The attitude of Peri’s father might appear the best for his daughter but he also was depicted as someone who had to fight his own demons such as alcoholism for most of his life. The portrayal of Peri’s parents offers a snapshot of a family life in its all complexity and ambiguity. Each character outlined in the book is nuanced, with its good and bad traits The characters are never simplistic or shown in white and black shades. On the other hand, a wife, a mother is very religious, and thinks about her daughter’s future from the patriarchal perspective. It is a husband, a father who is secular and wants his daughter to get education and to be an independent woman. Elif Shafak as always shows a rather nuanced perspective and avoids stereotyping. We also see what the years of torture, imprisonment and humiliation can do to the individual life.Īll this is intertwined with t he reflections on religious beliefs in the Muslim society. There are descriptions of house search, torture, imprisonment of the individuals for holding different opinions to the ones accepted by the government and society.

The story does provide an insight into Turkey’s turbulent past such as military coup in the 1980s and how life looked like during the rule of the military. They were the Sinner, the Believer and the Confused.Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak tackles many different topics including religion, or rather t he meaning of God in one’s life, how cultural and political circumstances shape lives of the individuals and the position of women in Eastern and Western societies. Shirin, Peri and Mona, they were the most unlikely of friends.

And finally, to the scandal that tore them all apart. To the house she shares with her two best friends, Shirin and Mona, and their arguments about identity, Islam and feminism. To her dazzling, rebellious Professor and his life-changing course on God. The photograph takes Peri back to Oxford University, as nineteen year old sent abroad for the first time. A relic from a past - and a love Peri had tried desperately to forget. As she wrestles to get it back, a photograph falls to the ground - an old polaroid of three young women and their university professor. Peri, a wealthy Turkish housewife and mother, is on her way to a dinner party at a seaside mansion in Istanbul when a beggar snatches her handbag.

Set across Istanbul and Oxford, from the 1980s to the present day, Three Daughters of Eve is a sweeping tale of faith and friendship, tradition and modernity, love and an unexpected betrayal.

The daughters of eve elif shafak