Bookseller Reviews
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Haunting magic-realist-tale of memory and exile
A truly remarkable story of memory and exile, The Renovation follows Dilara and her father and husband, Turkish exiles in Italy, who have fled persecution ... READ MORE
An original debut
A woman discovers her newly renovated bathroom has been mistakenly turned into a Turkish prison. Caring for her father who suffers from Alzheimer's, Dilara... READ MORE
Stunning and emotional
Instead of a new bathroom, Dilara finds the builders have installed a Turkish prison cell in her flat. She starts spending more time there talking to the p... READ MORE
Thought provoking and unsettling - prepare to have this one on you mind for a long time afterwards!
This debut is one that is by turns thought provoking and unsettling, whilst dazzling you with the deftness of the language. The story is mainly set within ... READ MORE
Heart-breaking but delicately written story of alienation and loneliness
This is definitely a contender for my book of the year. It is a heart wrenching mix of magical realism and all-too-real psychological study. Don't read it ... READ MORE
The perfect mix of heart and humour!
I absolutely loved The Renovation! Orhan blends emotion with humour perfectly. The fantastical, magical realism elements underpin this sense of being trapp... READ MORE
Publisher information
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
- ISBN: 9781405976091
- Number of pages: 240
- Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 16 mm
- Weight: 176g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allStrange and unsettling
Dilara, a child psychologist, her husband and her father have fled Erdogan’s Turkey. It has become clear that they are no longer safe there after her fathe... READ MORE
An original take on being an exile
The style of the writing is beautiful. The author draws you into her confidence and you’re taken along with her. Dilara has been in Italy for 7 years and i... READ MORE
Allegory or descent into madness?
Dilara is a Turkish woman, living in Italy since she, her husband and her father had to flee from Erdoğan's repressive regime. Dilara's brilliant academic... READ MORE
Haunting, metaphorical and powerful
"Hope is a symptom of the strangeness of life. Who was I to say what is and isn't possible while I hid in a prison in my bathroom?"
"When there is somet... READ MORE
Brilliant Debut
Thank you to the publishers for this early review copy, very pleased to say that I loved it!
The Renovation is simply a brilliant debut.
It sounds quirky... READ MORE
A poignant and inventive novel of exile
Dilara is renovating her ensuite bathroom now that her father has moved into the Salerno apartment she and her husband have lived in for seven years. Her b... READ MORE
Interesting but unsuccessful concept
Really interesting concept for a novel - a bathroom renovation in Italy turns into a portal into a Turkish prison - but I rather struggled with the executi... READ MORE
Poignant Debut Novel
4/4.5
Renovation is the debut novel by Kenan Orhan and gives us the story of Dilara, her husband and father. They have fled to Italy to escape Erdoğan's... READ MORE
Yearning for your country
The style of the writing is beautiful. The author draws you into her confidence and you’re taken along with her. Dilara has been in Italy for 7 years and i... READ MORE
Outstanding novel - melancholic yet powerful
The debut novel from a Turkish-American author previously known for his short stories (and prize listed short story collection “I Am Country”) – and this n... READ MORE
A haunting, surreal debut
The Renovation by Kenan Orhan is a haunting, surreal debut, a meditation on memory, displacement and psychological scars. When her second bathroom is re... READ MORE
Leaves a mark and lingers in the mind
I'm torn about this book. At its centre is Dilara, a middle-aged woman of Turkish origin living in Italy, having left her home several years before the eve... READ MORE
Hauntingly good
A devastating mix between 'The Father' by Florian Zeller and 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins, The Renovation is the literary fiction novella fu... READ MORE
Five stars!
The Renovation by Kenan Orhan is a haunting and beautifully layered book that explores exile, displacement and the fragile boundary between reality and ima... READ MORE
Beautiful and unique
“Now I was in a foreign country, swimming on the floor of the ocean without bones made for all the pressure.”
The Renovation pulled me in from the very ... READ MORE
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