A magnificent coming-of-age story about freedom and desire by the acclaimed author of I Will Never See the World Again. Winner of the Prix Femina Etranger.

Istanbul is changing, its society decomposing. When his father dies, Fazil learns that one's entire world can change in an instant. Lost are the security and privileges of his family, replaced now by the precarity of poverty. And yet, despite this dramatic change in circumstance, Fazil pursues his desire to study literature at university.

As he attempts to navigate this new, darker world, he begins a romance with Sila, a striking young student who shares his love of Virginia Woolf and who understands his current predicament. But it is the exuberant Madame Hayat, passionate, carefree and with a vivacious lust for life, who captivates Fazil. He attempts to create a new freedom through her person, but around them, the dangers of their changed society grow and increasingly surround them.

Written from his prison cell, Ahmet Altan's latest novel offers an insightful view of modern Turkey and shows how, even in the darkest times, light can be found.