Nights of Plague

ORHAN PAMUK won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006. His novel My Name Is Red won the 2003 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. His work has been translated into more than sixty languages. He lives in Istanbul. Translated by Ekin Oklap. <p>In April 1900 on the imaginary island of Mingheria—the twenty-ninth state of the Ottoman Empire—tensions rise between its Muslim and Orthodox Greek populations as a deadly plague possibly brought by Muslim pilgrims or merchant vessels sparks a rebellion. To curb the epidemic Sultan Abdul Hamid II<br>dispatches a skilled Orthodox Christian quarantine expert but resistance from some Muslims a murder and incompetence in local governance hinder containment efforts. As the death toll climbs a Muslim doctor is also sent yet the quarantine’s failure prompts international intervention through a naval blockade. Now<br>the people of Mingheria are on their own and they must find a way to defeat the plague themselves. Steeped in history and rife with suspense <i>Nights of Plague</i> is an epic story set more than one hundred<br>years ago with themes that feel remarkably contemporary.</p>