Summary

Chapter 11 begins with another online exchange between the narrator and Zuhal, with Zuhal telling him gossip about Kamile and her daughter Gülten. She tells him she thinks the town would fall apart were it not for the church’s treasure holding everyone together, and recounts a dream she had about Mustafa the night before. The narrator reflects that he is indifferent, but would like to see her betray Mustafa with him. They make virtual love and log off, and the narrator recounts how he met a prostitute in town named Sümbül. Sümbül acts as “this town’s lightning rod” (82) and the townspeople have a fondness for her, going so far as to protect her. The narrator befriends her while also acting as a client, so one day she tells him that one of Oleander Ramiz’s men would...