Madonna in a Fur Coat

by Alexander Dawe, Maureen Freely, Sabahattin Ali · 2016

In 1920s Berlin, shy Turkish clerk Raif Efendi drifts through a world of bustling streets, avant‑garde cafés and restless politics. A chance encounter with Maria Puder, a striking half‑Jewish artist he dubs his “Madonna in a Fur Coat,” awakens a love and longing that reshapes his quiet existence. Through Raif’s recollections, the novel weaves his modest life in Ankara with the vivid, melancholy atmosphere of a city on the brink of modernity, exploring themes of identity, alienation, and the fragile beauty of human connection. Sabahattin Ali’s lyrical yet restrained prose captures the intensity of first love, the ache of unspoken desire, and the universal struggle to belong, offering a timeless meditation on the heart’s hidden depths.