From the author of Corelli’s Mandolin comes a sweeping, intoxicating tale set in a small village in southwestern Anatolia during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire. In this tightly-knit community, everyone speaks Turkish but writes it in Greek letters. It’s a place where a professional blasphemer plies his trade, a grieving aga finds solace in an unlikely courtesan, and Philothei, a beautiful Christian girl, is engaged to Ibrahim, a Muslim boy.
But the fragile harmony of the village begins to shatter as Turkey steps into the modern era. With epic scope and lush detail, Birds Without Wings captures a world on the brink of transformation, weaving a poignant and unforgettable story of love, identity, and the far-reaching forces of history.