Madonna in a Fur Coat

Legendary Turkish writer Sabahattin Ali became a late triumphal discovery for European literature. In his works, he revealed problems in relationships between cultures and ethnic groups through the example of ordinary people—and this quickly won him the favor of the literary bohemia. “Madonna in a Fur Coat” is a piercing “Remarque-like” love story of Raif Efendi, a descendant of a wealthy Ottoman family who—by the will of fate—turned into a minor official, and of the German artist Maria. The novel’s action takes place in the 1920s in Berlin and Ankara, and its atmosphere is close to Remarque’s pre-war novels. A significant part of the novel is Raif Efendi’s life story in Turkey and Germany, the twists and turns of his love for the German artist Maria Puder, and his spiritual searches and torments. The hero’s life in Europe unfolds against the background of a masterfully portrayed Germany of the period after its defeat in World War I.