The outsider: Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak has won numerous fans for the ambitious scope of her work, but the acclaimed author remains a highly polarising figure in her homeland of Turkey.

As human beings, as the Sufis used to say, we are all interconnected. None of us has the privilege of saying “I don’t care what’s happening elsewhere”, because what’s happening elsewhere might affect our lives. If someone is miserable in Pakistan, it might affect someone living in Canada. We know it. Elif Shafak: ‘I miss Istanbul, I go back for a while, I miss my freedom, I run away from Istanbul: Picture: Justin Sutcliffe
As human beings, as the Sufis used to say, we are all interconnected. None of us has the privilege of saying “I don’t care what’s happening elsewhere”, because what’s happening elsewhere might affect our lives. If someone is miserable in Pakistan, it might affect someone living in Canada. We know it. Elif Shafak: ‘I miss Istanbul, I go back for a while, I miss my freedom, I run away from Istanbul: Picture: Justin Sutcliffe

Elif ...