The Bastard of Istanbul
# The Bastard of Istanbul

The Bastard of Istanbul is a 2006 novel by Turkish bestselling author Elif Shafak, written originally in English and published by Viking Adult. It was translated by Aslı Biçen into her native language Turkish under the title Baba ve Piç in March 2006, and became a bestseller.

## Summary

The story is centered around the characters of Asya Kazancı and Armanoush Tchakhmakhchian. It is set in Tucson, Arizona; San Francisco, California; and Istanbul, Turkey. The novel deals with their families and how they are connected through the events of the 1915 Armenian genocide. At age nineteen, Armanoush travels secretly to Istanbul to search for her Armenian roots.

## Theatre adaptation

The novel was adapted into a theatre play in Italian language by Angelo Savelli titled La Bastarda Di Istanbul, and was staged by Teatro di Rifredi in Florence, Italy. Its premiere took place on March 3, 2015 starring Turkish actress Serra Yılmaz.

## Trial against the author

In June 2006, Kemal Kerinçsiz, a nationalist lawyer, sued Elif Shafak for allegedly "insulting Turkishness" in her novel by dealing with the Armenian Genocide in the last years of the Ottoman Empire. The lawsuit was opened at Istanbul's Beyoğlu district court in accordance with Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code. After the prosecutor dropped the charges due to lack of insult, the lawyer refiled his complaint at a higher court, the Beyoglu 2nd Court of First Instance, in July 2006.

Shafak faced a sentence of up to three years in prison for the remarks made in her novel. In September 2006, the court, attended also by Joost Lagendijk, co-chair of the delegation to the EU–Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, acquitted her of criminal charges due to lack of legal grounds for the crime in question and insufficient evidence in the controversial trial.

## Translations

* Turkey Baba ve Piç, by Metis (Istanbul, 2006)
* Lebanon لقيطة اسطنبول, by منشورات الجمل (Beirut, 2006)
* France La Bâtarde d'Istanbul, by Phébus (Paris, 2007)
* Germany Der Bastard von Istanbul, by Eichborn Verlag (Frankfurt am Main, 2007)
* Netherlands De bastaard van Istanbul, by De Geus (Breda, 2007)
* Brazil De volta a Istambul, by Nova Fronteira (Rio de Janeiro, 2007)
* Norway Bastarden fra Istanbul, by Aschehoug (Oslo, 2008)
* Italy La Bastarda di Istanbul, by Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli (Milano, 2009)
* Spain La bastarda de Estambul, by Editorial Lumen (Barcelona, 2009)
* Albania Bastardja e Stambollit, by Bota Shqiptare (Tirana, 2010)
* Lithuania Stambulo pavainikė, by Tyto Alba (Vilnius, 2021)
* Poland Bękart ze Stambułu, by Wydawnictwo Literackie (Kraków, 2010)
* Sweden Bastarden från Istanbul, by Förlag 2244 (Stockholm, 2011)
* Finland Kirottu Istanbul, by Gummerus (Helsinki, 2012)
* Armenia Ստամբուլի բիճը by Antares (Yerevan, 2012)
* Romania Bastarda Instanbulului by Polirom (Bucharest, 2012)
* China 《伊斯坦布尔孤儿》 by Shanghai Literature & Art Publishing House（Shanghai, 2014）
* Portugal A Bastarda de Istambul by Jacarandá Editora (Lisbon, 2015)
* Serbia Istanbulsko kopile by Laguna (Belgrade, 2012)
* Greece To μπάσταρδο της Κωνσταντινούπολης by A.A.Livani (Athens, 2007)
