Bliss by O. Z. Livaneli, is a compelling novel examining traditional and modern-day principles of family honor.

“Livaneli is an essential force in Turkey’s musical, cultural, and political scene.”
–Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Prize Winner and author of Snow

“Bliss is eye-opening and deeply moving.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Compelling [for] American readers …hard to put down.”
—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“With lush scenes of Turkish life and nuanced depictions of the [characters’] inner lives. . .a convergence of lost, likable souls.”
—Entertainment Weekly

Fifteen-year-old Meryem lives in a rural village in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Her simple, conventional way of life changes dramatically after her uncle, a sheikh in a dervish order, rapes her—and condemns her to death for shaming the family. Asked to carry out the “honor killing” is his son Cemal, a commando in the Turkish army. So begins a long, mystifying voyage for Meryem as her shell-shocked cousin ushers her to the shining metropolis of Istanbul where another troubled soul, the Harvard-educated professor Irfan, embarks on his own journey of transformation—one that catapults him into the heart of Meryem and Cemal’s conflict. The crossed-paths and interwoven destinies of these three characters makes for an affecting, by turns brutal and life-affirming portrayal of traditional and modern-day Turkey that no reader will soon forget.

O. Z. Livaneli is one of Turkey’s most prominent and popular authors as well as an accomplished musician and composer, whose works have been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra. He was held under military detention during the coup of March 12, 1971, and lived in exile for eight years. He studied music in Stockholm, then lived in Paris and Athens, returning to Turkey in 1984. He was one of the founders of the Turkish-Kurdish Peace Movement and the initiator of the Campaign Against Violence in Turkey, and he has made significant contributions to the Greek-Turkish Friendship Committee. He was elected a Member of Parliament in 2002.

• ISBN:  9780786292233
• 519 pages
• January 1, 2007

Published by:  St. Martin’s Press