The Anthropologists by Aysegül Savaş is ostensibly about a couple, Asya and Manu, who are looking to buy an apartment in a foreign city that they have decided to call home.

But the real action is in their very small social circle – emphasis on the ‘very small’. Asya and Manu have two friends in the foreign city (Ravi and Lena), and another two acquaintances (another couple, Sharon and Paul, who host showy brunches for the ex-pats they know).

For most of the people we were acquainted with, Manu and I were nothing much more than our countries of origin, our accents, our work. And I yearned for a specific existence. Continue reading →