This is a story of Istanbul/Constantinople in 1921 during the Allied Occupation. A sad, but beautiful ode to the people who claimed it as their own, and those who occupied it after the war. It is about a young teacher who saved one of her Armenian pupils from genocide, took care of her elderly grandmother and mother, and learnt the hard truths of what war really was from all sides. She had to come to terms with some truths that was hard to stomach...and forgive. Nur once heard it said that a woman's sphere is actually less constrained than a man's. Because whilst he may travel outside in the physical world, her internal world is limitless, set only by the boundaries of her imagination. This life within the mind is a skill that men do not always take the time to learn . . . unless, perhaps, they are of a particularly spiritual bent.” I thought it was well written. I will look out for more books by this author as I have never read any of her books before now. Last Letter from Istanbul is a compelling and sweeping tale that crosses decades and takes the reader on a captivating journey through the tumultuous history of a nation that has struggled to maintain an identity, a nation that struggles to find peace.

Last Letter from Istanbul by Lucy Foley Book Review: Last Letter from Istanbul by Lucy Foley

Debo reconocer que yo tenía un poco de miedo de que me romantizaran la guerra o las ocupaciones de ciudades por parte de los ganadores de un conflicto; afortunadamente eso no pasó.The most precious thing in Nur’s new life is the orphan in her care – a boy with a terrible secret. When he falls dangerously ill Nur’s world becomes entwined with the enemy’s. She must return to where she grew up, and plead for help from Medical Officer George Monroe. We meet Nur, a young woman living in Constantinople- her beloved Istanbul- a city brutally overtaken by the Allied Forces. She yearns for the life she lost and is reminded daily of the changes: she sees the Allied soldiers laughing and taunting her fellow people. She is surrounded, consumed, by her justified bitterness. She knows the enemy, and judges those who refuse to see the truth, those who have accepted their great losses. But she also knows that in the face of these losses, she has tasted real freedom as well as great inequality. Lucy Foley's gorgeous elegant prose and the way she conjures up post war Constantinople makes this a beautiful, evocative and memorable read’ Lucinda Riley I really LOVE this author's stories. The plots can be confusing at first, but the stories are solid, especially the endings. It's nearer to literature than just a light read, I would say, but accessible enough for anyone to dive in and discover more of the world we are living in.

Last Letter from Istanbul by Lucy Foley book reviews | Goodreads Last Letter from Istanbul by Lucy Foley book reviews | Goodreads

Lyrical prose takes the reader on this unbelievable journey of lesser-known history. The prose entice the reader into continuing: for instance, the birds swarming into the garden to feast on the pomegranates, are described as a carnival of sound, a choas of wings. Yet, one desciption had me a little baffled: the water is eloquent. The water talks, babbles, sings, tells a story? At least it made me think. I loved it though. When Nur chances upon George Monroe, a medical officer in the British Army, it is easy to hate him. Yet the lines between enemy and friend grow fainter. Set in Constantinople in 1921, it tells the tale of a forbidden love between Nur and Medical Officer George Monroe. I started reading this on Sunday afternoon. It’s an easy read and I couldn’t put it down. It’s well written and so descriptive you could almost imagine yourself there tasting the local delicacies or feeling the breeze from the Bosphorus.Last Letter from Istanbul is an evocative and emotional novel: it’s a transporting story of family ties, love and sacrifice, and the noble spirit at the heart of it all, which I came to understand and admire.