The Stone Woman: A Novel [Paperback]

Each year, when the weather in Istanbul becomes unbearable, the family of Iskender Pasha, a retired Ottoman notable, retires to its summer palace overlooking the Sea of Marmara. It is 1899 and the last great Islamic empire is in serious trouble. A former tutor poses a question which the family has been refusing to confront for almost a century: ‘Your Ottoman Empire is like a drunken prostitute, neither knowing nor caring who will take her next. Do I exaggerate, Memed?’ The history of Iskender Pasha’s family mirrors the growing degeneration of the Empire they have served for the last five hundred years. This passionate story of masters and servants, school-teachers and painters, is marked by jealousies, vendettas and, with the decay of the Empire, a new generation which is deeply hostile to the half-truths and myths of the ‘golden days.’

The Stone Womanis the third novel of Tariq Ali’s ‘Islam Quartet’. Like its predecessors—Shadows of the Pomegranate TreeandThe Book of Saladin—its power lies both in the story-telling and the challenge it poses to stereotyped images of life under Islam.“... an EasternMagic Mountain.”—London Review of Books

“A richly woven tapestry that, even before its completion, merits comparison with Naguib Mahfouz's celebratedCairo Trilogy.A great work in progress.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Ali spins a web of tales that is as inventive and fantastical as the Arabian nights.”—The Times

“Tales of anguish, longing, lust and love all find their way toThe Stone Woman. Ali paints a vivid picture of a fading world.”—New York Times Book Review

“This Chekhov-like scenario of intense emotion within a creaking social structure constructs a rich picture of history and the way we think about history.”—Times Literarylóå