In the Ottoman Empire, where divorce was the prerogative of men, how does a clever bride escape wedlock?
Divorce Sharia Style is the story of Kiraz, a defiant young girl who grows into a savvy and resourceful young woman as she bootstraps herself in a world where the customs and laws are stacked against her. It is also the story of that young woman's daughter, grandchildren, and mountain community as their traditional village life is upended by the transformations of the twentieth century. In Divorce Sharia Style, Hasan Ali elik reveals a passionate and personal depiction of the resilient and joyful women of his homeland, and a culture facing obsolescence-that of the village Turks of Central Anatolia.
These connected stories are by turns hilarious, heartbreaking, and deeply moving.