Three Daughters of Eve

“Three Daughters of Eve”. - by, Elif Shafak.To write knowingly of two distinctly different cultures, as this accomplished author does, is not only an educational experience into the credible lives and experiences of the penned characters, but is also similar to enjoying a double holiday or vacation to two interesting far away places.A good writer can leave you feeling as if you are/were there.So many seemingly important multicultural concerns and interests, are here, in written format, expertly woven together into a tapestry of human existence and experience, common and recognizable by people regardless of their cultural differences, global origins, or personal experiences; no wonder her (the author’s) literary works have been translated into over forty languages!While there are no doubt many valid reasons why a particular book or story may succeed; this book in particular was compelling due to its intricately interwoven narrative of the main characters’ inner and outer tug-of-war with themselves and others, regarding their feelings and beliefs about God, global political ideology, and their interpersonal interactions between each other - not unlike our own lives.Of particular interest among this book’s most important thematic take-aways, was the level of maturity, understanding, acceptance, and reconciliation that transpired between two of the main characters (Peri and Azur); a redemptive climax of sorts, eventually arrived at by both, after years of rational, studious, and reasonable introspection.While the challenges and conflicts in our own lives rarely arrive at such inspired conclusions, this novel’s extraordinary narrative holds out hope that no matter how disordered our lives have become for whatever reason, there is often a way provided to sort through the rubble of past disappointments, given enough patience, understanding, and time.I think it’s safe to conclude that if a prospective reader has a literary pulse in one or more of the following four categories - physical, intellectual, emotional, and/or spiritual - then s/he should be able to clearly benefit from reading this rather rare and unique novel of a special sampling of life’s journeys, relative to our common/collective human experience.

“Three Daughters of Eve” is a novel of ideas, a social/cultural novel, and most of all a novel of a capable woman who has a problem adjusting, first to her family life, then to her student life at Oxford University, finally to her life as an upper-class woman in Turkey. At one point she attempts suicide, but while this works as a plot device, I did not think it quite fit - a despairing letter which accidentally becomes public might have been used instead. Particularly during her time in Oxford there are strong secondary characters, while the mother-daughter relationship during her later life is weakly written, but of only very minor importance; the episode with the thief might also have been better written, compromising the novel’s beginning. Still, this is an accessible novel which is both interesting and enriching.There were many strong sentences such as: “The air inside the house turned stifling, heavy, as if it had absorbed the sadness of its inhabitants”; “She recalled the expensive saffron – not the fake spice but the real deal – sold inside delicate glass tubes in Istanbul’s bazaars. Such was her optimism – limited, confined, perishable.” There was one bit of fun biological speculation inspired by the way octopus brains function: “What if, instead of a big clunky centralized brain, a complex network of multiple brains was the next step in evolution?” “Since it gets smarter with age, if it only lived longer, the octopus would be the most brilliant species on earth.”

Now and then when you finish a book, you get that warm feeling inside, that feeling of love and gratitude for an author who has been able to draw you into the life of another person, to explore the background and thoughts of someone from a totally different culture and upbringing, in a way that can help explain and explore some of your own deep thoughts and idiosyncrasies regarding God, religion, deep cultural beliefs, the immature jealousies of our youth, uncontrollable young love and attraction, the reasons you perhaps sometimes failed, ran, did things based on your parent's expectations, and then the effects these sometimes poor decisions have on your life going forward.I would compare certain elements of this book with some of may favorites over the years: "Narcissus and Goldmund" by Hermann Hesse, "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini, "My Brilliant Friend" series by Elena Ferrante , and even "Sea of Poppies" by Amitov Ghosh.In each of these similar and well written coming of age stories, we see the effects of the culture, the upbringing, the interaction with schoolmates and close friends, the prevailing philosophies and different school teachers, mentors and religious beliefs. Over time, each character reacts and grows into the adult person with all of their strengths and weaknesses.Elif has accomplished this in such a compelling and great way. We end up having great respect and love for each of the three directions that the three muslim friends take, the theist, the atheist and the agnostic. I think I loved this about the book the most.If you had a great time in college, wish now that you'd've been even more diligent, had a few professors who challenged some of your core beliefs, and hopefully helped you out of your protected little world and open to brilliant ideas from multiple sources, I think you'll enjoy this book even more.I'm glad I found this author. I've heard of a few of her other books and now I'll read some of them. She is brilliant, her writing is crystal clear, well organized, her insight into human relationships and how real life operates is amazing. This was a five plus Goodread for me. Thanks to Elyse and Michael for their glowing five star reviews.