About the Book
An acclaimed Turkish novelist's personal account of balancing a writer's life with a mother's life.
After the birth of her first child in 2006, Turkish writer Elif Shafek suffered from postpartum depression that triggered a profound personal crisis. Infused with guilt, anxiety, and bewilderment about whether she could ever be a good mother, Shafak stopped writing and lost her faith in words altogether. In this elegantly written memoir, she retraces her journey from free-spirited, nomadic artist to dedicated by emotionally wrought mother. Identifying a constantly bickering harem of women who live inside of her, each with her own characteristics-the cynical intellectual, the goal-oriented go-getter, the practical-rational, the spiritual, the maternal, and the lustful-she craves harmony, or at least a unifying identity. As she intersperses her own experience with the lives of prominent authors such as Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Alice Walker, Ayn Rand, and Zelda Fitzgerald, Shafak looks for a solution to the inherent conflict between artistic creation and responsible parenting.
With searing emotional honesty and an incisive examination of cultural mores within patriarchal societies, Shafak has rendered an important work about literature, motherhood, and spiritual well-being.
About the Author
Elif Shafak was born in France in 1971 and now divides her time between London and Istanbul. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages. Her novels include The Bastard of Istanbul and The Forty Rules of Love. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, and she has also been featured on NPR. Visit elifshafak.comMy Take on the Book
I had not read any of Elif Shafak's writing in the past, but I can say that this book, if any indication, shows that she is a strong writer that is not afraid to lay everything on the table.
What I liked most about the book was the fact that she does provide the reader with an intimate look at her own life and how she balances her different personas. As with many parents, but even more with women, the reader provides you with inside look at all of the personal challenges that she has faced as well as the things that she has found to work best to continue finding the balance within her life.
Her humor, wit was enjoyable to read and I was impressed at the honesty that she shares with readers. The book also is a great resource for mothers everywhere, as you will walk away saying, if she can do it, I know I can!
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5 comments:
I like Elif Shafak as a writer. and ı am fan of her. she is a great writer
When I read the book two years ago, as a 17-year-old girl, I found it very boring, although I read almost all books of the writer. I think she is a wonderful writer. I admire the way she uses the language, but I guess the topic of "Black Milk" was not relevant to my life at the time. I may read it some time later, but I strongly recommend "The Forty Rules of Love." I enjoyed every single page of that book so much, that I got upset when I finished it. I am looking forward to reading her last book "Firarperest", too. The book was published last year and has not been translated into English, I guess.
hi there, great post and review.
just wanted to let you know that I found your website thanks to the tweet of Elif Safak on twitter. :)
best wishes!
and other books of Shafak are strongly recommended by me, a fan of Mrs. Shafak.
You spelled her name wrong, its Elif :)
I and my husband read and liked the book immensely and advised it to a friend of mine (while she was uneasy about her pregnancy) and her husband. It must be read by anyone, cos it is all about humanly facts.
Elif knows how to express herself and I like her sophisticated literary style.
I strongly advice you to read "The Forty Rules of Love." You'll get influenced.
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