Two reviews of As They Are

Review from psychoanalyst Thomas H. Ogden, M.D., author of The Hands of Gravity/The Parts Left Out/This Will Do

What a remarkable experience it has been reading As They Are. The most important aspect of a story or novel is the writing itself, and it is here that this book warrants the highest praise. The narrative voice speaks in simple declarative sentences, but there is always something brewing. I like the surprise of shifting the voice from third person to first person in Part 2. That shift mid-stream is an unusual and interesting thing that Phyllis Skoy has created. I can’t remember ever reading a novel in which that is done.

So many of the sentences are fresh: “I am not sure why this is true, but only during Ramadan does it take so long for the sun to set.” The author has become so much a part of Turkish culture that readers get a sense of what Ramadan (and a hundred other aspects of experience) feels like to the Turks.

Phyllis captures the gritty pain involved in being a woman in Turkish culture. We look at this from innumerable vantage points in the course of the novel, from the most striking to the most subtle, including rape, childbirth, motherhood, sexuality, marriage, dress, female bodily experience, aging, physical and emotional illness, and on and on. And the book takes on the female act of unflinching self-sacrifice for the interest of children and grandchildren, particularly female children against whom the deck is so thoroughly stacked.

Though less important to me than the quality of writing, the unfolding of the plot and the personal growth of characters is done with such dexterity, almost as if they are occurring on their own without the help of the author. This occurs in the most interesting and unpredictable of ways with the two main characters: Fuson and Fatma. Their development occurs on a terrain of broken glass and a shattered self. Phyllis does this without the slightest hint of analytic thinking. This is an example of the way that analytic thinking follows from the understanding of writers and not the other way around. She describes the experience of soul-murdering depression better than any analytic writer has done.

The book is so well researched that the story and the characters are plausible, painful, and real. This book teaches the reader how to converse in Turkish by using the Turkish words for mother, father, grandmother and so on. It teaches the reader about Turkish history, which is a story told so naturally, it is as if you are not only reading the story but part of the story. Phyllis must dream in Turkish! She has taught me so much about the role of Ataturk in rising to fame and power and then transforming Turkish culture to an extent not equaled by any other democratic leader. Phyllis describes for me what that transformation felt like to the people whose lives were being transformed. She is a gifted writer.

Review of As They Are from Michelle Coates on NetGalley

Adalet Ulusoy is recovering from severe burns to her legs, the death of her parents, and the loss of her unborn child, all resulting from a massive earthquake on the Black Sea Coast of Turkey.

When her husband deserts her for another woman, his wealthy family sends her to live in a vacant home they own in the pottery village of Avanos. In Avanos, Adalet meets the formidable blind and elderly Fatma. Fatma is the grandmother of a teenage budding artist, Meryem. Adalet discovers Meryem’s talent through Meryem’s mischievous behaviour.

Adalet convinces Fatma that art school will be much better for Meryem than an arranged marriage. With Fatma’s help, and against the backdrop of a changing and developing Turkey, Adalet and Meryem move to Istanbul so that Meryem can study art. There they meet an American art professor from New York City. Through love, mentorship, and the horrifying events of September 11th, their lives are forever changed. Utterly unique, exquisitely crafted, and quietly powerful. I loved it and want everyone to read this novel!