Alana Estelle

Analyzing literature is part of why I love reading so much - my brain loves recognizing patterns, connecting themes, enjoying beautiful language, etc. However, there are times when I crave reading for the simple joy of reading. 

I was definitely that kid who would try to read under the covers with the flashlight, because I just couldn’t put the book down. I was also that kid who would read copious amounts of books during summer breaks - when it was so hot that all one can do was lounge and read. 

I analyze and annotate every book that I read, because I enjoy it, but there are a few books that I’ve read recently that evoked a sense of nostalgia - reminding me of those days in my youth when I would just devour books quickly because the stories were just so addicting. These books also reminded me to never allow myself to be overly analytical and to read for the simple pleasure of escaping into a story. 

The Wolf Den - I read this last year when it was release and I consumed it in just a few days. Elodie Harper did so much research for this novel and I enjoyed analyzing the themes that I noticed, but I primarily enjoyed how addictive this was to read. I could not put this book down and I would keep looking at the clock saying, “I have a little more time for another chapter…” Harper reminded me how much I love fast paced, dramatic historical fiction. I love that she put so much care and research into this time period - Ancient Rome is one of my favorite historical fictional settings. The sequel to The Wolf Den, The House with the Golden Door, is set to be released in the UK later this year. This is the only release I care about this year and I will be ordering it from the UK as soon as it drops because I can’t wait!

The Silence of Scheherazade - The family saga, taking place right at the fall of the Ottoman Empire is *chef’s kiss* so stunning! Defne Suman has a gift for describing scents and smells. Her characters are so lifelike and believable. Again, this was a novel that yes, can be read and analyzed, but it’s also the perfect novel to cozy up with and tune out the rest of the world. I became so invested in these characters and what happened to them, that when I wasn’t reading this novel, I was eager to get back to the book to find out what happened next.

Outlander - I cannot WAIT to post the review for Outlander because... MAN IT’S EPIC! Diana Gabaldon is a master storyteller and even though this series if often pushed aside because it’s viewed as smutty romance (ok, this is a sexy novel…), but it’s so much more than that. This novel, despite it’s size its incredibly readable and just fun. It’s just as heavy on plot as it is on the characters and while it raises so many interesting questions about the interpretation of history, fate, and the weight of knowing information that other people don’t have access to yet, it’s just and excellent story to dive into and forget about the rest of the world. 

What books have recently reminded you about what it felt like to simply devour books as a child? Do you prioritize reading for fun over reading for analytical reason. Or, are you like me and prefer a balance of the two?

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“She didn’t like it when the places she knew changed owners and names. It caused her inexplicable anxiety. She wanted the world to stay the same while she herself changed.” 

The Silence of Scheherazade by, Defne Suman is a novel about four families (Levantine, Greek, Turkish, Armenian) in the Ottoman Empire, in the Ancient City of Smyrna. The narrative shifts between these families and alludes to the past and the period right after World War I (1922). These families are intertwined and it is told in a way that pieces the narrative together slowly. Some of the main questions are, “What happened to Scheherazade and why is she mute, and who exactly is she?”

The way this novel is constructed is really unique -the story shifts between these four families and the past and present are constantly being alluded to. As the novel begins to “narrow” down and Suman starts to connect the dots, the narrative begins to focus in on one character specifically and this character has a strong tie to the mysterious Scheherazade. There were times, while reading this novel, where I couldn’t quite figure out where Suman was taking me, but as she continued to flesh things out, it became more clear exactly what she was doing. 

The second half of this story really hones in on the impact that war has on a society and how it brings out the some of the worst in human nature. 

• How far people are willing to go for an ideal - “The devastation that Hilmi Rahmi saw around him had to be the work of the devil. So this was what happened when man lost faith and his conscience; when he broke his bond with himself and with God. He turned into a monster cut loose from his chains, a base creature, a slave to lust, greed, anger and cruelty."

• War is a constant cycle - “There is always a war going on somewhere, Edith. Since the beginning of time, human beings have created with one hand and destroyed with the other. What is yours today was someone else’s yesterday and will pass to someone else tomorrow … There will never come a time when wars will cease and the world is peaceful.”

• A period in history often forgotten and how WW2 overshadows WW1 - “This misery of the Second World War had made the world forget the First.” “There was no one left to call it Smyrna any more. In one night, hundreds and thousands of citizens who had lived there for centuries disappeared into nothingness. After forty days and forty nights, no one honored them. Church bells were silenced forever. It was only the ghosts that roamed the ruins that remembered the past.”

• PTSD - “… it was if he was seeing ghosts. It’s like he’s living in a dream. Or as if everything he sees is a hallucination. ... It’s like he’s been shot in the heart and his soul has leaked out, gone, leaving only the shell of his body.”

As previously mentioned, where as the first half of this novel is introducing the reader to these four families and setting up the framework, as well as letting the reader experience the beauty of Smyrna before it was destroyed, the latter sections of the novel begins to really reveal who is Scheherazade, and just how intertwined everyone is. 

The novel comes from the perspective of Scheherazade, in the latter years of her life, and is the main narrative voice of the novel in an interesting, omniscient voice. Her narrative reveals how a person can live many lives within one life, based on their experiences. 

“This is the tale of a young girl who was born three times before she was eighteen.”

It’s evident early on in the novel that Scheherazade is mute because of something she experienced, the reader just doesn’t initially know why. However, one thing that’s very well done in this novel is the the emphasis that is placed on how telling one’s story is healing.

I really enjoyed The Silence of Scheherazade! This novel is unique, engaging, heartbreaking and evocative. It’s rich with so many details and clues that one reading most certainly is not enough and I know I’ll need to reread this novel in the future to catch the details that I missed. I also find that this was a difficult book to review, because saying too much can easily spoil key elements of the plot, so hopefully I provided just enough insight to spark your interest in this novel. I hope to read more from this author in the future. 

Rating: 4/5 

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• A Little Life - this will be my main focus this month and I plan to do at least two posts about it, meaning at least a halfway review and then a final review. This is one of those books that needs to be discussed is segments.
• The Silence of Scheherazade - a family saga during the fall of the Ottoman empire. I’ve seen excellent reviews on it this far, but I’ve heard it’s quite intense and rather sad - which it actually right up my alley.
• Crime & Punishment - My friend and I are still making our way through this. Perhaps I’ll be able to finish this month. I’m enjoying this one, but I’m still favoring The Brothers Karamazov.

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I’m an avid reader of the classics, but I do love historical fiction. Every now and then a new release comes out that excites me and I need to squeeze it in.

Kaye Publicity kindly sent me The Silence of Scheherazade by Defne Suman, before it’s September 1, 2021 launch. The synopsis:

At the heart of the Ottoman Empire, in the ancient city of Smyrna, a devastating moment determines the fates of four families.

On an orange-tinted evening in September 1905, Scheherazade is born to an opium-dazed mother in the ancient city of Smyrna. At the very same moment, a dashing Indian spy arrives in the harbour with a secret mission from the British Empire. He sails in to golden-hued spires and minarets, scents of fig and sycamore, and the cries of street hawkers selling their wares. When he leaves, seventeen years later, it will be to the heavy smell of kerosene and smoke as the city, and its people, are engulfed in flames.

But let us not rush, for much will happen between then and now. Birth, death, romance and grief are all to come as these peaceful, cosmopolitan streets are used as bargaining chips in the wake of the First World War.

Told through the intertwining fates of a Levantine, a Greek, a Turkish and an Armenian family, this unforgettable novel reveals a city, and a culture, now lost to time.

This novel may particularly intrigue fans of Pachinko and The Eighth Life, both of which I own and are in my TBR.

I’m really excited to read The Silence of Scheherazade this fall and report back with a review!

Do you plan to pick up this new novel?

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