ELIF SHAFAK'S NEW YORK TIMES ISTANBUL READING LIST
A GREAT GROUP READS SELECTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 RUNCIMAN AWARD
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD

At the neighborhood cafe where pastry chef Kosmas, charming widower Fanis, and other Rum-Greek Orthodox Christian-friends meet regularly for afternoon tea, American-born Daphne arrives with her elderly aunt. Daphne unsettles hearts, provokes jealousies, and stirs up memories of the 1955 Istanbul pogrom, forcing Kosmas and Fanis to confront their painful history in order to risk new beginnings. A shrewd and humorous tale, A Recipe for Daphne invites the reader into the kitchens, loves, and secret lives of Istanbul's most ancient community.

An American-born traveler to one of Istanbul's oldest communities receives an unexpected welcome in this heart-warming and romantic debut

About the Author
Nektaria Anastasiadou is the 2019 winner of the Zografeios Agon, a Greek-language literary award founded in 19th-century Constantinople. Her debut novel, A Recipe for Daphne, was shortlisted for the 2022 Runciman Award and longlisted for the 2022 Dublin Literary Award. It was also a finalist with an Honorable Mention in the 2022 Eric Hoffer Book Award and a 2021 Women's National Book Association Great Group Read. Anastasiadou's short stories have appeared in various literary journals, including The Markaz Review and the Greek magazine Hartis. She lives in Istanbul.

Reviews

"A Recipe for Daphne sheds courageous light on the lives of the Greek Orthodox Christian communities of Istanbul, including the memory of the horrific 1955 pogrom."-Elif Shafak, The New York Times

"A delicious debut . . . . In weaving together a delightful present-day romantic drama with a more profound narrative about reckoning with and making peace with the past, A Recipe for Daphne proves deeply satisfying." -The Washington Post

"An astonishing debut novel, extraordinarily accomplished."-Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

"A meditation on identity and the scars of history. Through her rich characters, the Rum people's painful history over the last century also comes to light."-NPR's The World

"A unique work that re-imagines histories, inverts narratives and engages in the subtleties of human identity, without ever losing the lightness and gracefulness of its touch, or indeed the aroma of the culinary delicacies it evokes, A Recipe For Daphne is a ground-breaking, multifaceted novel that begs to be re-read innumerable times."-Neos Kosmos

"Anastasiadou's skillful blending of the ghosts of the historical past with the joys of living in present-day Istanbul sets this novel apart from everything else that Greeks, Jews and others have written about life in the erstwhile cosmopolitan port cities of the Eastern Mediterranean." -Alexander Kitroeff, Pappas Post

"The pages of Anastasiadou's novel shimmer with the romance of Istanbul, and her vivid prose evokes its magical melange."-The Markaz Review

"I read this charming, shrewd and enlightening first novel in two compulsive sittings, fascinated by how an entirely different slice of Istanbul opened up within the pages. A Recipe for Daphne is a delight from start to finish."-Caroline Eden, author of Black Sea

"Award winner Anastasiadou successfully blends romantic machinations among a group of Greek Orthodox Christians in Istanbul with a keen portrait of a community . . . Good reading for all."-Library Journal

"Redemptive, powerful." -Chicago Review of Books

"A Recipe for Daphne is a delightful novel about finding home in foreign places."-Foreword Reviews

"An extraordinary examination of identity and belonging."-Arab News

"A delightful tale that combines the tragic secrets of the past with hopes for the future."-Duvar English

"Charming"-AramcoWorld

"When I finished I immediately wanted to demand the sequel because I missed Anastasiadou's endearing people, and her fascinating city, so much."-Alison Jean Lester, author of Lilian on Life

"An exquisite novel set among the last remnants and proud carriers of the ancient forgotten culture of Byzantium . . . Full of humor and compassion, playfulness and fascinating insights." -Rana Haddad, author of The Unexpected Love Objects of Dunya Noor

Book Information
ISBN 9789774169793
Author Nektaria Anastasiadou
Format Paperback
Page Count 326
Imprint Hoopoe
Publisher The American University in Cairo Press
Weight(grams) 325g