A gay couple’s 40-year relationship is imperiled by a new arrival to their sleepy island paradise: The Birdcage as done by Highsmith.
Fehmi and Şener have been together forty years—no small feat for any pair, but especially admirable for a gay couple in Turkey. Behind closed doors, their life on Büyükada, an idyllic island near Istanbul, is like a powder keg that needs only one spark to blow. That spark soon comes in the form of Deniz, the wildly handsome and troubled teenager next door, who immediately catches Fehmi’s eye.
This ‘harmless’ crush immediately raises Şener’s hackles; although he doesn’t think Deniz would ever reciprocate Fehmi’s feelings, it’s not a risk he’s willing to take. But when one betrayal leads to another, Deniz hatches a plan, and the sultry summer takes a dark turn as the couple’s relationship is put to the test like never before. Will lust or love win the day? One thing’s for sure: not everyone will be getting out of this love triangle alive.
Dishy, suspenseful, and boiling over with black humor, Yiğit Karaahmet’s debut makes a fierce political statement about supporting ‘gay wrongs’ while also introducing a shockingly lovable pair of antiheroes who could be Tom Ripley’s grandfathers.
Genre: Mystery
Fehmi and Şener have been together forty years—no small feat for any pair, but especially admirable for a gay couple in Turkey. Behind closed doors, their life on Büyükada, an idyllic island near Istanbul, is like a powder keg that needs only one spark to blow. That spark soon comes in the form of Deniz, the wildly handsome and troubled teenager next door, who immediately catches Fehmi’s eye.
This ‘harmless’ crush immediately raises Şener’s hackles; although he doesn’t think Deniz would ever reciprocate Fehmi’s feelings, it’s not a risk he’s willing to take. But when one betrayal leads to another, Deniz hatches a plan, and the sultry summer takes a dark turn as the couple’s relationship is put to the test like never before. Will lust or love win the day? One thing’s for sure: not everyone will be getting out of this love triangle alive.
Dishy, suspenseful, and boiling over with black humor, Yiğit Karaahmet’s debut makes a fierce political statement about supporting ‘gay wrongs’ while also introducing a shockingly lovable pair of antiheroes who could be Tom Ripley’s grandfathers.
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"With flair, Summerhouse skewers the supposed safety of the closet and the faux tolerance of wealthy Turkish society, serving up a pair of elder-queer antiheroes whose passions are as ungovernable as their taste is exquisite. I loved this bleakly funny thriller!" - Katharine Beutner
"A gorgeous, thrilling tale of gay lovers celebrating their fortieth anniversary on an idyllic island when a handsome teenager moves next door. Beauty abounds in the world and prose, arresting the characters, and this reader too, as the forces of homophobia, desire, and jealousy conspire to alter our lives forever. Summerhouse is an unforgettable novel about the explosive nature of lust in a violent society." - Kyle Dillon Hertz
"Sultry, sinister, and absolutely compelling. Summerhouse lures you in with its gorgeously evocative writing and immersive setting, but as the shocking reality is revealed, this seductive page-turner evolves into a twisty and surprising Hitchcock-meets-Highsmith thriller. I gasped at the ending--honestly gasped! And I am still haunted by it." - Hank Phillippi Ryan
"Each turn in this twisted romp of a novel caught me by surprise. And yet, every time the island's inhabitants dug themselves into and out of another hole, I found myself nodding along. What is a gay summer, after all, if not a series of regrettable choices fueled by lust, longing, music, drugs, and jealousy? In wry, beautiful prose, Summerhouse suggests that just beyond the limits of what we thought we could do and endure might lie an unexpected freedom." - Craig Willse
"A gorgeous, thrilling tale of gay lovers celebrating their fortieth anniversary on an idyllic island when a handsome teenager moves next door. Beauty abounds in the world and prose, arresting the characters, and this reader too, as the forces of homophobia, desire, and jealousy conspire to alter our lives forever. Summerhouse is an unforgettable novel about the explosive nature of lust in a violent society." - Kyle Dillon Hertz
"Sultry, sinister, and absolutely compelling. Summerhouse lures you in with its gorgeously evocative writing and immersive setting, but as the shocking reality is revealed, this seductive page-turner evolves into a twisty and surprising Hitchcock-meets-Highsmith thriller. I gasped at the ending--honestly gasped! And I am still haunted by it." - Hank Phillippi Ryan
"Each turn in this twisted romp of a novel caught me by surprise. And yet, every time the island's inhabitants dug themselves into and out of another hole, I found myself nodding along. What is a gay summer, after all, if not a series of regrettable choices fueled by lust, longing, music, drugs, and jealousy? In wry, beautiful prose, Summerhouse suggests that just beyond the limits of what we thought we could do and endure might lie an unexpected freedom." - Craig Willse
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