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Madonna in a Fur Coat

Sabahattin Ali,

Maureen Freely (Translator)

Start date: May 15, 2018

Finish date: June 15, 2018

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What Members Thought

Sep 03, 2022 Ann rated it really liked it

This was relatable and I liked that the framing device reminded me of Great Gatsby. I wish it touched me more deeply though.

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Apr 27, 2025 AGB rated it really liked it

“Madonna in a Fur Coat” by Sabahattin Ali is a tender, melancholic story of Raif Efendi, a man whose quiet exterior masks a deep, tragic love from his youth.
In 1920s Berlin, he falls for the enigmatic artist Maria Puder, but life and fear conspire to keep them apart.
A poignant meditation on loneliness, love, and the silent inner lives we carry. The writing is beautiful. The story will resonate with me for a long time.

“Some people are so lonely, they don’t even realize it.”

“It is not the things ...more

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Oct 25, 2018 Lisa of Hopewell rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-books, read-in-2018, translated-into-english

I learned of this book from a photo in this blog post: http://www.thebooksatchel.com/boxwall...

Quiet, down-trodden Raif Efendi sits alone in an office translating bank communications into German day after dull day. After work he goes home to a house crammed with relatives who disdain him. No one seems to care or wonder about him. Yet he harbors a secret.

That secret centers around the time he spent in Berlin in the 1920s supposedly learning about the manufacting of fine, scented soap. Instead he ...more

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