Summer Heat
Türkiye

Summer Heat

by Defne Suman

Identity & Belonging Historical Fiction Literary Fiction 2023

Summary

In 1974, young Melike senses that something is terribly wrong. Her parents’ political gatherings have stopped, and whispered conversations about prison, invasion, and military coups fill the family home in Istanbul. Hoping to escape the growing unrest, the family moves to a quiet village in southern Turkey. For a while, life seems peaceful—until Melike’s beloved father disappears.

Nearly thirty years later, Melike has built a respectable life as an art historian in Istanbul. She has a comfortable home and a devoted husband, yet a persistent dissatisfaction follows her. When she meets Petro, a mysterious and captivating stranger, she believes a new chapter is beginning. But Petro’s concealed identity forces her to confront the past she has spent years trying to leave behind.

Against the backdrop of the 1974 Turkish military intervention in Cyprus and its political aftermath, Summer Heat explores family secrets, desire, and the long shadow of historical violence. It is a story about the identities we construct, the truths we bury, and the past’s power to disrupt even the most carefully arranged lives.

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About the author
Defne Suman
Defne Suman

Defne Suman is a Turkish novelist and essayist born in Istanbul and raised on Büyükada, an island near the city. She studied sociology at Boğaziçi University, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. After leaving academia, she travelled extensively, volunteered in Thailand and Laos, and studied yoga and Eastern philosophy before dedicating herself to writing. Suman’s fiction explores the hidden layers of Turkish and Ottoman history, focusing on family secrets, cultural identity, exile, and the experiences of marginalised communities. Her novels often examine how political upheaval shapes private lives and how memories are passed between generations. Her notable works include The Silence of Scheherazade, At the Breakfast Table, and The Last Apartment in Istanbul. Her books have been translated into more than 30 languages. She is currently based in Athens and maintains close ties to Istanbul.

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Details
Published
2023
Author
Defne Suman