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The house has been transformed into an army hospital, it is a prize of war in the hands of the British. And as Nur weaves through the streets carrying the embroideries that have become her livelihood, Constantinople swarms with Allied soldiers – a reminder of how far she and her city have fallen. I also found the tone of the book a little pretentious at times. I don’t know what it was exactly that bothered me; I think it was just trying too hard to be this piece of great literary fiction but it did not succeed. The writing got quite convoluted and irritating at times.
Nur has been brought up as the cossetted daughter of a wealthy Turkish man. She is more accustomed to reaching for the next fig than struggling to survive as she must do following WW1. Instead of a return to normality the bungling allies carve the map and create years of future harm, in this case by occupying what they rename as Constantinople. For the complex and touchy themes (atrocities of war, occupation, death, racism, gender, abandonment, aging) in this book, you would think it would evoke a lot of feeling in a reader. But I didn’t find I connected with any of the characters. And because I was not initially connected, I found I couldn’t really care about their plights. An unassuming, kind, Scottish doctor has volunteered to serve at the local military hospital. This is the basis for a love story and dance of keeping within decorous rules which are constantly changing. Nur had never worn a veil, but it is now considered a sign of respectability in a woman who encounters the occupying enemy – even when he does her less harm than her own family. The most precious thing in Nur’s new life is the orphan in her care - a boy with a terrible secret. When he falls dangerously ill, Nur’s world becomes entwined with the enemy's. She must return to where she grew up and plead for help from Medical Officer George Monroe.Meanwhile, George Monroe is a Scottish doctor, administering at the local military hospital overlooking the Bosporus, which was once Nur’s grand family home. When the Armenian boy requires help, their lives become entwined with consequences neither could have foreseen. Yo no sabía de qué trataba,sabía que era una historia de amor en una invasión después de la 1ra guerra y que era como de "amor prohibido". Don't miss Lucy Foley's Sunday Times bestselling crime debut, THE HUNTING PARTY, available to buy now.*
The house has been transformed into an army hospital, it is a prize of war in the hands of the British. And as Nur weaves through the streets carrying the embroideries that have become her livelihood, Constantinople swarms with Allied soldiers - a reminder of how far she and her city have fallen.
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Set during the occupation of Istanbul by allied forces after the First World War, Last Letter from Istanbul tells its story from alternating viewpoints. Those of Nur, a local evicted from her family home and now living with her mother and grandmother in a far less desirable district; the young boy who has been taken in by Nur; George, the army doctor, whose hospital occupies Nur’s former home; and two unnamed characters in the Traveller and the Prisoner. It becomes clear who they are as the novel progresses. This will sweep you away for the summer. Lucy Foley blends a rich history, haunting secrets and a timeless love story’ Santa Montefiore, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Deverill series Last Letter From Istanbul delivers little of what is promised by the synopsis, laudatory blurbs etc. This has been hailed as a “timeless love story” riddled with “haunting secrets”, and yet the ‘romance’ to me is achingly bland, simply because the two characters in question didn’t seem to connect on any sort of emotional level. The claim to romance is specious at best. As for the ‘secrets’, the mild twist for me was far too little too late. As the lines between enemy and friend become fainter, a new danger emerges something even more threatening than the lingering shadow of war.
Realmente no creo que esta historia sea considerada romance, de eso hay poco y el que hay poco dura. Lyrical prose takes the reader on this unbelievable journey of lesser-known history. The prose entice the reader into continuing: for instance, the birds swarming into the garden to feast on the pomegranates, are described as a carnival of sound, a choas of wings. Yet, one desciption had me a little baffled: the water is eloquent. The water talks, babbles, sings, tells a story? At least it made me think. I loved it though.
I really LOVE this author's stories. The plots can be confusing at first, but the stories are solid, especially the endings. It's nearer to literature than just a light read, I would say, but accessible enough for anyone to dive in and discover more of the world we are living in. Occasionally it’s the author’s writing style that sweeps the reader to a particular time and place. Such is the case with Last Letter from Istanbul where Lucy Foley’s lyrical, evocative imaginings of life in 1921 in Istanbul (renamed Constantinople by the hated allied occupiers) whisks the reader to dusty streets, to the peaceful shade of quiet gardens, to a life changed forever by war. Nur is a resourceful young widow who, having been ousted from her life of luxury and still grieving for her beloved brother who is missing in action, now finds herself caring not only for her mother and grandmother, but also for an orphaned Armenian boy. Pg 25 'Sometimes, now, the old life seems as remote as one read about in a book. But this afternoon it seems very close at hand, an assault of memory.' Last Letter from Istanbul is a compelling and sweeping tale that crosses decades and takes the reader on a captivating journey through the tumultuous history of a nation that has struggled to maintain an identity, a nation that struggles to find peace.
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