i LOVED this meandering, slow, thinky book! such a fabulous look at what it means to be a person and to be alive

I really enjoyed the Anthropologists. I liked the short chapters, reflecting on the main couple but also their friends. I appreciated the insight into having aging parents and grandparents, and the feeling of not really being able to go home again.

Asya and Manu are two youngish expats from and living in unnamed countries. The very loose structure of the narrative is based around their search for a home to purchase and Asya's documentary project in a city park. Along the way, we're introduced to their small social circle, which serves to highlight their dislocation from family and community, and the difficulty in building new ones in foreign places. There's a persistently bittersweet tone, as Asya reflects on their relative isolation, separation from family, and the challenges of forming community from scratch. Much of that vibe will resonate with a wide range of adults, not just expats alone in a city.
The writing is lovely, but the pace starts slowly, particularly because the sections narrated by Asya vs her interview subjects are subtly differentiated and the lack of specific detail makes it hard to feel anchored in time and place.. Once it gets going, though, its both engagingly realistic and beautifully dreamlike.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Asya and Manu are transplants from different countries in a big city. Savas takes a truly anthropological approach to this story. The Anthropologists is a slow moving, slice-of-life story in which there are very few plot threads. Asya, an anthropologist herself, is making a film about her favorite park. She and Manu are searching for an apartment to purchase. That aside, we simply follow the couple as they go to parties, have lazy weekends with their best friend Ravi, and wrestle with their identities of perpetual foreigners as they try to carve their space in the city.

Written from Asya's perspective, the novel also centers heavily on interiority. It is perhaps this inside-outness that induced the emotional state I felt while reading the book. Usually, we're stirred as readers by the story itself, but here I can't quite put into words how The Anthropologists brought forth my own memories and emotional connections to Asya's story. This one isn't for you if you stories about nothing bore you (in a Seinfeld kind of way) but otherwise I highly recommend this solemn, yet joyful, deeply emotional book.

Delighted to include this title in the July edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

In THE ANTHROPOLOGISTS, a young married couple looks for an apartment in an unnamed city far from their respective home countries. That's pretty much it, and I LOVED it. This was a no plot just vibes masterpiece. The writing is absolutely spectacular and mesmerizing. Every word is perfectly placed in the novel's slim 192 pages. I gulped this down in one sitting on an airplane; what a lovely reading experience. This is my first experience with Savas, and I can't wait to dip into her backlist. I could not have adored this book more; I'll be singing its praises from the rooftops. THE ANTHROPOLOGISTS will be a lifelong favorite for me!

I devoured The Anthropologists by Aysegül Savas in two sittings! So relatable and incredibly endearing, the story shares an intimate, relatable look into both the often humdrum aspects of marriage and the quirks that make each one unique and special. Sevas also did a beautiful job at painting an urban picture of how couples, and the individuals within couples, interact with friends, peers, and aging family members.

The ambiguity of the city and the main characters’ native countries in no way detracts from the clarity and enjoyment of the book. And I loved that I wasn’t reading yet another story about a couple fated for an affair, a divorce, or any other huge “drama”. Witnessing a partnership that was unique compared to mine, yet in many ways so similar to my own, was more intriguing than I could have imagined.

And finally, the flow of the book was just so readable and digestible. From thought to thought, situation to situation, character to character, everything was diverse yet cohesive. It was refreshing to read a book without traditional chapters and page breaks; every scene fit perfectly and kept me wanting more!

Wrote in short vignette style chapters this was a poetic look at finding one’s sense of home and place.

At times I did find the writing a tad redundant alot of the same sentiments got repetitive, same ideas dressed up in new sentences, but overall I can see this being very popular with Gen Z.

This small novella is a deep exploration of adulthood and lonliness. It's heartbreaking and thought-provoking. It reaches a spot, deep inside, that everyone worries about as they move further into adulthood and into responsibilities.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this lovely book.

A dreamy contemplative novella about Asya and Manu, a young couple looking for a new home, It circles through their thoughts and conversations with friends, family, and others without landing hard on anything, This meanders and you, like me, might wonder if you're missing the point but the language is lovely. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

"𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴, 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥: 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴."

The very experience of this book is sitting on a park bench with a lover at the height of the afternoon to people watch. And as you watch, you make funny refrains of others, imagining their lives, how they look like people you know. The kind moments. Sweet ones too. And then you realize your afternoon is Seurat's 𝘈 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘢 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘑𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦. Here it is, life in plain sight, all for you.

Adulthood in all its vagaries and wonders, sweet and sad, saccharine all the way down. Full of life. And I want it to happen all over again.

a novella with so much fit into less than two-hundred pages. savas has found the spot between city and suburb with characters who have their childlike wonder and grown-up cynicism mixed together and directing their hearts each day. she managed to capture the hidden symbols, languages, and other anthropological layers of the everyday.

many thanks to bloomsbury publishing and netgalley for the advance readers copy.

The Anthropologists follows a young couple and their meandering journey through their relationship and their surroundings. Savas writes beautifully of contemporary anxieties and feelings of belonging within this meditative novel. She allows her readers to easily insert people, places, particularities from their own surroundings into the unnamed city at the heart of the book.

For fans of Rachel Cusk and Jhumpa Lahiri. 'The Anthropologist' investigates the nature of existing, the ways we complicate ourselves and others to feel more real. It confronts the concept of identity, more so than 'White on White,' and is a more tender exploration of adulthood than 'Walking on the Ceiling.' 'The Anthropologist' is for readers who cannot bear to confront the mundanity of their being and demands to be read again and again.

Having just read the new novel from Weike Wang, also about alienation/assimilation, a close bit differentiated couple, their parents, their understanding of the country where they dwell from interior and exterior perspectives, this novel felt similar but less impressive. The style is smart and often abstract, the perceptions valid. But ultimately the narrative seemed circular, minimal, repetitive and somehow blunt. It starts, it stops. It offers an insight but doesn’t go particularly far with it. The characters are introduced and then revisited, often, without much progression. This is stylish writing but also, for this reader, underwhelming.

The Anthropologists is a book that readers will love or one that readers will detest. Aysegül Savas' writing style in the novel is very unusual. The story of Asya and Manu is told by Asya in a very perfunctory fashion. There are few descriptive words used other than when talking about the park or, sparingly, a handful of other characters. This is why some readers will find it lacking. To me, it is astounding that the author is able to convey so much emotion without describing the characters' feelings. There is such loneliness, sorrow, and longing throughout the book. Asya and Manu strive to become the adults they feel they should be, while each is far from their different home countries. This is a review that I, too, will write frugally. Aysegül Savas has penned a surprising and stunning story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF - I was very interested in this story but, as it turns out I didn't jive well with the way it was written, which is a shame because I thought we would be an ideal match. I will be looking for other/future work from this author. because I enjoyed her prose & concept for this story.

I'm a Savas fan, having read each of her previous novels, as well as stories in the New Yorker. Like her previous books, there is an other-worldly quality to them, perhaps because the main characters are living in places far from home, navigating otherness, foreignness, finding ways to make their lives. Here we are with Ayse and Manu, a couple since college, each from their own countries, having left them far behind, and navigating their lives together in what I think might be Paris, though the city and country is unnamed and there is little provided to clarify. This slice of their lives - as they move into fuller adulthood - is told through Ayse's voice and eyes; she is a documentary filmmaker and has received a grant to make a documentary on anything she wants, and to be honest I have no idea or don't recall what Manu does only that he goes off to work every morning, his life more one of adulthood, or at least of schedules and consistency. They are a twosome, but also a three-some, with their closest friend Ravi, a peripatetic teacher of literature. Through this slim novel, a question that Ayse and Manu face is whether to move out of their rental apartment and buy an apartment, a stage, perhaps, in maturation. Who is family when you live far from family? What do you lose being so far from home, what do you gain. A quiet and lovely novel that provides much food for thought.

Thanks to Bloomsbury USA and Netgalley for the ARC.

So well written and unique. I felt like I was reading the best possible iteration of creative fiction which very well could have been memoir. I was
hoping the couple really wouldn’t find an apartment to buy while knowing the arc of the story would demand the inevitability. I usually like novels of defined place and spent way too many moments trying to guess the city…a bit of a game within a novel. I love the representation of a lifestyle chosen so counter to the rush and improvement mindedness of Americans. I’ll be reading everything this author writes going forward. Four and a half stars and in any given year of books I feel lucky to find three or four books I can say were this captivating

The Anthropologists takes a minimal approach, but maximizes all of its strengths. Savas's ability to carefully present philosophical inquiry in the most mundane and earnest thoughts is both disarming and comforting. The conversations characters have between each other feel like the most normal and real conversations I've read in fiction in some time. While true this may be a acquired taste for many readers, something jolted in me at the characters' ordinariness, their ambitions being normal: buying a house, beginning a relationship, spending time with loved ones, etc. Yet, their aspirations--the desire to want more--is a conversation repeatedly mentioned with both shame and surprise, although not explicitly, which is very well-executed. This is a novel about connection, friendship, naivete, creativity, and solace, a perfect book to begin the reading year with.