Dervishes: A Novel [Paperback]

Beth Helms (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008

The richly textured, panoramic story of an American mother and daughter stuck in the expatriate community of Ankara, Turkey, in 1975--each of them trying to discover a life in the larger world, each in way over her head

 

When she is twelve years old, Canada moves with her mother and father to Ankara, Turkey, where her father has been stationed by the government. It is 1975--the Cold War is in full swing and tensions in the Middle East are escalating. But in Ankara's diplomatic community, the days are lazy and indulgent--one long cocktail party. While her father routinely disappears on official business, Canada and her mother, Grace, find themselves in the company of gossipy embassy wives and wealthy Turkish women, immersed in a routine of card games and afternoons at the baths. By the time summer comes, and the city's electricity shuts down from dawn to dusk, mother and daughter can no longer tolerate the insular society--or each other.

Alternating between their perspectives, Dervishes follows Canada and Grace as they set out into the larger city: Grace is drawn to the lover of her wealthy, manipulative Turkish friend; Canada competes with another girl for the attentions of an arrogant Turkish houseboy, one who knows all their mothers' secrets. Before long, both are in over their heads, and their transgressions threaten to strand them between the safe island of westerners and a strange city that guards its secrets fiercely.

Written with sensuousness and empathy, Beth Helms's debut is the story of a mother and daughter cut loose from their foundations, hungry for independence but dangerously naive.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Helms's mesmerizing debut novel (after story collection American Wives) takes readers to Ankara, Turkey, in the mid-1970s, where 12-year old Canada lives with her mother, Grace, and her father, Rand, whose intelligence career is shrouded in secrecy and sends the family to far-flung locales. By the time they're posted to Ankara, Canada is grappling with the inevitable insecurities and yearnings of puberty, and Grace feels trapped in a loveless marriage. Even when Rand is home, he shows little interest in domestic affairs, leaving Grace mainly to socialize with other Western expatriates and a small circle of wealthy Turks. Partly as a consequence of having lived so long in a world of secrets and cover stories, Grace hasn't learned how to relate to people (or how to let them relate to her), while Canada is mired in her own parallel, secretive universe of cruel adolescence. Helms uses dazzling imagery to mine the cultural and economic divides between the diplomatic enclaves and Turkish Ankara, as well as the chasm between Canada and Grace, which widens as they seek validation outside their home, with unforeseen consequences. Elegant prose and exacting insight illuminate Helms's tale of intrigue and deception. (Mar.)
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Review

"Set against a backdrop of clashing cultures, Dervishes is a story of duplicity, betrayal, and the cost of keeping secrets. . . . A brilliant, moving, and utterly riveting debut. The end will leave you gasping."--Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants

"Not since Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things have I read a first novel so perfectly executed from start to finish, so evocative of place and time. Helms is a master."--Kate Walbert, author of Our Kind and The Gardens of Kyoto

"Mesmerizing . . . Elegant prose and exacting insight illuminate Helms's tale of intrigue and deception."--Publishers Weekly (starred)

"What an elegant, wrenching storm of a novel! Beth Helms writes in crystalline, luminous prose that is reminiscent of the finest of James Salter's novels. Not since The Great Gatsby have I read a tragedy quite like this one."--Rick Bass, author of The Lives of Rocks

 

Praise for Beth Helms's story collection American Wives, winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award

"Fantastic! . . . There's no silver lining in Helms's stories, no end of the rainbow. . . .  A brave writer."--Los Angeles Times

"Beautifully polished stories . . . splendid . . . readers will do well to watch for future publications by [Beth Helms]."--The Dallas Morning News

"The subtle and surprisingly sad representation of love will leave the reader astonished."--The Virginia Quarterly Review

"American Wives is dangerous, politically perceptive, eminently skillful, and heralds a promising new voice."--Jayne Anne Phillips, author of MotherKind

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 313 pages
• Publisher: Picador; 1st edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312426194
• ISBN-13: 978-0312426194
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,621,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written offer from debut author, April 13, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dervishes: A Novel (Paperback)

Dervishes is a beautifully written novel set against the backdrop of Turkey. The writer does such a great job of describing the scenes without overwhelming the reader.

It is about an American family who has been transferred to Turkey by the U.S. Government. The father is an Ambassador, and they move frequently. He sometimes spends months away from his wife and daughter for business-and he is very secretive.

Canada is just your average twelve-year-old girl. Well, as average as she can be with moving frequently and learning new languages. She quickly makes a new friend and is soon learning her way around the city and observing her surroundings.

Grace struggles to find her place, as well as be a wife and mother. Trying to fit in with the other wives left behind by their traveling husbands, she soon spends her days drinking and socializing.

Before long, Grace and Canada seem to be growing apart while they struggle to find their place in this strange world. Disgusted with one another during the hot summer months, Grace and Canada move out beyond the local swimming pools and parties-into the city. But neither is quite prepared to maneuver on her own in Turkey, and they are soon adrift in a civilization they can't possibly grasp.

As the plot develops, the cultural differences between East and West begin to alter the storyline. With well-developed characters, a well-crafted plot, and a surprise ending, this story is an enjoyable read.

Beth Helms does a superb job with her first debut novel. I will be recommending this beautiful written novel to my friends.

Armchair Interview agrees.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, April 28, 2008

By 

Gwendolyn Dawson "Literary License" (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dervishes: A Novel (Paperback)

The wife of a government agent (Grace) and her daughter (Canada) take turns telling the story of a year (1975-76) spent in Ankara, Turkey. Mother and daughter struggle with an often absent and alcoholic father and with their position as outsiders in a foreign culture. While attempting to find validation and love outside the home, each finds herself in morally precarious circumstances, which ultimately lead to serious consequences. At one point late in the book, Canada remembers seeing dervishes dance and describes the figures as "isolated, spinning endlessly in place." This is the source of the book's title and is also the perfect metaphor for what Canada and her mother are doing in Turkey.

Helms captures her foreign location with evocative accounts of local locations, customs, smells, and even personalities (the archetypal Turkish houseboy, for example). Dervishes also reveals the positive influence of Helms's experience as a short story writer. Like a good short story, Dervishes is precisely written with close attention to detail, leaving the impression that every experience or memory is an important part of the narrative whole. Although the narration is tightly controlled, Dervishes does not shy away from the ambiguity and messiness of human experience. In other words, the story is cleanly told but is far from clean. If any complaint can be made about this book, it's that Canada sometimes speaks with a voice well beyond her supposed 12 years. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine Writing, Wonderful Debut, April 23, 2008

By 

Sandra Novack "Sandy" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dervishes: A Novel (Paperback)

Helms is a writer with conviction and poise, and Dervishes is a finely crafted work. Gorgeous writing, lovely descriptions, and a fine debut overall. I admire the way the story weaves back and forth between Canada's more removed perspective and Grace's chapters structured in the present tense. The ending is startling and yet fitting with the overall plot. A recommended read.