The Silence of Scheherazade

On a quiet autumn evening in September 1905, a girl named Scheherazade is born in the ancient city of Smyrna. The labor pains of the mother were so strong and painful that even opium did not relieve her suffering. On the same day, a ship drops anchor in the local harbor, carrying an Indian spy on a secret mission for the British Empire. Avinash Pillai sees golden spires and minarets, feels the aromas of figs and chinar, hears the cries of street vendors offering their goods. Seventeen years later, he will leave the city engulfed in flames, inhaling the heavy smell of kerosene and smoke. And between these Septembers, many events will take place, intertwined with the fates of Arab, Greek, Turkish, and Armenian families. Births and deaths, love and loss—all await the heroes as their peaceful little homeland is destroyed due to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. When Smyrna was burned to the ground in September 1922, the world lost one of its most beautiful multinational cities. Defne Suman brought it back to life, resurrecting historical events from a century ago on the pages of her book. This extraordinary novel can be compared to a journey to a city and culture now lost in time.