THE SAINT OF INCIPIENT INSANITIES by Elif Shafak
Publisher Farrar Straus & Giroux, September 2004
The stunning English-language debut of an acclaimed Turkish author
THE SAINT OF INCIPIENT INSANITIES is the comic and heartbreaking
story of a group of twenty-something friends, and their never-ending quest
for fulfillment.
Omer, Abed and Piyu are roommates, foreigners all recently arrived in the
United States. Omer, from Istanbul, is a Ph.D. student in political
science who adapts quickly to his new home, and falls in love with the
bisexual, suicidal, intellectual chocolate maker Gail. Gail is American
yet feels utterly displaced in her homeland and moves from one obsession
to another in an effort to find solid ground. Abed pursues a degree in
biotechnology, worries about Omer’s unruly ways, his mother’s
unexpected visit, and stereotypes of Arabs in America; he struggles to
maintain a connection with his girlfriend back home in Morocco. Piyu is a
Spaniard, who is studying to be a dentist in spite of his fear of sharp
objects, and is baffled by the many relatives of his Mexican-American
girlfriend, Algre, and in many ways by Algre herself.
Keenly insightful and sharply humorous, The Saint of Incipient
Insanities is a vibrant exploration of love, friendship, culture,
nationality, exile and belonging.
"This is an exhilarating roller coaster ride of a novel-a
breathless and vivid journey into the lives of a motley assortment of
brilliant, obsessive, and often troubled young immigrants, and an American
whom one of them marries. With its themes of displacement, its Boston-area
setting, and its ease with academic topics, Shafak's novel suggests Jhumpa
Lahiri's The Namesake with the amplifier cranked up all the way to
eleven. A work replete with dazzling wordplay, an infatuation with pop
culture, and a fearless intellect, The Saint of Incipient Insanities marks
Elif Shafak as a compellingly original voice in 21st Century
fiction."
-- Adam Langer, author of Crossing California
"Elif Shafak offers us an indelibly haunting portrait of
contemporary America, in all its sexual/ethno/religious contortions.
Goofy, sad, wise, and heart-breakingly funny, her novel is a bittersweet
delight to read."
--Fernanda Eberstadt, author of The Furies
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