THE HUNDRED DAYS' ISLAND & LEVANTINE TALES

<p>At the end of the Second World War Istanbul's wealthy families escaped to the Princes' Islands and for one hundred fleeting days each summer Büyükada became their world. Behind its elegant villas sunlit promenades and horse-drawn carriages another island emerged-a hidden community of widows merchants mistresses and dreamers each clinging to survival passion and scandal. In these vivid tales Gilbert D'Andria paints unforgettable portraits of post-war life on Büyükada: the proud community leader torn between love and duty the grieving widow making unthinkable choices the spirited women and flawed men whose stories echo with both laughter and tragedy. Woven with Levantine intrigue and Mediterranean color this is not the tourist's island-it is the one behind the curtain where lives unfold in raw honesty. The Hundred Days' Island & Levantine Tales is both a chronicle of a lost world and a timeless exploration of desire honor and the fragile theatre of human life.</p>