In an interview with The Guardian, Turkish writer Elif Shafak, has addressed her novel The Bastard of Istanbul, which shines light on the history of the Armenian Genocide.
The author shared thoughts about the difficulties she faced in the Turkish society after writing the book.
“Istanbul is a place of collective amnesia. Our history is full of ruptures and every new establishment that comes to power starts by erasing the legacy of the previous establishment. I write about minorities and wanted to address the unspeakable tragedies of the past, to talk about the Armenian genocide, share the grief, try to build bridges.
“The novel was widely read in Turkey but I was attacked by the nationalist media and put on trial under article 301, which is supposed to protect Turkishness against insults. This article is so vague, no one knows what it means. The trial took over a year. There were groups on the streets burning EU flags and spitting at my pictures. I was acquitted but it was a turbulent time. I had to live with a bodyguard, which was surreal. What made it still more surreal was that, for the first time in Turkey, a work of fiction was tried. My Turkish lawyer had to defend my fictional Armenian characters in the courtroom,” she said.