From a grand villa in Smyrna to a silk plantation near Mount Olympus, from a little cottage in a dusty town to the indifferent apartments of a modern day high rise, SEVEN HOUSES charts the rocky, uncertain course of one family's ever-shifting fortunes across the twentieth century. As her characters' communal baths and odalisques give way to laptops and cell phones, Alev Lytle Croutier renders a world that is rich with the portents of history and the magic of true faith. In the shdow of World War I, the young widow Esma falls helplessly in love with the man who tutors her sons. Their union results in the birth of Aida, whose magical beauty brings pleasure and pain in equal measure. Esma's granddaughter, Amber, whose sheltered childhood on her uncle's plantation ends with frightening abruptness, finds solace in the American music on her transistor radio. The passions and secrets of the women of SEVEN HOUSES reach a stunning culmination when Amber returns to Smyrna with Nellie, her American-born daughter. In this emotional pilgrimage to the land of Nellie's ancestors, Croutier's enchanting, utterly captivating novel comes full circle.
Alev Lytle Croutier is the most widely published woman novelist of Turkish origin whose books have been translated into 23 languages.
Croutier was born in Izmir, Turkey, studied Literature at Robert College in Istanbul, Art History at Oberlin College,and film Studies at NYU. She has written and directed films in Japan, Turkey, Europe, and the US and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship (the first ever for a screenplay)for "Tell Me a Riddle," based on Tillie Olsen's acclaimed novel.
Croutier also founded Mercury House publishing company in San Francisco and served as the executive editor for almost a decade--editing numerous books, and actively supporting writers in diverse cultures, including Nobel recepients, in getting published.
Croutier has been in numerous radio shows and TV documentaries. She has also taught at Dartmouth, Goddard, and San Francisco State Universities and lectures frequently at academic institutions, museums, libraries, and conferences on Orientalism, Middle Eastern women, harems, and Turkish culture.
