Aysegul Savas, The Paris Review Journalist Profile

Articles

The Yale Review | Aysegul Savas, "Twirl"

Dec 10, 2024 | yalereview.org | Aysegul Savas

Ayşegül Savaş I was sitting in a wine bar waiting for my date when I heard the two women next to me speaking Turkish. My date—it would be our first meeting—had texted to say that he’d be at least thirty minutes late. I considered telling him not to bother, then changed my mind, fearing that I might miss a chance. I pretended to read my book while I listened to the women’s conversation. It was such a pleasure to hear my native tongue.
Year in Reading: Ayşegül Savaş

Dec 6, 2024 | themillions.com | Aysegul Savas

Earlier this year, I stopped writing down the titles of the books I read. It seemed that I had been living one drawn-out period—a very long day—because I have a baby and the days repeat, in strict routine and exhaustion, and also because I have spent a good amount of this year watching the killing of babies and their parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins, repeatedly, in always the same circumstances of seeking shelter or fleeing or lining up for aid.
A Year in Reading: Ayşegül Savaş

Dec 6, 2024 | everand.com | Aysegul Savas

Earlier this year, I stopped writing down the titles of the books I read. It seemed that I had been living one drawn-out period—a very long day—because I have a baby and the days repeat, in strict routine and exhaustion, and also because I have spent a good amount of this year watching the killing of babies and their parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins, repeatedly, in always the same circumstances
'The Anthropologists' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2024

Nov 13, 2024 | time.com | Shannon Carlin |Aysegul Savas

These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. By Shannon CarlinNovember 13, 2024 8:16 AM ESTAn idealistic couple’s hunt for a new apartment becomes the catalyst for a quarter-life crisis in Ayşegül Savaş’s insightful third novel.
The Anthropologists

Aug 3, 2024 | bookreporter.com | Aysegul Savas

I’ve been reading a lot of lengthy books this summer. So picking up Ayşegül Savaş’ THE ANTHROPOLOGISTS, at a mere 186 pages, felt like a chance to take a breath and dip into prose at a different, more intimate scale. Further enhancing this feeling of intimacy are the novel’s divisions into short sections. They often consist of just a paragraph or two, each one a moment of observation or realization, an anecdote or merely an image.
Excerpt from The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Savaş

Jul 26, 2024 | themarkaz.org | Aysegul Savas

An excerpt from Ayşegül Savaş’s new novel, The Anthropologists, published in July by Bloomsbury. Ayşegül SavaşBeginnings and EndingsIn a moment of panic, we decided to look for a home. We’d been in the city for several years by then, and from time to time we worried that we weren’t living by the correct set of rules, that we should be making our lives sturdy. I worried more than Manu did, but he often acquiesced to my apprehensions. CosmologyFor many years, it had been just the two of us.
The 10 best new books of July 2024 to tuck in your beach bag

Jul 16, 2024 | csmonitor.com | Marjan Kamali |Karla Cornejo Villavicencio |Aysegul Savas

July is prime vacation month, and for many of us, that means more opportunities to read for pleasure. Before you take to the road, check out our guide to the 10 best books this month. Our reviewers leaned into fiction, because, well, it’s summer. The novels include two books on the immigrant experience, in which families try to blend the best of old and new worlds into lives that might be confusing, but hold vast riches. Why We Wrote ThisGreat reads abound in our 10 picks for this month.
“Freedom to Move,” by Ayşegül Savaş

Jul 14, 2024 | newyorker.com | Aysegul Savas

I was in Istanbul for a few days and on my way to visit my grandfather. He’d moved in with my father at the beginning of the pandemic because we had been worried about him living alone, in the town by the Black Sea where he’d retired. We’d urged him to come to the city, just for a short time. It had been a wise decision; my grandfather’s health deteriorated rapidly in those months, and his stay became indefinite.
"The Anthropologists," by Ayşegül Savaş — The Dial

Jul 9, 2024 | thedial.world | Aysegul Savas

Tereza lived two floors up from us. She was old in body but not in mind, even though she had begun to stumble over the language she’d spoken for forty years, after she left her own country. Before we became friends, she would find excuses to ring our doorbell. One time, it was to inform us that we should move our bikes, before work began in the courtyard.
A Novel That Weaves the Routine Fabric of Life Into a Vivid Tapestry

Jul 9, 2024 | nytimes.com | Aysegul Savas

And so the narrative follows as Asya and Manu visit a number of potential homes, and as Asya spends time filming and interviewing people in the park. And that's it. That's what makes up the dominant thread of the plot. But, as with life itself, the big events aren't necessarily what gives this book its delectable heat. As Asya and Manu pursue their two big goals, life rages on around them.