--- product_id: 50529298 title: "Honour: The gripping historical novel about love, betrayal and clashing cultures from the bestselling author of There Are Rivers in the Sky" price: "Β₯3826" currency: JPY in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.jp/products/50529298-honour-the-gripping-historical-novel-about-love-betrayal-and-clashing store_origin: JP region: Japan --- # Cross-continental setting Bestselling cultural saga Multi-generational timeline Honour: The gripping historical novel about love, betrayal and clashing cultures from the bestselling author of There Are Rivers in the Sky **Price:** Β₯3826 **Availability:** βœ… In Stock ## Summary > πŸ“– Dive into a gripping saga where love, culture, and secrets collide β€” don’t miss the story everyone’s talking about! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Honour: The gripping historical novel about love, betrayal and clashing cultures from the bestselling author of There Are Rivers in the Sky - **How much does it cost?** Β₯3826 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.jp](https://www.desertcart.jp/products/50529298-honour-the-gripping-historical-novel-about-love-betrayal-and-clashing) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - β€’ **Multi-Generational Drama:** Explores four generations, weaving complex family dynamics and timeless themes of love and betrayal. - β€’ **A Tale Spanning Two Worlds:** Set between 1970s Turkey and London, it captures the rich clash of tradition and modernity. - β€’ **Join a Global Conversation:** With 2,122 reviews and a 4.4-star rating, this book connects you to a vibrant community of thoughtful readers. - β€’ **A Bestseller That Resonates:** Ranked #59 in Cultural Heritage Fiction, this novel is a must-read for those craving deep cultural insights. - β€’ **Critically Acclaimed Storytelling:** From Booker-shortlisted Elif Shafak, praised for vivid, gripping narrative and cultural depth. ## Overview Honour by Elif Shafak is a critically acclaimed historical novel that explores the complexities of immigrant life, family loyalty, and cultural identity across Turkey and 1970s London. With a multi-generational narrative and a gripping plot centered on a chilling crime, it offers a profound look at tradition versus modernity, earning a strong 4.4-star rating from over 2,000 readers. ## Description From Booker-shortlisted author Elif Shafak, Honour is a gripping tale of love, betrayal and clashing cultures. 'My mother died twice. I promised myself I would not let her story be forgotten' Pembe and Adem Toprak leave Turkey for London. There they make new lives for their family. Yet the traditions and beliefs of their home come with them - carried in the blood of their children, Iskender and Esma. Trapped by past mistakes, the Toprak children find their lives torn apart and transformed by a brutal and chilling crime. Set in Turkey and London in the 1970s, Honour explores pain and loss, loyalty and betrayal, the clash of tradition and modernity, as well as the love and heartbreak that can tear any family apart. 'One of the best writers in the world today' Hanif Kureishi 'Vivid storytelling... that explores the darkest aspects of faith and love' Sunday Telegraph *** ELIF SHAFAK'S NEW NOVEL, THERE ARE RIVERS IN THE SKY , IS AVAILABLE NOW *** Review: How good can a novel be? - How good can a novel be? This is a wonderful story, by a brilliant writer. She has a fantastic ability to catch the right image. She describes the air plant, tillandsia, that has no roots but survives where it can, a metaphor for the exiled Elias, from everywhere and nowhere. Shafak is as comfortable describing Turkey in the 1950s as London in the 1970s. Her characters are not just cut outs against a carefully depicted background. They live, exist and move creating their world as much as they are shaped by it. We find cooks and hairdressers, midwives and microbiologists, anarchists and punks. A rich kaleidoscope of life. She suggests that there may be a magical, a higher purpose, in the everyday coincidence. Not all dreams are fulfilled, but not all nightmares are realised. At the heart of Honour there is an awful crime. The author shows how its seeds were sown in many families, over many generations in many lands. We are left to ask at the end whether the tragedy has fully unspooled, whether there really is a happy ending. No-one is entirely denied a better side. This allows us to stay with those – all men – whose "honour" directs violence and hate on sisters, mothers and daughters. Equally we feel a rage at this hate, which poisons sons and fathers and brothers. As in the other novels of hers that I have read, Elif Shafak avoids a narrative of revenge or redemptive violence. Forgiveness may be impossible, but hatred is no solution. Review: A gripping and insightful read - Elif Shafak's Honour hinges around one horrible crime. The nature of this crime itself is revealed within the first few pages, and the rest of the book is spent examining the lives of the people affected and the events that led up to and contributed to the event. It's a story that spans four generations, split between the remote villages of Turkey and the metropolis of 1970's London. When Pembe and Adem leave their home country to build a new life in Britain, their children must find a way to mesh new traditions with the old, to speak two languages and to adapt the cultural norms of their heritage to new situations. In Honour, Elif Shafak examines how gender, history and expectations combine to have a powerful impact on our behaviour and our future actions. It's also fair to say that this book is an exploration of immigrant culture. It looks in detail at the relationships between parents and their children and how a rich cultural history is blended with new experiences. I actually read this book while I was in Turkey, and the sections set in the villages really came to life for me. However, it felt as though it was lacking in the crucial emotional connection to the central characters. The narrative style, which tends to jump around between different times and different viewpoints, also made the novel quite hard to follow. It also meant that certain events were revealed out of sequence, taking away some of the tension from the main plotline. Honour does a great job of setting out facts and events and of creating a very real and powerful backdrop, but at no point does the author really use her position to give an opinion on the twin cultures that she's describing. It's up to us as readers to make the observations for ourselves. In doing so, I think the author misses out on an opportunity to get across what has the potential to be a very powerful statement. ## Features - PENGUIN GROUP ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 42,875 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 70 in Cultural Heritage Fiction 344 in Family Sagas 1,206 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,202 Reviews | ## Images ![Honour: The gripping historical novel about love, betrayal and clashing cultures from the bestselling author of There Are Rivers in the Sky - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81wTrJjoRXL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ How good can a novel be? *by G***R on 13 July 2022* How good can a novel be? This is a wonderful story, by a brilliant writer. She has a fantastic ability to catch the right image. She describes the air plant, tillandsia, that has no roots but survives where it can, a metaphor for the exiled Elias, from everywhere and nowhere. Shafak is as comfortable describing Turkey in the 1950s as London in the 1970s. Her characters are not just cut outs against a carefully depicted background. They live, exist and move creating their world as much as they are shaped by it. We find cooks and hairdressers, midwives and microbiologists, anarchists and punks. A rich kaleidoscope of life. She suggests that there may be a magical, a higher purpose, in the everyday coincidence. Not all dreams are fulfilled, but not all nightmares are realised. At the heart of Honour there is an awful crime. The author shows how its seeds were sown in many families, over many generations in many lands. We are left to ask at the end whether the tragedy has fully unspooled, whether there really is a happy ending. No-one is entirely denied a better side. This allows us to stay with those – all men – whose "honour" directs violence and hate on sisters, mothers and daughters. Equally we feel a rage at this hate, which poisons sons and fathers and brothers. As in the other novels of hers that I have read, Elif Shafak avoids a narrative of revenge or redemptive violence. Forgiveness may be impossible, but hatred is no solution. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A gripping and insightful read *by M***9 on 19 May 2013* Elif Shafak's Honour hinges around one horrible crime. The nature of this crime itself is revealed within the first few pages, and the rest of the book is spent examining the lives of the people affected and the events that led up to and contributed to the event. It's a story that spans four generations, split between the remote villages of Turkey and the metropolis of 1970's London. When Pembe and Adem leave their home country to build a new life in Britain, their children must find a way to mesh new traditions with the old, to speak two languages and to adapt the cultural norms of their heritage to new situations. In Honour, Elif Shafak examines how gender, history and expectations combine to have a powerful impact on our behaviour and our future actions. It's also fair to say that this book is an exploration of immigrant culture. It looks in detail at the relationships between parents and their children and how a rich cultural history is blended with new experiences. I actually read this book while I was in Turkey, and the sections set in the villages really came to life for me. However, it felt as though it was lacking in the crucial emotional connection to the central characters. The narrative style, which tends to jump around between different times and different viewpoints, also made the novel quite hard to follow. It also meant that certain events were revealed out of sequence, taking away some of the tension from the main plotline. Honour does a great job of setting out facts and events and of creating a very real and powerful backdrop, but at no point does the author really use her position to give an opinion on the twin cultures that she's describing. It's up to us as readers to make the observations for ourselves. In doing so, I think the author misses out on an opportunity to get across what has the potential to be a very powerful statement. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Heartrending - the clash between conservative and modern values *by I***S on 17 September 2024* Often not a comfortable read, particularly if you are of a Western mindset, but more than worth persevering with. Beautifully written and, as always, non-judgmental. The theme is both feminist and religious focusing on tradition and the subservience of women in conservative Islamic societies. It is clear where she stands but this is no polemic. Instead a calmly told story that dives deep into the core characters to explain how they look at the world. You may not like where the characters stand, but she explains where these attitudes come from. About time she got the Nobel Prize for literature. ## Frequently Bought Together - Honour - The Bastard of Istanbul - The Architect's Apprentice --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - πŸ›’ **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** β€” Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** β€” Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - πŸ’° **No Hidden Fees** β€” All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - πŸ”„ **15-Day Free Returns** β€” Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - πŸ”’ **Secure Payments** β€” Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** β€” Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.jp/products/50529298-honour-the-gripping-historical-novel-about-love-betrayal-and-clashing](https://www.desertcart.jp/products/50529298-honour-the-gripping-historical-novel-about-love-betrayal-and-clashing) --- *Product available on Desertcart Japan* *Store origin: JP* *Last updated: 2026-11-07*