I really enjoyed this book. I love when I learn something from history that I knew nothing about. The characters were well developed and the location was very well described. All this in a novel that essentially occurred on only one day.

Thank you to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for a copy of this book.

Famous artist Shirin Saka is turning 100, her family and family friend and journalist, Burak have gathered to celebrate. Told through 4 different point of views; long held and life changing secrets are revealed. This book deals with a lot of important topics

I found the story itself incredible, but unfortunately the writing style didn't really work for me. The characters weaved in and out of timeline in a confusing manner, often leaving me bored. I throughly enjoyed the last 20% though.

Where this book excels in concept and theme, it is unfortunately lacking in its execution. It describes a very interesting and painful part of history that I for one was not aware of, and the setup of Shirin's birthday and the different POVs to tell the history of this family is a strong one. However, all four main characters were constantly reminiscing, which didn't feel realistic to me, and I also felt the voices weren't distinct enough. So unfortunately (I loved The Silence of Scheherazade), this book disappointed me a little.

Oh, this one is a gem! This is precisely the kind of book that I adore and love: slow, thoughtful, and yet gripping prose where the story unfolds piece by piece like a puzzle. And even though you know from the very beginning what the picture is, you still keep uncovering every single puzzle, because what is essential is the process of putting them all together.
The beginning of the book is a bit misleading because we jump into the story right next morning after a party and it feels like this is going to be another melancholic romance. Well, wrong and thank god for that.
The oldest member of the family is about to celebrate her hundredth birthday and that is why the family gathers together on the small island. Each chapter is told by some of the characters of the story and quickly it becomes obvious that nobody in this family is happy, they would very much like to be, they all have tried in the past, but still, they don´t know how to be happy. Every now and again someone says that feel incomplete and inside them, they feel that something is weighing them down and they have no idea what to do about it. Also, there is this theory, mentioned a few times in the book, about genetic trauma. Basically, it´s down to the fact that a person who suffered a traumatic experience does carry its burden to future generations. Personally, I totally agree.
So why is this family so unhappy? We can see four generations deeply wounded, how arent able to form a healthy bond with people around, and there seems to be no answer as to why is that so.
MAYBE A SPOILER BUT IMPORTANT
If you know a bit of history it´s easy to figure out right away the source of trauma. Shirin Saka is a hundred years old now and a Turk. A hundred years ago the Turks committed genocide, in order to establish Islam in a newly independent Turkey they decided to get rid of all Christians, of whom the majority were greek-catholic Pontians. Many people have died, many hid underground, some were forced to convert to Islam, and some people were lucky enough to escape into Greece or Russia. The Turks destroyed almost all religious places of worship and artifacts. They have never apologized for it, you won´t read about it in Turkish school books and they keep their effort to wipe out Christianity off their territory, they even turned the Hagia Sophia into a mosque recently despite international protests.

Did you know that a little over a hundred years ago there was quite a big Christian community around the Middle East from Iraq, Iran, mostly in Syria up to Turkey? Almost none are left now. Almost all have been murdered and the world keeps silent. So here is a big thank you to the author for bringing up such an important topic to light. This is the first book I have ever come across about this matter in western literature. There have been few published non-fiction documentaries in Poland within the last two decades about the Pontian genocide, but that´s all I know about.

So please read and enjoy this incredible book, because it´s not only excellent but also tells you about what the president of today's Turkey, Mr. Erdogan does not want you to know.

At the Breakfast Table is a beautiful story of lifelong love and resolve. It is a story of generations affected by a war many of the characters hadn’t lived through and the secrets kept by those who did. This story is also a history lesson for those of us who do not know much about Turkish history. I found myself researching Turkish history and maps and wanting to make a trip there to see the places that Suman mentions. This would make an excellent book to travel to Turkey with.

Suman has beautifully written a story about life and history. It is a story I would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Can memories be inherited like eye colour? As this novel addresses family secrets, hidden histories, generational conflicts, deaths and imminent deaths, love requited or not, it tries to answer that question. It’s apparently linear structure is told in chapters from four alternating viewpoints, with time moving forward more or less without overlapping. However, in each chapter the featured character conveys the situation while also colouring it with their own memories and experiences. The four characters are: Burak, an investigative feature writer; Nur, granddaughter of Shirin Saka and Burak’s sometime lover; Celine, Shirin Saka’s great granddaughter, recent graduate; Sadik, Shirin Saka’s lifelong companion and butler to her and her household. Shirin is a world famous artist who will be 100 in a few days, and the family are meeting at her house on Büyükada (Turkish for big island although it is actually a very small island off the coat of Istanbul) to celebrate. Fikret, Nur’s brother and father to Celine is also present but, after a surprising piece of family history is revealed at breakfast, suddenly disappears. Celine sets out to find him, against a background of secrets being hinted at and finally revealed. At the same time Burak is also working on his widely anticipated interview and biography of Shirin. Where is Fikret and will these two searches disrupt, forever, the family?
I wrote that opening paragraph as I would for a standard mystery novel. However, this is not one such. It has some of the tropes, family secrets, missing people, investigators (journalist type, here) but it is much, much, deeper. It revolves around events in the past which are of great moment to Turks and Greeks. Without previous knowledge of these, a Western European (or American), needs to accept that relevant history will emerge and that it isn’t necessary to the story for you to know it ahead of the reveal. We all know that tragic events inhabit all cultures.
What you need to know is that this is a beautiful story, superbly written, with wonderful, deeply imagined, characters. It is a literary masterpiece, deserving of awards and accolades. If it had been originally written in English, such wonderfully constructed English, it would definitely have been up for a major award. As a translation from Turkish, I am in awe over the skill of the translator, Betsy Goeksel, who has produced a virtually flawless rendering.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

An intriguing and absorbing book. The cover is really bizarre. Also the translation leaves a lot to be desired. Told from 4 different points of view it was engaging and highly evocative of the scenario it was set in. Burak and Nur were favourite characters. This is one boo0k I am going to get as a physical copy to reread which I feel I should do

Set on the small Turkish island of Buyukada, just miles from Istanbul, 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 is told from the point of view of four characters, gathering to celebrate the 100th birthday of the family matriarch Sirin Saka.
Sirin is an acclaimed artist. Family friend and investigative journalist, Burak, is invited along to interview her for posterity. What unfolds over the course of his interviews are ancient family secrets and stories of generational trauma, which Sirin has tried to conceal for years.

What I really liked about this book was the sense of place created by the author; the azure blue Sea of Marmara, the hot, bucolic afternoons and the smells and taste of traditional Turkish foods. What I didn’t like was the length of the book and the inclusion of a very dull love angle, doomed for failure. Large chunks of this book could have been excised and it wouldn’t have made any difference to the plot. Plus for a character driven novel, some of the main characters were very unlikeable.

If you like historical fiction and are more romantic at heart than I, then this book is for you. It could also be a decent summer read lounging by a pool somewhere under blue skies. For me however, I wasn’t particularly impressed. 2.5/3⭐️ With thanks to @netgalley and @headofzeus for the ARC in return for my honest review, 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 is published on 1 Sep 2022.

I’d describe this book as realistic fiction. The author has done an amazing job at creating imaginary characters and situations that depict the world and society. The characters focus on themes of growing, self-discovery and confronting personal and social problems. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

This started out really great! I loved the idea of a story about family history and secrets. The writing was wonderful and evocative, you could see the setting vividly and the characters came to life. However, half way through I struggled with the plot and felt I was getting lost and confused, but then it all Came together again at the end. I also wanted a bit more from the characters, there were past love affairs and hints of new romance but nothing really came of it.

This novel is set in turkey and the reclaimed artist Shirin Saka is gathering her family together to celebrate her 100th birthday. The whole novel takes place over around a day and we have four perspectives – Sadiq, who is Shirin Saka's servant. A few years younger than Shirin, he has been with her almost from childhood; Nur who is Shirin Saka's granddaughter; Celine, Shirin Saka's great-granddaughter and Nur's niece;, Burak who is a journalist who has know the family for many years and was once the lover of Nur, he is there to interview Shirin Saka on her 100th birthday. This is a family were secrets are hidden deep and Fikret, who is Nur's brother becomes obsessed with discovering the truth.

The descriptions of the island are so evocative and the characters come across well although, personally, I really did not enjoy Celine's chapters. I found her irritating and so obsessed with herself. If her chapters had been missing, I don't think it would even have mattered. The way the novel is structured, each chapter, each perspective almost follows on from the one before but looking at things in a slightly different way. The secret entices us, we follow eagerly and it does not disappoint. A sub-plot – the relationship between Burak and Nur also captures the attention.

An easy read with dark secrets being revealed in a fantastic way by Shirin Saka.. Perfect for summer.

This story is so rich in vivid imagery I was totally transported away with this domestic drama. The plotline had me intrigued; a famous artist who has kept her family at arms length from her public image. Now as she celebrates her 100th birthday her extended family and an investigative journalist join her to reminiscence over her life and achievements.
The story is told through four narratives; Celine, Sadik, Nur and Burack and in the beginning I did find it difficult to differentiate between the characters. Although once I got into the flow, I enjoyed the short chapters and relaxed into the family’s full history and their darker moments.

Every family has its secrets.

Some are earth shattering, some most assuredly not, but all of them are held close to the chest of their keeper/s for fear of what they could do to the family itself and to those outside looking in, who seldom let a sound perspective or facts stand in the way of censorious judgement.

In Defne Suman’s luminously lovely but emotionally exacting novel, At the Breakfast Table, the family of legendary artist Sirin Saka have gathered to celebrate a milestone for their matriarch at their ancestral family home on Büyükada (Prinkipo Island), a short ferry ride from Istanbul, but a world away once you step onto its bucolic, unhurried shores (unhurried save for the tourists who descend in summer).

She is about to turn 100, and in the days leading up to that momentous event, where celebration should be the sole order of the day, secrets begin to emerge, some small but still momentous for those affected by them, and a large, family-bestriding one that Saka, and her faithful companion/servant/friend Sadik Usta, have kept under the covers for well near a century.

As is the often the way with dam breaking, of the actual or metaphorical kind, small cracks appear at first, many of them engendered by the sheer fact that the family are back in a place where so much of their collective life has taken place and which, because of that, can’t help but feel redolent with a lifetime, several in fact, of memories, hopes raised and dreams sundered.

The breaking apart of the walls between generations and between the conventional family history, which is already painful enough as it is without any further surprises, is an organic one though it does receive a significant push along when Burak, a family friend of many years who is deeply in love with Saka’s granddaughter Nur – a love, by the way, that she dabbles in when emotional needs demand but which she puts aside like an item of convenience that can be accessed with no consequence – and who has become known for his journalistic series of profiles known as Portraits, which aim to bring to life hitherto unknown things about the subject.

He is there to interview Saka as much as to celebrate her life, and on the first morning he is there, at a breakfast table lavishly decorated with by Sadik who is in his early 90s but as committed and devoted as ever to the welfare of his beloved Saka, to talk to the artist who is strangely loquacious, ready to talk in a way the once-fiery rule-breaker often isn’t in her old age.

Burak’s is not a confrontational interview style, with the journalist in him happy to go where the subject leads, but while Saka doesn’t spill the beans there and then, enough is suggested for Burak, and other members, to come to understand there is more to the matriarch’s story that has previously been suggested.

In a way, the family isn’t necessarily eager to uncover the deep, dark truth of their shared past, but truth, once hinted at, often breaks mercilessly free from its cage, and so it is in At the Breakfast Table which, told from the vantage points of Sadik, Burak, Nur and her niece Celine, slowly builds the portrait of a family with a great deal to learn about each other.

Told with insightfully empathetic language and a poetical intent which still allows the raw truth and pain to come through when needed, At the Breakfast Table is a wondrously nuanced and deftly, slowly told tale which understands all too well that even the biggest of secrets rarely come rushing out with blockbuster-type force; rather they are revealed, inch by inch, memory by memory, the product of incremental admissions that together, over time, paint a picture of a world that the recipients never knew existed.

For all of the powerfully impactful emotional resonance of this gorgeously-rendered novel, it is luxuriously and thoughtfully told, with each of the four perspectives, which naturally encompass those too of Nur’s brother and Celine’s father Fikret, who is on a mission that sees him mysteriously disappear at the height of festivities, and Nur’s estranged husband Ufuk, who is keeping his distance from the family for reasons that come to light in the slowly-tumbling torrent of secrets that come to see the light of day over one unexpectedly intense weekend.

The beguiling genius of At the Breakfast Table is that it never submits to melodrama or high emotion, preferring a quiet, meditative and appealingly languorous, richly human approach, even when Celine is distraught over the father’s whereabouts or Burak is wrestling once again with his unending but fruitless attraction to Nur, who does not and seemingly cannot love him the way he wants.

Through the ruminatively unfolding beauty of a novel whose pace belies the momentous events and emotions within (though at dramatic point that does change to an almost manically earnest degree), we get to know each of the four people and those with whom they interact to degrees that feel invasively but welcomingly intimate.

There is both a sense of life unfolding as it always on Büyükada, with the family home wielding its usual magic and people falling into their expected and comfortable roles and patterns, and of the established order being upended, a status quo-changing turn of events that makes its presence felt slowly but surely, and which in its wake leaves a family not so much ruined, as different, good and bad, which is very much how life often tends to leave things – unfinished and somewhere messily in the middle.

At the Breakfast Table is a brilliantly evocative piece of writing, rich in memorable, exquisitely well-drawn and beautifully, fallibly, alive characters, a narrative that takes its time unspooling its secrets and which is more groundbreakingly intense that its pace or atmosphere might suggest, and a sense of humanity that understands how history, over which we hold little sway, and life choices come together to craft a reality which we can embrace or not, but which somehow, inevitably, will always find its way out, leaving the world, and in this case, a family changed in its wake.

The family of famous artist Shirin Saka has gathered on Prinkipo Island, Turkey to celebrate her 100th birthday. I loved how the descriptions of the island and ocean made me feel as though I was right there. In the days leading to the celebration, we learn of past regrets, personal struggles, fears, and family secrets. The chapters alternate between the main characters, each telling their own part of the story. A few places in the book were a bit confusing for me, but in all, I found this an enjoyable read. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Not my typical type of read but I found the writing style really interesting and the characterisation very intriguing.

This book is a take told from different perspectives. A tale of history hidden and kept secret.

It is set in Turkey, 2017 and the famous artist Sirin Saka is being interviewed fir her 100th birthday, however, that is only the beginning of the story. The reporter has a secret, her grandchildren have secrets, even her servant, an aged gentleman, has his secrets, especially about his history. All is revealed by the end of the story, everyone’s secret is out, life can continue at a more relaxed state and new history can be made.
An insight into the history of Turkey which will interest anyone who is curious about how lives have been altered by the past and how people cope with this.

I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives and the glimpse into modern day life in Turkey (and the historical mystery!).

This was a mesmerising read, full of emotion and tension. I was initially drawn into the cover, and really intrigued to read on. I didn’t really know what to expect from the narrative having not fully read the synopsis before starting.

Whilst the four person narrative was confusing at first, I did start to enjoy all the different perspectives once I got used to the changing narrative voice. However, some of the characters were rather irritating, which did hinder my enjoyment at times.

I loved how immersive the setting was. You could really imagine being in Turkey through the heavy sensory imagery. I also really enjoyed the themes of family secrets, and was really surprised by the end!

I would recommend this book even though it isn’t the easiest to read with the writing style and unfamiliar names. The short chapters definitely helps you read a bit quicker!

Thank you to the Defne Suman, Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Woah. So I had zero expectations when I started reading this, I was motivated to pick it up because it's set in Turkey. I really enjoyed this, a pleasant surprise. Although, you need to be patient because it doesn't "pick up" till like halfway through but it's so worth it watching everything fall into place.

Highly recommend!! My first book to read by this author but definitely not my last!! Uniquely and beautifully written, this story and its characters stay with you long after you finish the book.