At the Breakfast Table
At the Breakfast Table by Defne Suman, published by Bloomsbury USA in February 2023, is a 416-page novel that explores hidden histories and family secrets. Set in Buyukada, Turkey, in 2017, the narrative unfolds during the 100th birthday celebration of the renowned artist Shirin Saka. As family members gather to reminisce about her long and fruitful career, they remain unaware of the deep past that Shirin has spent her life concealing.
The story is told from four different perspectives, focusing on Shirin’s grandchildren, Nur and Fikret, and great-grandchild, Celine, who grapple with the psychological consequences of their grandmother’s secrets. They invite family friend and investigative journalist Burak to interview Shirin, hoping to coax her into revealing her hidden truths. As the narrative progresses, Shirin begins to express her pain through her art, painting a story on her dining room wall that uncovers a history long erased from memory. This edition delves into themes of family life, sibling dynamics, and the complexities of multiple timelines, offering a rich tapestry of 20th-century experiences.
Official synopsis Publisher
Told from four different perspectives, At the Breakfast Table is a story of hidden histories and family secrets, from the author of The Silence of Scheherazade.
Buyukada, Turkey, 2017. In the glow of a late summer morning, family gather for the 100th birthday of the famous artist Shirin Saka. It ought to be a time of fond reminiscence, looking back on a long and fruitful artistic career, on memories spanning almost a century.
But the deep past is something Shirin has spent a lifetime trying to conceal. Her grandchildren, Nur and Fikret, and great-grandchild, Celine, do not know what she’s hiding, though they are intimately aware of the secret’s psychological consequences. The siblings invite family friend and investigative journalist Burak along to interview Shirin – in celebration of her centenary, and also in the hope of persuading her to open up.
Eventually Shirin begins to express her pain the only way she knows how. She paints a story onto her dining room wall, revealing a history wiped from public consciousness and generations of her family’s history.
‘Fiercely intelligent, finely textured and achingly beautiful.’ Elif Shafak
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