On Freedom Street: A Novel

On Freedom Street is the story of a Turkish boy, Mehmet, and his twin journeys, one from the snowy mountain village of his birth to the warm Mediterranean city of Adana, the other from the security of childhood into the joys and complexities of the adult world. Barely an adolescent, he is sent to work for the Erdemir family—Asya, an unmarried woman in her fifties, and her two brothers, from whom she keeps house. As a friendship develops between Mehmet and Asya, he also encounters Asya's neighbor and friend, Oya, a widow in her late thirties. Keenly observant and deeply nonjudgmental, Mehmet is never one to question his circumstances. Life unfolds, with its cruelties and sorrows as well as its strange magic and surprise. Written with a delicate compassion and unyielding honesty, On Freedom Street is a book about honor, loyalty, and the power of tradition. But equally it is a story about women—mysterious and wise creatures who, in quiet, unobtrusive ways, keep the world steady and alive.