Review of Turkey Street: Jack and Liam Move to Bodrum by Jack Scott
Jack Scott was born on a British army base in Canterbury, England in 1960 and spent part of his childhood in Malaysia as a ‘forces brat.’ A fondness for men in uniforms quickly developed. At the age of eighteen and determined to dodge further education, he became a shop boy on London’s trendy King’s Road: ‘Days on the tills and nights on the tiles were the best probation for a young gay man about town’. After two carefree years, Jack swapped sales for security and got a proper job with a pension attached. In his late forties, passionately dissatisfied with suburban life and middle management, he and his husband abandoned the sanctuary of liberal London for an uncertain future in Turkey.
Turkey Street, by Jack Scott is at once a charming travel memoir and a smart, sassy commentary on how a small community of expatriates — including a British gay couple — get along each day in foreign lands such as Turkey, where the book takes place.
Jack and Liam have gone to the tiny town of Bodrum along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts on an extended holiday from the dank fogs of London. This is the story of the outrageous people they meet and the oftentimes funny, sometimes poignant, situations in which they find themselves.
Seen primarily through the eyes of Jack, the neighborhood comes alive with warmth and hospitality at their arrival. Their Turkish landlady, Beril, seems to think that by fixing them any one of two dozen Turkish dishes, she can put a bad mood or situation instantly better. Her efforts are met with long-suffering patience by Jack and Liam, whose domestic devotion — if not always bliss — shines through the entire narrative.
We meet many characters of note. There’s Sophia, a one-time aspiring film star, but now “a resolutely single, well-appointed Turkish widow with dazzling white hair fashioned into a bun and a heart in a million pieces” even years after the death of her diplomat husband.
There’s Sean, Liam’s severely handicapped younger brother, whose “overfriendly’ demeanor makes him many friends. Liam is fiercely protective of him, even after thirty years, and agonizes when he must finally put him in a home when their mother can no longer care for him.
“Liam helped Sean from his wheelchair and the two brothers sat side by side on the small bed, hands held, sensing the overwhelming inevitability of a situation neither of them could change.”
We meet Nancy, whose faithless love for a sea captain outweighs her good sense. “Nancy’s pneumatic chest heaved and her heart pounded expectantly, like a virgin on her wedding night.”
And, we meet Grit, the innkeeper of a one-star establishment called the Otel Latmos. “There was no disguising it. Grit was a bit of a gorilla. Six feet and more in her cross-hikers, she had the lumbering gait of a silverback.”
Ultimately, however, this is a tale about Jack and Liam’s devotion to each other and how they weather the ups and downs common to any relationship, and his deft treatment of the story — told with humor and grace — speaks volumes for how much they care for one another.
Overall, I found the book to be well-written and insightful — particularly on the subject of Turkey and its status in the world community. I give Turkey Street an unqualified five stars.
