Elif Shafak was arrested and charged for crimes against Turkey for writing her novel The Bastard of Istanbul. Apparently, the government felt that Shafak's story of two young women, one Turkish and one Armenian-American, was anti-Turkish in nature and defamatory to the Turkish culture. Huh. Yes, all the characters in this novel were inherently flawed, but so are all those who claim humanity. Except Donald Trump, of course. He claims to have no flaws whatsoever. Again, huh. In any case, I found this novel to be interesting. The characters wove together as beautifully and as complex as the design in a Turkish rug. Are there such things? Maybe I'm thinking of a different rug. Nevertheless, a look into a culture so obviously not interested in being looked into.