Voice of the Sea

On the island of Pate off the coast of Kenya, the willful Ayana lives with her mother Munira. When sailor Muhiddin enters their lives, Ayana finds a father figure in him. However, as she grows up, nature adjusts the girl's plans. She is destined to leave her homeland and embark on a sea journey to the East, study in China, be seduced by the heir of a Turkish business empire, and travel with him to Istanbul, experience injustice and violence, return to her home island of Pate, meeting her little sister there, find love, and discover herself. The novel is about growing up, the experiences of a teenager, the journey of a woman, and the search for a home within oneself. The action unfolds against the backdrop of events that the reader quickly recognizes: the wars in the Middle East, waves of protests and uprisings in the Arab world of 2011-2012, the turbulent development and soft expansion of China into other countries, piracy in southern seas, and even the war in Syria. What we have observed over the past 20-30 years on television becomes a tangible part of the heroine's life and the lives of those around her, changing her life and character. The novel tells of complex destinies: the aging sailor Muhiddin, who returns to the island of Pate after many years of wandering, speaks with the sea. Ayana - a girl with a bad reputation. Munira - Ayana's mother, mired in debt and left without a family on the island with a daughter in her arms. The novel is about family and finding meaning after wandering - in music, books, languages, freedom, in the relationship between a father and his adopted daughter, and in love.