Book Review: Three Daughters of Eve

Three Daughters of Eve  by Elif Shafak

Book Review

Not very often does it happen that a book set in a completely different cultural milieu manages to feel so close to one’s heart. This is the story of a bored upper-middle class socialite: in some ways it’s a ‘coming-of-age’ story, except that the usual elements that define a classic coming-of-age setup are displaced in time: the elements start to come together during the globally accepted norm of adolescence, but find their culmination only in the protagonist’s 30s.

Growing up in a middling Istanbul family in the 80s and 90s turns out to be not too different from an equivalent Indian experience. At the centre is Peri, a girl who is sensitive ‘to the point of self-effacement’, growing up in a household where battle lines are drawn between father and mother,  between disparaging atheism and dauntless faith, between a longing for a better future and a hankering for the past. She develops her own credo, but is torn apart internally by her efforts to maintain external peace.

 A life-defining move to a university another country exposes her to a different kind of life. Yet, the battlelines are absurdly similar. The liberals, she discovers, are as prone to stereotyping and intolerance as are the conservatives.  The debates here are couched in sophisticated language, but the simmering tensions are the same.

 Of the eponymous ‘three daughters’ , she is the ‘Confused’, playing the thankless role of peacemaker between the ‘Believer’ and the ‘Sinner’. There is a mentor who could have helped her recognise her unique ability of being able to empathise with both sides. However, things take an unexpected turn, and it is only years later, in a day in bustling Istanbul involving a party for the elites, a mugging, a photograph from the past and armed robbery, that she experiences catharsis.

The story seems to end too soon, and I expected a stronger finish; but I’m not complaining. The book more than made up for it by its richness in its descriptions, in capturing the sights, sounds and flavours of Istanbul and Oxford, and in its ability to turn old arguments over into an entirely new light.

In an age when ‘taking offence’ has turned rampant, and when debates only cause positions to turn more intractable than ever, we need more of the wisdom that Shafak showcases in this book.

As the Professor puts it in the book, “… participating in an open debate is a bit like falling in love. You are a different person by the time it comes to an end.” Did the three daughters of Eve find this out for themselves in an experiment designed by their professor? I leave it to you to find out.