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The Other

The Other

Ece Vahapoglu | Victoria Holbrook

(2016)

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Book Details

Abstract

Esin is an attractive, happily married Turkish woman with a modern, Western-oriented outlook and a successful career hosting business meetings in Istanbul. She would normally have nothing in common with Kubra, a conservative religious girl she met at college in the States. Kubra wears the Islamist headscarf and lives with her parents.

As Esin and Kübra form an intimate friendship, the chapters of the novel open out onto each woman’s emotional and sexual experience in turn. The cultural divisions of contemporary Turkey are dramatized through their personal lives and the dynamics within their families.

Each woman’s curiosity about the other’s mysterious world gradually takes on a boldly erotic character. At first interested in the external trappings of each other’s lives, they embark on a journey of spiritual and sensual discovery whereby each woman comes to know 'The Other.'


What if a conservative girl falls in love with a secular young woman?

The novel discloses the codes of cultural differentiation in 21st century Turkey as it focuses on the details of the two young women’s lives, their families, and their emotional and sexual lives.

Esin is an attractive, happily married Turkish woman with a modern, Western-oriented outlook and a successful career hosting business meetings in Istanbul. She would normally have nothing in common with Kubra, a conservative religious girl she met at college in the States. Kubra wears the Islamist headscarf and lives with her parents.

As Esin and Kübra form an intimate friendship, the chapters of the novel open out onto each woman’s emotional and sexual experience in turn. The cultural divisions of contemporary Turkey are dramatized through their personal lives and the dynamics within their families.

Each woman’s curiosity about the other’s mysterious world gradually takes on a boldly erotic character. At first interested in the external trappings of each other’s lives, they embark on a journey of spiritual and sensual discovery whereby each woman comes to know 'The Other.'


Ece Vahapoglu is one of Turkey’s best-known broadcasters, a prominent media personality with her own TV shows and best-selling books and a celebrity wellness role model.

Victoria Holbrook is currently a self-employed writer and translator. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. both in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University.

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Front Matter i
Half Title i
Copyright ii
Title iii
Chapters 1
“Have you ever kissed a woman?” 1
Kübra’s Days (Family) 9
Esin’s Days (Alp) 15
Kübra’s Days (The Matchmaking Visit) 23
Esin’s Days (Indolence) 29
Kübra’s Days (Prayer) 35
Esin’s Days (The Summit) 39
Kübra’s Days (Hikmet Bey) 43
Esin’s Days (On the Bosphorus) 49
Kübra’s Days (Thankfulness) 59
Esin’s Days (Jacuzzi) 65
Kübra’s Days (Vacation) 71
Esin’s Days (Friends) 77
Kübra’s Days (A bad thing) 79
Esin’s Days (Reaction) 83
Kübra’s Days (Design) 87
Esin’s Days (Shock) 93
Kübra’s Days (Samet) 101
Esin’s Days (Aphrodisiac) 107
Kübra’s Days (Farewell) 115
Esin’s Days (Wildly, madly) 127
Kübra’s Days (Moving House) 131
Esin’s Days (In Bodrum) 139
Kübra’s Days (The Contract) 145
Kübra and Esin (Wedding Dress) 151
Esin’s Days (Spark) 155
Kübra’s Days (The Henna Night) 157
Esin’s Days (The Kuwaitis) 161
Kübra’s Days (The Birthday) 165
Esin’s Days (Energy) 169
Kübra’s Days (Fasting) 175
Esin and Kübra (Iftar) 179
Esin’s Days (Will Power) 191
Kübra’s Days (The Old Fez Factory) 195
Esin and Kübra (Breath) 199
Esin and Kübra (Cream) 205
Esin and Kübra (Gauze) 213
Esin’s Days (Pursuit) 219
Kübra’s Days (Weeping) 223
Esin’s Days (Counterattack) 231
Esin and Kübra (Breeze) 235
Esin and Kübra (Changing Places) 245
Kübra and Esin (Fire) 253
Esin’s Days (What Happened Next) 267
Kübra’s Days (Chanting) 273
Esin and Kübra (Help) 279