The Seamstress of Ourfa

By: Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss

Narrated by: Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss

The Seamstress of Ourfa is the first audiobook in a trilogy; a multigenerational tale about an eccentric Armenian family forced into exile by genocide and their quest to find a new home.

It begins in 1895 in Ourfa, a thriving cosmopolitan city in the Ottoman Empire. Khatoun Khouri, a girl of 13, meets her husband, Iskender Agha Boghos, a poet and a dreamer, who adores her but cannot express it in words.

Around them, the Ottoman Empire is crumbling, the world heading toward war, and the Armenian minority subjected to increasing repression, culminating in the genocide of 1915.

As Iskender retreats into his books and alcohol, losing land, money, and business, Khatoun holds their family together by sewing for the wives of the men who persecute them...her creations inciting lust, love, and fertility.

The family helps the resistance and ultimately evades the death marches to the Syrian Desert only to lose everything when exiled by Mustafa Kemal and following the birth of the Turkish Republic.

This is a story of friendship between enemies and of women who emerge from the shadows and rebuild lives in the midst of oppression. It is a powerful story of resilience and faith.

©2018 Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss (P)2019 Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss

Beautifully written and read!

This is truly a beautifully written and read book! I felt drawn into a world, culture and part of history ie The Armenian Genocide, that I previously knew nothing about. In this recording the author inhabits each character with so much individualism and flare you literally feel you are in the room with each of them. She weaves history and fiction together to tell a beautifully moving story, and in doing so, left me waiting with baited breath for the next installment!

Wonderful book

This book is a perfect jem. The narrator did herself proud, too. One of the few reads I would listen to again.

I binged this book for the best part of two days.

I listened to this book for two days straight, six or so hours each day. I could not pry the wireless headphones from my ears.

This is a magical book.

Read by the author, Victoria Hardwood Butler-Sloss, the story falls from her lips in the most lyrical evocative prose. She showed me scenes and I was there, I could smell, touch, feel, see it all. I watched tiny, peripheral movements, nuanced gestures, and larger than life majestic scenes. Through her stunning words and the visions she painted, I saw three generations of family navigate the beautiful culture of the Armenian community in Ourfa in the early 1900s. I watched an enduring nation suffer through the Armenian genocide at the tail end of the Ottoman Empire. I experienced a community of women pulling together through the bonds of friendship and deep love for family.

Her characters are robust. Their relationship to each other is richly woven with reaching introspection, a delightful sense of humor, and authentic dialogue seamless in its narration. I was transported to a world that I knew nothing about and once I was there I had no desire to leave. I wanted to live in their houses, eat their food, sew in their workshop, and be part of the delicious circle of women who are the central players in this story.

This book is nothing short of cinematic. Victoria is a skilled writer and enchanting narrator. I highly recommend the journey.