As someone who reveres the establishment of sense of place perhaps more than any other aspect of a piece of fiction, I was beyond delighted by this book. That the story itself is also wonderful, the writing both beautiful and wryly clever, and the protagonist an absolute gem just felt like icing on the cake.

The feel of the Aegean Turkish coast here was so gorgeously alive and exquisitely rendered, as was our heroine’s place (or perhaps inability to find one there?) in the summer paradise where her family has spent its summers since well before her birth.

There’s an interesting generational dynamic at play in the relationship from daughter to mother to grandmother, though it’s primarily the action taking place in the present that captivates. That said, the story is also an excellent lesson on how the past informs the present (sins of the mother, and such), and how our roles are often defined by whatever void is left vacant by those who come before us.

I can’t wait to read more of Atrek’s work in the future.

What an intriguing first novel! I was repeatedly impressed with Inci Atrek's writing style, which flows beautifully in Holiday Country. I'm excited to see what this talented author has in store for us next.

I had a whole bunch of feelings crop up while listening to this story. All the tensions between mother/daughter/grandmother and all the variations of interactions between these three. And while I didn’t like some of what went on, and some of the decisions these characters made, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the book.

When I’m still thinking about a story several days later, I have to give props to the author. So KUDOS to you Inci Atrek, for writing something so raw and intimate and powerful. It’s not often I get that sensation, and I like it when it happens.

The audio version of Holiday Country is performed by Ayse Babahan who does a marvelous job with this varied cast of all ages and walks of life. Lots of accents too. Well done.

A character-driven debut filled with unconventional romance, a strong sense of place, and plenty of family drama. This story centers around a matriarchal family of grandmother, mother, and daughter trying to make sense of the world and each other at their family villa in a Turkish seaside town. Daughter Ada is drawn to Levent, an old flame of her mother's when he mysteriously shows up in town. What ensues is an illicit affair that is both uninteresting and incredibly weird in my opinion. The book is filled with unlikeable women, who are insanely dependent on one another even as they desperately try to tear themselves free from familial expectations. They also make insanely poor decisions, which I will confess is a personal pet peeve. There were plenty of well-written and even insightful lines that touch on that sensitive and fierce relationship between mother and daughter, which I did enjoy. Overall, while the descriptions of Turkey were lovely, there were no main characters that I found myself invested in or rooting for in this read. I'd say if you like highly flawed characters and lots of family drama you could give this one a try, it was simply not for me.

I loved how this audiobook was done! Ayse Babahan does an incredible job of alternating between a neutral tone and a Turkish accent when dialogue necessitates it. The story itself is pretty linear which makes it really easy to follow and it's always a bonus with audiobooks that you can hear the correct pronunciations of non-English words.
As for the story, it's definitely a bit strange, But I found nodding along to so many of Atrek's observations about living in the US and going back to Turkiye. The experiences of the MC felt really authentic, I cried a few times especially at the start of the novel.
Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this one.

This book reminded me the summers that I had only few kilometers away from where Ada was spending her summers; hanging out with friends, playing backgammon, swimming all day, eating sunflower seeds... It is such a good representation of those days. I don't think there is anyone who summered on the Aegean coast of Turkey would say they had a different experience. What was described was the collective experience and I'm sure Inci Atrek was writing this based on her own experiences.

Ada was back in Ayvalik again as she did year over year with her mother. It was time to visit her grandmother who had no one but them and would not shut up about how they left her alone in Turkey. Ada knew that this could be her last long summer here. Neither her not her friends from the site were kids anymore. Real life was looming over them. There was something different this time though: Levent. He was someone from Ada's mother's past, but she didn't know what was the exact history. Regardless, she knew his presence would change things.

I loved how 19 year old stupidity was vividly described in this story. It all looks juvenile when you read this as 30 something, but thinking about stuff we did back then everything was very fitting to 19 year old state of mind.

‘Holiday Country’ is a nostalgic read full of the messy self-discovery of early adulthood.

Premise - Ada spends summers in a Turkish seaside town with her mother and grandmother, but one college summer may be the last. Ada wants to re-live her mother’s life for her and begins an affair with her mother’s ex-lover, Levent. Soon she realizes life in Turkish may not be so perfect after all… and then her Turkish life and her American life collide.

This is a beautifully told, atmospheric debut and earns the four stars on that alone. That said, Levent is baited as dangerous (and he’s very clearly a bad guy) so I expected (and hoped) the story would go further with that danger and the ultimate consequences for her decisions that it did. The story built beautiful tension, but then kind of flopped over the finish line.

Thanks, NetGalley and Flatiron, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the descriptions of the local Turkey landscape, and snippets of the local language. It’s not a country I’ve read highlighted in books before.

Unfortunately, I never managed to get into this storyline.