Blood Tie

by Mary Lee Settle

Book Overview

1978 National Book Award for Fiction - Settle has done a remarkable job of capturing a culture that is, in a sense, the most important character in her book.--New York Times

In a novel that begins with accidental death and ends with deliberate murder, an ecclectic collection of American and European expatriates take refuge in an ancient Turkish city and wreak havoc on the Aegean paradise. At first the characters, who...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570030979
• ISBN13: 9781570030970
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
• Length: 386 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

unsettling but with a measure of power

An odd novel, Blood Tie has some stretches which leave the reader wondering where this novel is going, if at all. Yet through some clever moves, Settle makes the novel redeem itself, if the reader can hang on through some midcourse excursions. The strongest part of the work is Settle's exploitation of the theme of blood (as in the title) which gets strung along throughout, from hand prints on a cave wall, to the bloody body of a beating victim. The moral is, I suppose, that sacrifice is sacrifice, and in the modern world, the results can be very ambiguous indeed. In a world where people are being squeezed by internal and external forces they can't control, what is the point of sacrifice, in any form, at all?

A delightful book combining several stories in one!

Her "Turkish Reflections" is also a marvellous read. This time, the author offers a true story in a "fictional" format along with her escapades in Bodrum. Her ability to understand and convey to readers Turkish cultural nuances is remarkable. The story itself is wonderful. Enjoy!

My favorite work of fiction

In ways reminiscent of "The Ugly American", "Blood Tie" explores the lives of a group of expatriates and reveals the impacts they have on the Turks living in a small coastal community along the Aegean. Settle does a beautiful and poignant job of immersing the reader in the landscape and lives of the characters. The story is believable and accurate. Her writing transported me back the town on which the setting is based. Excellent reading for those seeking to understand social transformations taking place in Turkey in recent decades.