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Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at NYU Free admission
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“The Saint of Incipient Insanities is the comic and heartbreaking
story of a group of twenty-something friends, and their never-ending quest
for fulfillment. Omer, Abed and Piyu are roommates, foreigners all recently
arrived in the United States. Omer, from Istanbul, is a Ph.D. student
in political science who adapts quickly to his new home, and falls in
love with the bisexual, suicidal, intellectual chocolate maker Gail. Gail
is American yet feels utterly displaced in her homeland and moves from
one obsession to another in an effort to find solid ground. Abed pursues
a degree in biotechnology, worries about Omer's unruly ways, his mother's
unexpected visit, and stereotypes of Arabs in America; he struggles to
maintain a connection with his girlfriend back home in Morocco. Piyu is
a Spaniard, who is studying to be a dentist in spite of his fear of sharp
objects, and is baffled by the many relatives of his Mexican-American
girlfriend, Algre, and in many ways by Algre herself. Keenly insightful
and sharply humorous, The Saint of Incipient Insanities is a
vibrant exploration of love, friendship, culture, nationality, exile and
belonging.” ". . . Elif Shafak is the best author to come out of Turkey in the
last decade." “A work replete with dazzling wordplay, an infatuation with pop
culture, and a fearless intellect, The Saint of Incipient Insanities
marks Elif Shafak as a compellingly original voice in 21st Century fiction." "Elif Shafak offers us an indelibly haunting portrait of contemporary
America, in all its sexual/ethno/religious contortions. Goofy, sad, wise,
and heart-breakingly funny, her novel is a bittersweet delight to read."
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