The Anthropologists

By: Aysegül Savas

Narrated by: Kathryn Aboya

Bloomsbury presents The Anthropologists by Aysegül Savas, read by Kathryn Aboya.

"Like Walter Benjamin, Aysegül Savas uncovers trapdoors to bewilderment everywhere in everyday life; like Henry James, she sees marriage as a mystery, unsoundably deep. The Anthropologists is mesmerizing; I felt I read it in a single breath." -Garth Greenwell

“Savas is an author who simply, and astoundingly, knows.” -Bryan Washington

Asya and Manu are looking at apartments, envisioning their future in a foreign city. What should their life here look like? What rituals will structure their days? Whom can they consider family?

As the young couple dreams about the possibilities of each new listing, Asya, a documentarian, gathers footage from the neighborhood like an anthropologist observing local customs. “Forget about daily life,” chides her grandmother on the phone. “We named you for a whole continent and you’re filming a park.”

Back in their home countries parents age, grandparents get sick, nieces and nephews grow up—all just slightly out of reach. But Asya and Manu’s new world is growing, too, they hope. As they open the horizons of their lives, what and whom will they hold onto, and what will they need to release?

Unfolding over a series of apartment viewings, late-night conversations, last rounds of drinks and lazy breakfasts, The Anthropologists is a soulful examination of homebuilding and modern love, written with Aysegül Savas’ distinctive elegance, warmth, and humor

©2024 Aysegül Savas (P)2024 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Can't say it's good

I suppose it represents the present and the "voice" of it. it might be, and it isn't bad, but the book remains somewhat foggy, the story not really attractive, the characters uninteresting.

Foreigners make a country their own

Almost boring but, good enough listen. I wanted more from the book, but the sparseness was thought provoking.

Quiet and intimate

I loved the quiet rituals of modern life and love. Filled with astute observations and every day grace.

The thing that stood out the most for me was being present and every moment of your day and learning yourself in the process

Like the idea of sharing your life story through the eyes of an anthropologist and current day versus historical time period.

Like reading a stranger’s diary

Fascinating read if you also like well-known titles including Late Night Talk Radio in Small Town America, Firsthand Accounts of Dust Bunnies Collecting Beneath the Sofa, and the Yellow Pages.

Small moments of meaning from the author’s ordinary life needn’t end up in a published book, let alone this couple’s endless worried fretting over decisions we each make. I was thankful for the excerpts of interviews at the park, each far more poignant than the primary narrative.