Candy Palace

The Palace of Sweets is the second novel by Turkish Elif Shafak, and it is a story closer to short stories connected through a theatrical setting, which is an old palace in Istanbul inhabited by residents vastly different from each other. Through the stories of the residents, Shafak explains contemporary Turkish society with its contradictions and richness. The novel was published by Elif Shafak with translation by Dr. Mohamed Darwish from Dar Al-Adab as part of distinguished translated novels that include Shafak's other works. A brief about the Palace of Sweets: Built by an aristocratic Russian immigrant for his beloved. In the building, the contradictions and tensions of Istanbul society are evident — From immigrants, minorities, marginalized people, and madmen: a university professor; twins running a barbershop; a pious man with his son's wife and grandchildren; a woman obsessed with cleanliness and her pregnant daughter; and the "Blue Mistress." But the Palace of Sweets novel is, above all, a story about social injustice, about the fear of losing identity, and the dominance of fate over the characters’ destinies, and the game of love that souls have judged with death. Quotes from the book Palace of Sweets: Not only did I fail to settle, but I live as if I will pack my belongings and leave at any moment. Memory must be fleeting if love is to be eternal. They said about the Palace of Sweets and Elif Shafak: Elif Shafak is the best among those who wrote novels in Turkey in this decade. Orhan Pamuk