The Fisherman and His Son

In this humane, affecting tale of a Turkish couple who lose their child and find another, the internationally bestselling author of Disquiet explores the ethical questions surrounding immigration.

Fisherman Mustafa and his wife, Mesude, are devastated with grief for their son Deniz, who was lost at sea at seven years old. One day, Mustafa discovers the bodies of a woman and man in the water, likely refugees from Syria, Pakistan, or Afghanistan drowned as they attempted to reach Greece. Nearby, he also finds a baby boy, tied to a small inflatable boat and miraculously alive. Mustafa and Mesude at first welcome the child as a precious gift, a second Deniz, but when a woman appears, claiming to be his mother, they must make a painful decision.
Through their heart-wrenching story, Zülfü Livaneli sensitively evokes the struggles of migrants seeking a safer life in unknown, often hostile lands. In the process, he elucidates the history and culture of the Aegean, and the ecological destruction wreaked by corporations in the region.


About the Author
Zülfü Livaneli is Turkey's best-selling author and a political activist. Widely considered one of the most important Turkish cultural figures of our time, he is known for his novels that interweave diverse social and historical backgrounds, figures, and incidents, including the critically acclaimed Bliss (winner of the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award), Serenade for Nadia (Other Press, 2020), Disquiet (Other Press, 2021), The Last Island (Other Press, 2022), Leyla's House, and My Brother's Story, which have been translated into thirty-seven languages, won numerous international literary prizes, and been turned into movies, stage plays, and operas.

Brendan Freely was born in Princeton in 1959 and studied psychology at Yale University. His translations include Two Girls by Perihan Mağden, The Gaze by Elif Şafak, and Like a Sword Wound by Ahmet Altan.