review
‘Beloved Mother’ is a moving and quietly powerful debut novel by journalist and political writer Çiğdem Akyol, which will have a strong appeal for readers of Elif Shafak.
Drawing on autobiographical details, this literary work traces a complex mother-daughter relationship shaped by migration, tradition, trauma, and resilience. The tale extends from the 1970s to the 2010s, moving between Türkiye and Germany and capturing both the intimate emotional terrain of family and the broader cultural shifts across generations of immigrants.
The story is told through dual perspectives. A third-person narrative recounts the life of Aynur, who is married off to the less educated Alvin from a more traditional Sunni background. Aynur relocates to Germany to join Alvin, who is working there as part of the ‘Gastarbeiter’ (guest worker) programme. Chapters narrated in the first person follow Aynur’s daughter Meryem, born and raised in Germany, who struggles with her mother’s rigid discipline and her father’s oppressive authority. While both parents want to secure a better future for their children, their violent, authoritarian parenting leaves deep psychological scars.
The adult Meryem, now a journalist, looks back on her upbringing with ambivalence and pain. Following a severe mental health crisis she seeks therapy, and this leads to an emotionally charged confrontation with her mother. Meryem asks why her mother never protected her and her brother, only to be met with resignation from Aynur: ‘Allah has chosen this fate for me.’ The novel is not afraid to leave such moments unresolved, bringing an ambiguity and emotional honesty to the text.
The narrative begins with Aynur’s declaration that she wishes her husband were dead, then winds back through memory and trauma, ultimately arriving at Alvin’s funeral. In the end, both women have mellowed, and Meryem is providing her aging mother with care and companionship. Her brother, however, remains estranged. The novel reflects on the ways in which time and distance reshape relationships, exploring the generational legacies of migration and patriarchy, and the emotional costs of survival within rigid cultural frameworks.
‘Beloved Mother’ is a nuanced and deeply relevant portrait of family, guilt, forgiveness, and the push-pull of cultural inheritance. Çiğdem Akyol’s first foray into literary fiction is a heartfelt and timely contribution to migrant literature in Germany.
Find out more:
https://steidl.de/Buecher/Geliebte-Mutter-Canim-Annem-0911133141.html?SID=9VurVasca180
All recommendations from Autumn 2025