun. At the same time that they are immersed in their own microcosmos, they create new worlds and make contact with eternity.
The fact that humans can join the choreography of the cosmos by dancing to its rhythm is an awareness that humanity has had since ancient times. One can say that all dance, in a certain way, is yielding the body to the earth’s movement. Slowly, as the body sways and the blood rhythm changes, consciousness also changes. With the revolution paralleling that of the cosmos, the mind assumes a freedom from the earthly bondage. It would be as though the mind begins to concentrate on the depth of existence on its own, while the body has been given away to the earth.
Note: This book was an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) provided kindly by the publisher via NetGalley.
Word by Word 
This is particularly interesting to me, as i was in Istanbul last October, and recognized some of your photos. Thank you!
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Yes, these three were taken inside the Harem. The Sultan’s Apartments, the Courtyard and one of the stunning windows. All in Topkapi Palace.
In fact Frances Kazan wrote a book before this one, which I haven’t read yet, called Halide’s Gift loosely based on the life of Halide Edib, most of which is set inside the Harem.
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I love your pictures of Istanbul, stunning! I want to visit the city so badly. And I read this as an ebook but I’m tempted to buy the paperback as well just because the cover is so pretty 🙂 (I’m a sucker for pretty book covers)
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Have you seen the UK cover, it is just as beautiful, I read the e-book too, not sure which of the two book versions I will buy, they are both so beautiful.
I hope you get to Istanbul! I am sure you will. 🙂
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I was entranced by the idea of the dervish… so much of what makes us feel alive has nothing to do with the voices of reason…
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Lovely post, Claire… loved your words from Rumi…I’ve always been fascinated by the whirling dervishes, and have found some film of them on Youtube. Ataturk suppressed them in Turkey as part of his reforms to drag Turkey into the modern world – one of his few mistakes !!!
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sounds so good. want to read it now! thanks c Mc!
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Maybe its time for to to get a kindle 🙂
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I have not read Kazan, Umit or Pamuk….but I think this book is not what I’m looking for. I started “My Name is Red” and stopped after a few chapters. Umit is completely unknown for me. I would like to enter the Ottoman empire…and must decide which one of your suggestions to start with. Thanks for opening this part of the world to me…
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Maybe it will be the one the Bookstore Owner said would replace one of current my favourite books Birds Without Wings, the masterpiece A Portrait of a Turkish Family by Irfan Orga. I’ve deliberately saved that one until last.
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We were really pleased to be alerted to your reviews on novels set in Turkey. They are so evocative of place and time, thank you for sharing your thoughts!
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Thank you, I’m glad you found your way here, let me know if you’d like a condensed version or a link to these reviews for your site. Whatever suits your site style.
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This book really sounds interesting. You’ve reminded how the thing I missed seeing when I lived in Cairo were the soufi dancers, which are similar to the dervish. I had heard about stories like this when we went to Istanbul and visited the Topkapi Palace. Boy that place was cold and unwelcoming – a prison and not even gilded, just lots of Turkish tiles. That must have been fun to live with in the winter. Thanks for sharing Claire. You’re making my list grow….for the better. 🙂
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I didn’t see the whirling dervishes in Istanbul, but the Sufi mystics are an intriguing phenomena. The book isn’t about the dervishes, so I was even more intrigued to read more about them to ascertain why she chose that as a title, looking for symbolic resonance.
I loved Topkapi Palace and the three photos you see here, were all taken in the Harem. The huge chimneys show how cold it must have been in winter. It is hard to imagine how life must have been, but knowing that up to 1200 people lived there at one time suggests it was like a village. It was a different era that’s for sure.
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Maybe dervish was used to mean disorientating nevertheless it sounds intriguing.
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This is a wonderful review, Claire. I don’t think I have read any lit on Turkey. It will be a good idea to start looking around for books on the Ottoman empire. 🙂
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Thanks Celestine, the one I am reading now is the last book I have from my collection and it is truly magnificent and eye opening. It’s been a wonderful journey, both the visit and the reading experience.
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I confess this one sounds too lofty for me. It’s June, summer, and for me that means I can indulge in lighter faire. I currently reading a favorite Irish author, whose characters are always broken in someway, but her humor, wit, language, always has me laughing like a bad woman. I’m sorry. I can’t be tempted. 🙂
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Like window shopping for shoes, the joy of reading reviews 🙂
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