Review: Deserts and Mountains

By Yilmaz Alimoglu

Reviewed by Syed Aslam

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel Deserts and Mountains — from its memorable first chapter where the central character Ali Dogan goes through the agony of making the plan to leave his home in Canada to embark on a uncharted journey in search of answers to the last chapter. Ali migrated to Canada from Turkey and goes through the hardship which many emigrants face to achieve success. Ali is a highly technical person but he is also a Sufi, a religious man which caused the rift between him and his Canadian wife. Ali travels to several countries and in the end he finds the answer he was looking for.   The story looks simple but its execution is marvelous. Throughout the novel the author has done an excellent job of shining light on the culture, dogma, philosophy and history of the country Ali visited. He has presented it in a sophisticated and eloquent way with rich detail which makes the reading both pleasurable and informative. 

13-8