Las Tres Pasiones / Three Daughters of Eve

La nueva novela de la autora de La bastarda de Estambul y El arquitecto del universo transcurre a caballo entre Estambul e Inglaterra, entre la tradici n y el af n por descubrir otras maneras de ver la vida. rase una vez un sult n que una noche de tormenta empez a leer unos espl ndidos poemas del gran Nefi. De repente, un rato alcanz los jardines del palacio y el hombre pens que aquello era una maldici n de los dioses. Rompi en mil pedazos las p ginas del libro, las lanz al B sforo y orden la muerte del poeta. Desde entonces, las aguas de ese mar son tan negras como la tinta de aquellos poemas perdidos...

Ignorancia y poder: una mezcla explosiva que puede provocar mucho dolor in til. De eso nos habla Peri, una joven que vive a caballo entre Estambul y Oxford, lidiando con las ideas pol ticas del padre y la devoci n religiosa de su madre. La chica duda, investiga, y finalmente cree haber encontrado la verdad, cuando conoce a un profesor exc ntrico que estimula a sus estudiantes con preguntas siempre nuevas. Su gu a son las tres pasiones que seg n Bertrand Russell mueven los destinos de los humanos: el deseo de amor, la b squeda del conocimiento y la compasi n por el dolor ajeno. La teor a tiene sentido, el reto es apasionante, pero el deseo pide paso.

Con estos mimbres, Elif Shafak ha escrito una novela hermosa y necesaria, para invitarnos a mover esas aguas negras que a menudo nos impiden caminar.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

The stunning, timely new novel from the acclaimed, internationally bestselling author of The Architect's Apprentice and The Bastard of Istanbul.

Peri, a married, wealthy, beautiful Turkish woman, is on her way to a dinner party at a seaside mansion in Istanbul when a beggar snatches her handbag. As she wrestles to get it back, a photograph falls to the ground--an old Polaroid of three young women and their university professor. A relic from a past--and a love--Peri had tried desperately to forget.

Three Daughters of Eve is set over an evening in contemporary Istanbul, as Peri arrives at the party and navigates the tensions that simmer in this crossroads country between East and West, religious and secular, rich and poor. Over the course of the dinner, and amidst an opulence that is surely ill begotten, terrorist attacks occur across the city. Competing in Peri's mind, however, are the memories invoked by her almost-lost Polaroid, of the time years earlier when she was sent abroad for the first time, to attend Oxford University. As a young woman there, she had become friends with the charming, adventurous Shirin, a fully assimilated Iranian girl, and Mona, a devout Egyptian American. Their arguments about Islam and feminism find focus in the charismatic but controversial Professor Azur, who teaches divinity, but in unorthodox ways. As the terrorist attacks come ever closer, Peri is moved to recall the scandal that tore them all apart.

Three Daughters of Eve is a rich and moving story that humanizes and personalizes one of the most profound sea changes of the modern world.