NEW LIFE, THE - Faber

Osman, a young university student, becomes obsessed with a magical book that delves into the dangerous nature of love and self. He turns his back on home and family, abandons his studies and goes on a search for the meaning of the book's darker secrets. Part road novel, part metaphysical thriller, The new life was, on initial publication, the fastest- selling title in Turkish history. Displaying all of Pamuk's characteristic wit and elegance, it is a stunning evocation of a nation suspended perilously between east and west.