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The Carpet Weaver of Usak
From USA Today Bestselling author Kathryn Gauci- A haunting story of a deep friendship between two women, one Greek, one Turk. A friendship that transcends an era of mistrust, and fear, long after the wars have ended.“Springtime and early summer are always beautiful in Anatolia. Hardy winter crocuses, blooming in their thousands, are followed by blue muscari which adorn the meadows like glorious sapphires on a silk carpet.” Aspasia and Saniye are friends from childhood. They share their secrets and joy, helping each other in times of trouble. When WWI breaks, the news travels to the village, but the locals have no idea how it will affect their lives. When the war ends the Greeks come to the village, causing havoc, burning houses and shooting Turks. The residents regard each other with suspicion. Their world has turned upside down, but some of the old friendships survive, despite the odds. But the Greeks are finally defeated, and the situation changes once more, forcing the Greeks to leave the country. Yet, the friendship between the villagers still continues. Many years later, in Athens, Christophorus tells his grandson, and his daughter, Elpida, the missing parts of the story, and what he had to leave behind in Asia Minor. A story of love, friendship, and loss; a tragedy that affects the lives of many on both sides of the Aegean, and their struggle to survive under new circumstances, as casualties of a war beyond their control.If you enjoyed Louis de Berniers’ Birds Without Wings then you will love Kathryn Gauci’s The Carpet Weaver of Usak. “As she weaves her poignant story and characters with the expert hands of a carpet weaver.”
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 17, 2018
93 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
November 15, 2018
Gauci has always been able to spin a good yarn and set it against an accurate historical background. This story which starts gently, gathers pace wrapping up the reader in the realities and cruelty of war in the Ottoman province of Anatolia and for this reader, in particular, sorting out the reason why The Great War is more usually called World War One, (when many envisage a war fought only in the blood-soaked fields of Northern France,) ignoring the horrors endured in an area where for millennia Greek and Turkish people had co-existed. The colour in this book also comes from the author’s knowledgeable scholarship on carpet weaving and the detail almost weaves a carpet in front of us. Equally strongly portrayed are the different and traditional characters of the Greek villagers in Stavrodromi and the Turkish inhabitants of the adjoining village of Pinarbasi. Here is history described in simple and fascinating prose woven in to a believable story line, at times heartbreaking, at other times uplifting. Few authors have this gift.
November 17, 2018
Kathryn Gauci really knows her stuff about carpet weaving and textiles; we see not only the patterns and colours but also the carpet loom working. She has obviously done this herself and brings this to this intimate narrative of two women loving, struggling and rejoicing in stressful times.
But in her vivid descriptions of food, fabrics and everyday Anatolian village life, Gauci doesn't spare us the horrors. She cleverly gives us a sense of dread and desolation of war but without any gratuitous over description. We feel the powerlessness of families as their sons are conscripted despite trying to game the labyrinthine administration of the late Ottoman Empire.
What shines out is the love and mutual care of the principal characters' families across the ethnic divide, the love between one couple and the antipathy between the other. Occasionally, the tone becomes sentimental, but it is entirely within the context of the relationships.
A gentle way to learn of the terrible divide between Greek and Turkish peoples, and a well-written and enjoyable read with much skilful writing. Recommended.
But in her vivid descriptions of food, fabrics and everyday Anatolian village life, Gauci doesn't spare us the horrors. She cleverly gives us a sense of dread and desolation of war but without any gratuitous over description. We feel the powerlessness of families as their sons are conscripted despite trying to game the labyrinthine administration of the late Ottoman Empire.
What shines out is the love and mutual care of the principal characters' families across the ethnic divide, the love between one couple and the antipathy between the other. Occasionally, the tone becomes sentimental, but it is entirely within the context of the relationships.
A gentle way to learn of the terrible divide between Greek and Turkish peoples, and a well-written and enjoyable read with much skilful writing. Recommended.
December 2, 2020
Kathryn Gauci’s unique, expressive writing style combines a keen artist’s eye, compassion for her multi-faceted characters, and an ardent sensitivity to detail. This beautifully-written story transports the reader to a time and place not often visited. Highly recommended.
November 19, 2018
I was fascinated from the first chapter. The author has an extensive knowledge of carpet making, its history and craft and used this to weave a story set in Turkey around the first World War and the years that followed. Some of the events were familiar to me, while others set me on a path of research to learn more. It's a beautifully written, fascinating story and has prompted me to go in search of more titles by this author.
December 6, 2019
An incredible story.
It is 1970 in Athens, Christophorus relates his past in Asia Minor to his grandson.
Beginning in 1914, his story tells of the once thriving carpet weaving industry, the atrocities of war, not only World War I, but the the Asia Minor Catastrophe as well. The hardships and losses that he, his family and friends, and indeed the whole country faced were astronomical.
This book is so brilliantly written and researched; it is a very moving and compelling read, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
It is 1970 in Athens, Christophorus relates his past in Asia Minor to his grandson.
Beginning in 1914, his story tells of the once thriving carpet weaving industry, the atrocities of war, not only World War I, but the the Asia Minor Catastrophe as well. The hardships and losses that he, his family and friends, and indeed the whole country faced were astronomical.
This book is so brilliantly written and researched; it is a very moving and compelling read, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
September 22, 2018
Broken homes, broken lives and lasting friendships
Western Anatolia, a place where two cultures peacefully live next to each other, in their villages, Stavrodromi and Pınarbaşı, and the village square they share symbolizes their camaraderie in the form of the Fountain of the Sun and Moon. The Greek Orthodox residents and Muslim Turks celebrate each other’s traditions and learn from their respective cultures.
The female inhabitants of both villages are expert carpet weavers who sell their work to the traders in Uşak, the centre of the province. These are the last days of the Ottoman Empire where capitulations have been granted to the Levantines in İzmir, Istanbul and other important trade centres in the country.
The inhabitants of both villages know very little of the world outside their surroundings and Uşak, and continue their business as usual, cohabiting in the same geography.
Aspasia and Saniye are friends from childhood. They share their secrets and joy, and help each other in times of trouble. Sometimes they need the advice of Ayşe Bacı, Saniye’s mother-in-law, sometimes they listen to Aspasia’s elders. Both are childless, but finally Aspasia gives birth to a daughter, Elpida, and Saniye shares her friend’s joy.
When WWII breaks, the news travels to the village, but the locals have no idea about the conflict, nor how this will affect their lives. When the war ends and the Greek Army occupies Western Turkey, beginning with the İzmir area, things change. The Greeks come all the way to the village, causing havoc, burning houses and shooting the Turks who defy them. The Turkish and Greek residents regard each other with suspicion. Their world has turned upside down, but some of the old friendships survive, despite the odds.
When Atatürk’s War of Independence begins, and the Greeks are finally defeated, the situation changes once more, forcing the Greeks to leave the country. Yet, the friendship between the villagers of different cultures still continues. The Greeks who helped the Turks during the Greek occupation, are now helped and supported by the Turks.
Aspasia is pregnant again, about to give birth. Her husband, Christophorus, has found an escape route with the help of Saniye’s husband, Cemal, and Ayşe Bacı.
Will they be able to escape? Will they ever see each other again or their village?
Many years later, in Athens, Christophorus tells his grandson, and his daughter, Elpida, the missing parts of the story, and what he had to leave behind in Asia Minor.
A story of love, friendship, and loss; a tragedy that affects the lives of many on both sides of the Aegean, and their struggle to survive under new circumstances, as casualties of a war beyond their control.
Kahryn Gauci weaves her poignant story and characters with the expert hands of a carpet weaver, bringing out the colours and the dark threads with each knot that goes into the loom.
Western Anatolia, a place where two cultures peacefully live next to each other, in their villages, Stavrodromi and Pınarbaşı, and the village square they share symbolizes their camaraderie in the form of the Fountain of the Sun and Moon. The Greek Orthodox residents and Muslim Turks celebrate each other’s traditions and learn from their respective cultures.
The female inhabitants of both villages are expert carpet weavers who sell their work to the traders in Uşak, the centre of the province. These are the last days of the Ottoman Empire where capitulations have been granted to the Levantines in İzmir, Istanbul and other important trade centres in the country.
The inhabitants of both villages know very little of the world outside their surroundings and Uşak, and continue their business as usual, cohabiting in the same geography.
Aspasia and Saniye are friends from childhood. They share their secrets and joy, and help each other in times of trouble. Sometimes they need the advice of Ayşe Bacı, Saniye’s mother-in-law, sometimes they listen to Aspasia’s elders. Both are childless, but finally Aspasia gives birth to a daughter, Elpida, and Saniye shares her friend’s joy.
When WWII breaks, the news travels to the village, but the locals have no idea about the conflict, nor how this will affect their lives. When the war ends and the Greek Army occupies Western Turkey, beginning with the İzmir area, things change. The Greeks come all the way to the village, causing havoc, burning houses and shooting the Turks who defy them. The Turkish and Greek residents regard each other with suspicion. Their world has turned upside down, but some of the old friendships survive, despite the odds.
When Atatürk’s War of Independence begins, and the Greeks are finally defeated, the situation changes once more, forcing the Greeks to leave the country. Yet, the friendship between the villagers of different cultures still continues. The Greeks who helped the Turks during the Greek occupation, are now helped and supported by the Turks.
Aspasia is pregnant again, about to give birth. Her husband, Christophorus, has found an escape route with the help of Saniye’s husband, Cemal, and Ayşe Bacı.
Will they be able to escape? Will they ever see each other again or their village?
Many years later, in Athens, Christophorus tells his grandson, and his daughter, Elpida, the missing parts of the story, and what he had to leave behind in Asia Minor.
A story of love, friendship, and loss; a tragedy that affects the lives of many on both sides of the Aegean, and their struggle to survive under new circumstances, as casualties of a war beyond their control.
Kahryn Gauci weaves her poignant story and characters with the expert hands of a carpet weaver, bringing out the colours and the dark threads with each knot that goes into the loom.
October 9, 2018
Not many of us know much about the old problems between Greece and Turkey. Many small villages on both sides lived cosy blinkered lives of kindness and domestic concentration where the local Greeks and Turks were great friends and knew neither animosity nor racial jealousy. When war between the countries broke out, these villages often remained uncomfortable with the anger and killing. The Turks helped the Greeks when Turkey claimed victory. Then when Greece claimed victory, the Greeks helped the turks who had always been their neighbours.
This situation is beautifully described, and centres around characters of genuine feeling and courage as they struggle through the terrible problems that war always brings. Dreadful poverty sweeps through areas where once everyone lived in sufficiency. The awful consequences rage into shocking colour as we sympathise deeply for the characters who seem so alive.
Everything comes alive within these pages. We cry with the pain and desperation, we smile and sigh for the kind understanding and courageous help the villages share with each other. History leaps into reality and we learn to care not only for the people but also for their lost traditions and faiths.
I highly recommend this book. It was a pleasure to read, and although it is not always a happy tale, it is always gripping.
This situation is beautifully described, and centres around characters of genuine feeling and courage as they struggle through the terrible problems that war always brings. Dreadful poverty sweeps through areas where once everyone lived in sufficiency. The awful consequences rage into shocking colour as we sympathise deeply for the characters who seem so alive.
Everything comes alive within these pages. We cry with the pain and desperation, we smile and sigh for the kind understanding and courageous help the villages share with each other. History leaps into reality and we learn to care not only for the people but also for their lost traditions and faiths.
I highly recommend this book. It was a pleasure to read, and although it is not always a happy tale, it is always gripping.
October 29, 2018
Another, in a group of books about the life of Greek people in the Ottoman Empire at the time that tensions became extremely high. The story is based around two couples of different heritage from a pair of villages that share a common well. Tensions rise over the course of the book to a point where a father has to make a really hard decision.
The background to the book is the carpet weaving industry, where hand knotting occurs in the villages, using the wool the carpet factory supplies. The author knows about carpets, and likes embroidery, so the textile parts of the story had me wanting pictures to be included. This book will help you to learn more of the history of the Greek and Turks.
The background to the book is the carpet weaving industry, where hand knotting occurs in the villages, using the wool the carpet factory supplies. The author knows about carpets, and likes embroidery, so the textile parts of the story had me wanting pictures to be included. This book will help you to learn more of the history of the Greek and Turks.
October 25, 2020
Wow, what an unforgettable, atmospheric read! From page one I was immersed into a world of two cultures - Greek and Turkish - which coexist peacefully in one village until the Great War breaks out and brings death and devastation to the region, uprooting populations and tearing families apart. Christophorus, a manager of a thriving carpet manufacturing and trading company, thinks himself to be blessed beyond measure with a job he loves and a new wife, Aspasia, he adores. However, he soon finds himself fighting a war that isn’t his own and where former friends and neighbors turn on each other and suspicion fills the very air they breathe. What follows is a tale of epic proportions that will leave you spellbound long after you close the book. I can guarantee you will feel as though you personally know the characters, which will make their plight even more personal.
The descriptions - clothes, scents, magnificent carpet designs, and culture, in general, are absolutely breathtaking. I rarely come across books which can so fully transport me into the world I’m reading about, but “The Carpet Weaver of Usak” did just that. I felt like I was watching a movie and not just reading a book, and I can only applaud Ms. Gauci for her writing talent. I truly can’t recommend this historical novel highly enough. Just like Aspasia’s carpets, it truly is a masterpiece.
The descriptions - clothes, scents, magnificent carpet designs, and culture, in general, are absolutely breathtaking. I rarely come across books which can so fully transport me into the world I’m reading about, but “The Carpet Weaver of Usak” did just that. I felt like I was watching a movie and not just reading a book, and I can only applaud Ms. Gauci for her writing talent. I truly can’t recommend this historical novel highly enough. Just like Aspasia’s carpets, it truly is a masterpiece.
January 18, 2019
Love the book. I read 'The Embroiderer' on my kindle reader. Loved it so much I ordered the hard cover for my collection. Just downloaded 'Seraphina's Song' and look forward to reading it. I lived in Greece for 12 year and some of these books always bring me back, specially to my summer house in Poros.
November 6, 2018
Most interesting!
What a terrible tale, as wars tear apart the lives of everyone in a village where previously one's religion was not more important than the warmth of your heart. It has the ring of truth about it...
What a terrible tale, as wars tear apart the lives of everyone in a village where previously one's religion was not more important than the warmth of your heart. It has the ring of truth about it...
October 3, 2018
Aspasia and Saniye, the former Greek Orthodox and the other Turkish, are two friends whose love and care for each other endures the terrible Greek-Turkish conflict between 1914 and 1919. These women live in Anatolia, a place of beauty and joy, where Greek and Turkish families celebrate frequently in the town center or meydan between the towns of Stavrodomi and Pinarbasi.
Usak is the nearby center of the carpet weaving industry. In the early period of 1914, Greeks and Turks work together to create these masterpieces that one can virtually see in the wonderful descriptions of old classical and new styles of designing and weaving rugs. Even the methods of creation are described as women work from home and some work from factories in hand-tying the strands that eventually become a completed rug. During those times of work, some workers have conversations that grow and unite these women stronger by the year. Husbands, lovers, pregnancies, family lives and death are united to the point that when the wars between Greeks and Turks begin, these women help each other give birth and survive with each other when their spouses are forced to serve for opposing sides. The carpet weaving industry almost disappears as war becomes more dangerous to all sides!
In the beginning, even in war, soldiers on both sides do their jobs. Many die and the sorrow is evident everywhere. But that doesn’t stop some from rescuing those who are in danger of capture. In 1919 the war becomes worse with the arrival of the Greeks at Smyrna. In the meydan, the Fountain of the Sun and Moon now becomes the place where punishments, mainly death sentences, carried out. The treasured unity is shattered!
Throughout this novel, many die or suffer from prevailing grief, lack of food, loss of children and spouses, and so much more. The author does such a good job at describing each scene that the reader is drawn into the entire account by numerous images that make one think and feel. What stands out, beside the horrors of this war that too few people are aware of, is the ties that bind these two friends and families when distrust prevails.
This is a story that readers will not soon forget, one that celebrates love, laughter, trust and endurance as well as what denies, divides and shatters tradition! Outstanding!!!
Usak is the nearby center of the carpet weaving industry. In the early period of 1914, Greeks and Turks work together to create these masterpieces that one can virtually see in the wonderful descriptions of old classical and new styles of designing and weaving rugs. Even the methods of creation are described as women work from home and some work from factories in hand-tying the strands that eventually become a completed rug. During those times of work, some workers have conversations that grow and unite these women stronger by the year. Husbands, lovers, pregnancies, family lives and death are united to the point that when the wars between Greeks and Turks begin, these women help each other give birth and survive with each other when their spouses are forced to serve for opposing sides. The carpet weaving industry almost disappears as war becomes more dangerous to all sides!
In the beginning, even in war, soldiers on both sides do their jobs. Many die and the sorrow is evident everywhere. But that doesn’t stop some from rescuing those who are in danger of capture. In 1919 the war becomes worse with the arrival of the Greeks at Smyrna. In the meydan, the Fountain of the Sun and Moon now becomes the place where punishments, mainly death sentences, carried out. The treasured unity is shattered!
Throughout this novel, many die or suffer from prevailing grief, lack of food, loss of children and spouses, and so much more. The author does such a good job at describing each scene that the reader is drawn into the entire account by numerous images that make one think and feel. What stands out, beside the horrors of this war that too few people are aware of, is the ties that bind these two friends and families when distrust prevails.
This is a story that readers will not soon forget, one that celebrates love, laughter, trust and endurance as well as what denies, divides and shatters tradition! Outstanding!!!
September 1, 2023
Oh, this book. My family was posted to Turkey for 6 years in the 1960s. Reading this book brought back the tastes, scents, textures, colors, and sights that were the wonders of Turkey. I already knew this history but Ms. Gauci managed to convey how interwoven the cultures & friendships of Greeks & Turks were for so many years. This book awakened so many glorious memories for me and I am grateful. This is not a subject often covered by Western writers but it's an important one nonetheless.
March 8, 2019
A wonderful read that takes the reader to another world before the war to end all wars. The reader is transported to world of the carpet weaver of Christophorous and his beloved Aspasia and how humans are not different the world over we just see it differently. I highly recommend it and cant wait for the author's next book.
February 22, 2019
I love historical novels that speak of other places and people, and The Carpet Weaver of USAK does that with flair and sensitivity. Once again Kathryn Gauci delivers a moving and thoroughly convincing story about Asia Minor, 1914 - 1923. This time she reveals to her readers the authentic lives of villagers in a small isolated hamlet in West Anatolia. The narrative’s central motif is the Fountain of the Sun and the Moon, gifted to the village by the owners of two cafes – a Greek and a Turk. The fountain is the lifeblood of their rural community and a potent symbol of two cultures living side by side – Christian and Muslim.
An assassination in the Balkans eventually brings war to the villagers’ very doors, and their way of life is brutally changed forever. In skillfully weaving the daily lives of her main characters, Gauci has chronicled the factual, devastating destiny of more than a million people.
From the beginning of this tale it is clear – as with The Embroiderer – the author has not only an intimate knowledge of carpet making, but a deep understanding and a genuine care for those who suffered in a way that is probably hard for many in the Western world to imagine. The Carpet Weaver of Usak is an unforgettable novel, its depth and richness firmly anchored in the historical events of time and place.
An assassination in the Balkans eventually brings war to the villagers’ very doors, and their way of life is brutally changed forever. In skillfully weaving the daily lives of her main characters, Gauci has chronicled the factual, devastating destiny of more than a million people.
From the beginning of this tale it is clear – as with The Embroiderer – the author has not only an intimate knowledge of carpet making, but a deep understanding and a genuine care for those who suffered in a way that is probably hard for many in the Western world to imagine. The Carpet Weaver of Usak is an unforgettable novel, its depth and richness firmly anchored in the historical events of time and place.
December 25, 2019
My first thoughts upon finishing this book is that it would be the BEST movie! This is the first book that I have read by Kathryn Gauci and I have already researched which one I want to read next. I had no idea until I read the notes at the end of the book that this was the third book in a trilogy, but it can totally be read as a stand alone. The first book is The Embroiderer and the second is Seraphina’s Song.
The story begins in 1970, Athens, with Christophorus telling his grandson his life story during the Asia Minor Catastrophe which took place from 1912 until 1922. Christophorus a Christian, Greek man lived peacefully amongst his people and the Turkish people in small villages outside of Usak. Usak was known for its expert carpet weavers. Life was peaceful.....until it wasn’t. It is a story of war, loss, love, pain, suffering and friendship as strong, possibly stronger than many family bonds. We all should experience friendship like Aspasia and Saniye and Christophorus and Farit Ali. The depth of their love for one another, despite their cultural differences and beliefs, is heart warming in a world gone mad. This is a part of history I did not know about. Thank you Kathryn Gauci for bringing it to light in your book, The Carpet Weaver of Usak and thank you Lori for recommending it.
The story begins in 1970, Athens, with Christophorus telling his grandson his life story during the Asia Minor Catastrophe which took place from 1912 until 1922. Christophorus a Christian, Greek man lived peacefully amongst his people and the Turkish people in small villages outside of Usak. Usak was known for its expert carpet weavers. Life was peaceful.....until it wasn’t. It is a story of war, loss, love, pain, suffering and friendship as strong, possibly stronger than many family bonds. We all should experience friendship like Aspasia and Saniye and Christophorus and Farit Ali. The depth of their love for one another, despite their cultural differences and beliefs, is heart warming in a world gone mad. This is a part of history I did not know about. Thank you Kathryn Gauci for bringing it to light in your book, The Carpet Weaver of Usak and thank you Lori for recommending it.
November 30, 2020
Another wonderful book by Kathryn Gauci. This is a story which is impacted by the WWI. While WW1 was a result of German/Austrian conflicts, the impacts spread through Europe to Greece and Turkey.
The villagers, from both Greece and Turkey, suffered the tragedies of a war they didn’t understand. Of those villagers two lifelong friends, Aspasia and Saniye, (one Greek and the other Turk) supported each other physically and emotionally through war, childbirth, marriage, death. Both were also tied to each other by the carpet weaving industry. Their skills were recognized by the industry – so much so that the weaving equipment was set up in-house. The industry, villages and their residents were impacted economically by the war. This is a story of these two women and their families. You are pulled in emotionally as both women suffer through death, poverty, loss of homes, history and culture while depending on each other and their memories. It’s a book I recommend for people like me who know nothing or little about how and why WW1’s propaganda spread into Greece and Turkey. Kathryn Gauci has the ability to take readers and place them in the story so they can wonder through the pages and connect emotionally with the characters . You can’t escape- you have to know!
The villagers, from both Greece and Turkey, suffered the tragedies of a war they didn’t understand. Of those villagers two lifelong friends, Aspasia and Saniye, (one Greek and the other Turk) supported each other physically and emotionally through war, childbirth, marriage, death. Both were also tied to each other by the carpet weaving industry. Their skills were recognized by the industry – so much so that the weaving equipment was set up in-house. The industry, villages and their residents were impacted economically by the war. This is a story of these two women and their families. You are pulled in emotionally as both women suffer through death, poverty, loss of homes, history and culture while depending on each other and their memories. It’s a book I recommend for people like me who know nothing or little about how and why WW1’s propaganda spread into Greece and Turkey. Kathryn Gauci has the ability to take readers and place them in the story so they can wonder through the pages and connect emotionally with the characters . You can’t escape- you have to know!
January 3, 2021
Rich in history and charged with emotion, Book 2 of the Asia Minor series left this reader feeling fortunate to have been born in a different time and era. Set in pre WWI and beyond, it is a historical fiction that leaves one appreciating the talent and strength of the carpet weavers and artisans of the time.
January 28, 2020
this was so noting completely devoid of narrative drive I know more about carpet colours than about the events the book is describing
December 3, 2019
“I’ve read many books, listened to speakers, heard the survivor’s stories, but there always seems to be something missing; something more personal…”
“Not even death will part us, my love.” Sometimes words transcend time. If only words could halt it. Days slip by almost unseen. Months, seasons, years — all gone in the blink of an eye. What was once is no more and what is to come hardly matters. Nothing can bring her back. Nothing.
The past haunts Christophorus Plato Stavrides, and yet he never speaks of it. His grief is silent — a private torture. All he has left of his beloved Aspasia is their daughter, an old photograph, some silk slippers, and a memory. What he would give to hold Aspasia in his arms again. To look into her gentle face, and make love to her under a starlight sky.
Aspasia had been a talented weaver of carpets. Such skill. Such dedication. Why? Why could the world not have left them alone? They had been happy. Content. They were meant to have had a life together. A long life. It would have been a life built on a foundation of love, family, and carpet weaving. What had they known of war? What had they known of hate? It was those in power that brought the death and the destruction, not them. Not their neighbours. Why? What different lives they could have had if the soldiers had not come.
However, time marches on regardless, and now Christophorus is an old man. It breaks Christophorus’ heart to know that his grandson, Christos, has no interest in the carpet weaving industry of his forefathers. It is a university education which Christos seeks — and with that comes questions. So many questions and until now, Christophorus has avoided answering them. His secrets were his to keep. But, the boy is persistent, and maybe it would not hurt to tell his grandson and his daughter the truth about what happened all those years ago. And although it will open wounds that have never really healed, Christophorus knows that his story and more importantly Aspasia’s story, should be told.
From the busy industrial town of Uşak, the tranquillity of the sleepy village of Stavrodromi and Pınarbaşı, to the horror of the battle at Sarıkamış and the desperate journey to the relative safety of Constantinople, The Carpet Weaver of Uşak, by Kathryn Gauci is the enthralling story of a village torn apart by war and a friendship that could never be destroyed.
Some books seduce you by their opening sentence and do not let go of you until the final full-stop. The Carpet Weaver of Uşak is such a book. Gauci has lavishly evoked the world in which this remarkable novel is set in, and she has woven a tale as complicated and yet as beautiful as any Turkish carpet design. The narrative is flawless, and the story is unforgettable.
Gauci deals with the history of this time with sensitivity as well as a realism that is almost tangible. The plight of the villagers of Stavrodromi and Pınarbaşı is utterly heartbreaking. Theirs was a sleepy village where for generations nothing had changed, and the fact that the inhabitants were a mix of Greek Orthodoxs and Muslim Turks mattered not. First and foremost, they were neighbours. Friends. And now they were being asked to hate each other. The relationships dynamics within the village during these troubled times was masterfully portrayed.
Gauci has embroidered into this book a kaleidoscope of emotions — love, hate, fear, forgiveness — nothing of human nature is left unexplored. The relationship between Aspasia and her best friend Saniye clearly demonstrated the love that these two women had for each other. According to the law they were meant to despise each other, and instead, they both performed extraordinary acts of courage to protect one another. It was very humbling to read.
Likewise, the gentle love story of Christophorus and Aspasia was a wonderful work of art. They are both highly appealing characters whom I adored instantly. Their story is utterly absorbing and incredibly heartwarming. Although, I will warn you, be prepared to shed a few tears — I certainly did.
The Carpet Weaver of Uşak is, without a doubt, a monumental work of scholarship. Not only does Gauci have a keen academic eye for the history of this era, as well as the history and traditions of carpet weaving, she also has a gift for what can only be described as crystalline storytelling. This is a story that does not threaten to mesmerise — it does.
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.
December 29, 2020
A powerful and deeply touching story
The Carpet Weaver of Usak grabbed me by the head and heart from the first page and refused to let go. In a clear and instantly captivating narrative, Gauci tells the story of the hostility that occurred between the Greek citizens of the Ottoman Empire and the Turks, similar to the old and never-ending animosity between the Turks and Armenians. Based on real events and meticulously researched, the scenes of the conflict are chilling to the bone. Set against the backdrop of political feuds, in the center of the novel, there is the moving story of two young women, Greek Aspasia and Turk Saniye, and their selfless friendship and sacrifice. I’m not giving away more—read this fascinating and humanity-oriented novel from an amazing author, Kathryn Gauci. I can’t help mentioning the author’s knowledge of the weaving craft that augmented the already fascinating narrative. I loved everything about this masterfully told, with a rich sense of time and place, book, even the tears I shed at its ending. Highly recommended.
The Carpet Weaver of Usak grabbed me by the head and heart from the first page and refused to let go. In a clear and instantly captivating narrative, Gauci tells the story of the hostility that occurred between the Greek citizens of the Ottoman Empire and the Turks, similar to the old and never-ending animosity between the Turks and Armenians. Based on real events and meticulously researched, the scenes of the conflict are chilling to the bone. Set against the backdrop of political feuds, in the center of the novel, there is the moving story of two young women, Greek Aspasia and Turk Saniye, and their selfless friendship and sacrifice. I’m not giving away more—read this fascinating and humanity-oriented novel from an amazing author, Kathryn Gauci. I can’t help mentioning the author’s knowledge of the weaving craft that augmented the already fascinating narrative. I loved everything about this masterfully told, with a rich sense of time and place, book, even the tears I shed at its ending. Highly recommended.
January 21, 2019
Who wants Gauci to reproduce a cooking book based on her novels? I do.
Seriously, Gauci is an amazingly accomplished author who writes seriously accomplished novels. I have read and immensely enjoyed all of Gauci's works, and was equally impressed with The Carpet Weaver of Usak, her latest full length novel. Just like Gauci's other works, it effortlessly immerses the reader in a time and place with important lessons for our times.
The Carpet Weaver of Usak is a true page turner and kept me reading, even when the subject matter was dark and brutal. I love Gauci's use of the five senses – her descriptions of food always make me so, so hungry – her adroit, sensitive construction of character and place, her obvious love and knowledge of art, and the crafts, which have been important to civilizations since the beginning of time, and how I always escape into her works, and emerge satisfied and enriched by a wonderful storyteller.
Seriously, Gauci is an amazingly accomplished author who writes seriously accomplished novels. I have read and immensely enjoyed all of Gauci's works, and was equally impressed with The Carpet Weaver of Usak, her latest full length novel. Just like Gauci's other works, it effortlessly immerses the reader in a time and place with important lessons for our times.
The Carpet Weaver of Usak is a true page turner and kept me reading, even when the subject matter was dark and brutal. I love Gauci's use of the five senses – her descriptions of food always make me so, so hungry – her adroit, sensitive construction of character and place, her obvious love and knowledge of art, and the crafts, which have been important to civilizations since the beginning of time, and how I always escape into her works, and emerge satisfied and enriched by a wonderful storyteller.
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March 28, 2019I found Kathryn Gauci’s latest book compelling and once started, hard to put down. It held my attention with its excellent descriptive storyline, carefully woven characters, cultural differences and at times difficult relationships within a small community, in a challenging environment, I found fascinating. The author was able to apply her background in carpet design (etc) with this well researched, sometimes tense, gripping and informative story. The characters became vivid when she described scenes and with an interesting historic background, this book is well worth reading.
August 14, 2021
Interesting historical novel of a little known era
Having spent 40 years the wife of an antique rug dealer with carpets of this lineage passing through our hands I was happy to read a little of the story of the weavers. I knew of their hardships but this engaging history told from a personal perspective put a face on the knots.
Having spent 40 years the wife of an antique rug dealer with carpets of this lineage passing through our hands I was happy to read a little of the story of the weavers. I knew of their hardships but this engaging history told from a personal perspective put a face on the knots.
December 30, 2018
The Carpet Weaver of USAK by Kathryn Gauci has received a Chill with a Book PREMIER Readers' Award.
www.chillwithabok.com
"Such a touching story, beautifully told. Every aspect of this book touches the heart."
Pauline Barclay - Founder of Chill with a Book Awards
www.chillwithabok.com
"Such a touching story, beautifully told. Every aspect of this book touches the heart."
Pauline Barclay - Founder of Chill with a Book Awards
June 29, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The descriptions of the village were so real I was there with them! This is a part of history I know nothing about but I’m learning fast after reading this and The Embroiderer.
The descriptions of the village were so real I was there with them! This is a part of history I know nothing about but I’m learning fast after reading this and The Embroiderer.
January 8, 2019
This book has received a Discovering Diamonds Review:
Helen Hollick
founder #DDRevs
"I expected to enjoy this book.And I did."
Helen Hollick
founder #DDRevs
"I expected to enjoy this book.And I did."
December 29, 2018
Set in a village called Stavrodomi not far from the town of Usak, Anatolia, a Greek couple, Christophorous and his young bride, Aspasia live an idyllic life, side by side with their Turkish neighbours who call their half of the village, Pinarbasi. Christophorous works for the Anatolian Carpet Manufacturers Ltd as a carpet manager and Aspasia is a carpet weaver who weaves the most sought after pieces with her long time Turkish friend, Saniye. The demand for quality carpets is high and life is good in early 1914.
But their bliss is shattered with the onset of World War 1 when the men of the village are forced to fight in horrific conditions for a cause they don’t understand. Not long after the end of the war, another conflict starts up when Greece invades in 1919. The two nationalities are pitted against each other and as the war progresses the Greek population are sent back to Greece despite the fact that they and their ancestors had lived there for generations. The two wars are particularly pivotal in shaping modern day Turkey and Greece, despite some testing years since.
It's a fascinating time and is a particularly enlightening read. The description of the carpet weaving is a lesson in how it was done and reminded me of my visit to Turkey a few years ago when I witnessed firsthand, the intricacies of weaving. Indeed, weaving and spinning was one of the few skilled occupations dominated by women giving their families a solid and reliable income. It’s not surprising that the detail is so fascinating as the author herself worked in Greece for a number of years as a carpet designer.
Throughout the story, the reader is immersed in the daily lives of the three main characters, particularly the women and we learn how they live - their fears, their loves and their superstitions. Indeed, the description of food so very central in their lives, was mouth-watering – lamb koftes, stuffed aubergines, goats cheese and black olives ‘… she threaded pieces of meat that had been marinating in olive oil, lemon and herbs onto skewers and place them over the coals.’
The atrocities of war and its toll on Christophorous and Aspasia is heartbreaking but out of war comes hope and strength as ordinary people who care for each other stand up in support of what they know is right. It’s a beautiful story of love and adversity and the power and sacrifice for friendship.
But their bliss is shattered with the onset of World War 1 when the men of the village are forced to fight in horrific conditions for a cause they don’t understand. Not long after the end of the war, another conflict starts up when Greece invades in 1919. The two nationalities are pitted against each other and as the war progresses the Greek population are sent back to Greece despite the fact that they and their ancestors had lived there for generations. The two wars are particularly pivotal in shaping modern day Turkey and Greece, despite some testing years since.
It's a fascinating time and is a particularly enlightening read. The description of the carpet weaving is a lesson in how it was done and reminded me of my visit to Turkey a few years ago when I witnessed firsthand, the intricacies of weaving. Indeed, weaving and spinning was one of the few skilled occupations dominated by women giving their families a solid and reliable income. It’s not surprising that the detail is so fascinating as the author herself worked in Greece for a number of years as a carpet designer.
Throughout the story, the reader is immersed in the daily lives of the three main characters, particularly the women and we learn how they live - their fears, their loves and their superstitions. Indeed, the description of food so very central in their lives, was mouth-watering – lamb koftes, stuffed aubergines, goats cheese and black olives ‘… she threaded pieces of meat that had been marinating in olive oil, lemon and herbs onto skewers and place them over the coals.’
The atrocities of war and its toll on Christophorous and Aspasia is heartbreaking but out of war comes hope and strength as ordinary people who care for each other stand up in support of what they know is right. It’s a beautiful story of love and adversity and the power and sacrifice for friendship.
June 30, 2020
Great story well told
There are two villages in Anatolia. Pinarbaşi is Turkish, Stravrodromi is Greek. The only thing that divides them is a road. Their people live together in complete harmony. In reading about the relationship between the two villages, I got a sense that the march of time had left them behind. Mention of a caravanserai, camel trains, goat-herders, and the excitement produced in the women by a chiming clock, all suggest a simple people living simple lives according to a simple ethic: Help your neighbours; they are your family. They could as easily (apart from the clock) belong to biblical times.
The lifeblood of the two villages is the carpet weaving industry. Aspasia, a gentle, curious woman weaves exquisite carpets. Her husband Christophoros, a proud, hardworking and generous man works in Uşac for a carpet company. They are an adoring couple, whose language is spiced with tender endearments. They long for a child.
Then a bullet fired in faraway Sarajevo changes everything. In the villages, no one knows where Sarajevo is or who Archduke Franz-Ferdinand is or why war has been declared. The young men are summoned to fight, the Ottomans side with Germany and Austria, the Greeks with Russia and the allies. They march away and many are never heard from again. The war also impacts the carpet industry as the women are called upon to turn their skills to making blankets. Production is reduced but even so, carpets stockpile. After the war, further hardship for the two villages begins, testing friendships in the struggle for survival.
There is great depth to this book. The author invites us to look at our lives with all our sophisticated toys and gadgets and ask if we are any happier than women who thrilled at the chiming of a clock. The horrors of war, the ruin and devastation it brings to ordinary people, is juxtaposed by the birth of a child and the hope it brings; and also with a delightful description of Anatolia in spring
In keeping with the characters, the writing is simple and concise, with no dramatic flourishes or superfluity. I expected to enjoy this book and I did. It’s a story of love, friendship, courage, loss and war, superbly told, set during an epic and tragic event I suspect few know about. I didn’t. I have no faults to pick except that there were a few grammatical errors or typos.
There are two villages in Anatolia. Pinarbaşi is Turkish, Stravrodromi is Greek. The only thing that divides them is a road. Their people live together in complete harmony. In reading about the relationship between the two villages, I got a sense that the march of time had left them behind. Mention of a caravanserai, camel trains, goat-herders, and the excitement produced in the women by a chiming clock, all suggest a simple people living simple lives according to a simple ethic: Help your neighbours; they are your family. They could as easily (apart from the clock) belong to biblical times.
The lifeblood of the two villages is the carpet weaving industry. Aspasia, a gentle, curious woman weaves exquisite carpets. Her husband Christophoros, a proud, hardworking and generous man works in Uşac for a carpet company. They are an adoring couple, whose language is spiced with tender endearments. They long for a child.
Then a bullet fired in faraway Sarajevo changes everything. In the villages, no one knows where Sarajevo is or who Archduke Franz-Ferdinand is or why war has been declared. The young men are summoned to fight, the Ottomans side with Germany and Austria, the Greeks with Russia and the allies. They march away and many are never heard from again. The war also impacts the carpet industry as the women are called upon to turn their skills to making blankets. Production is reduced but even so, carpets stockpile. After the war, further hardship for the two villages begins, testing friendships in the struggle for survival.
There is great depth to this book. The author invites us to look at our lives with all our sophisticated toys and gadgets and ask if we are any happier than women who thrilled at the chiming of a clock. The horrors of war, the ruin and devastation it brings to ordinary people, is juxtaposed by the birth of a child and the hope it brings; and also with a delightful description of Anatolia in spring
In keeping with the characters, the writing is simple and concise, with no dramatic flourishes or superfluity. I expected to enjoy this book and I did. It’s a story of love, friendship, courage, loss and war, superbly told, set during an epic and tragic event I suspect few know about. I didn’t. I have no faults to pick except that there were a few grammatical errors or typos.
November 21, 2018
Earlier this year I read Kurt Seyit and Sura, set during the Russian Revolution and moving into Ataturk’s war for Turkish independence. Kurt Seyit shows the Russia, the Crimea, and Istanbul through the eyes of a wealthy soldier and his lover. The Carpet Weaver of Usak is a much more intimate book. It looks at life in Anatolia in two villages, Stavrodromi and Pınarbaşı, joined by a common fountain in which Greek Orthodox Christians and Turkish Muslims live in harmony. The towns are small enough and remote enough that they are sheltered from most world news. Things change war breaks out between Greece and Turkey, and external politics rock the foundations of this two hamlets and shatter lives as husbands, sons, and brothers are forcefully conscripted to fight. Underlying the big story of the war is the friendship between Christian Aspasia and Muslim Saniye, two women who, like many of the women in these two towns, are carpet weavers. Author Gauci demonstrates a firm knowledge of the culture of Anatolia as well as the carpet-weaving process. She brings to life the struggles of refugees and their emotional journeys to build new lives in which they must walk a fine line between remembering and forgetting their pasts. I highly recommend this gripping tale.
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