Aya Katerina, a neighbourhood in Ottoman Smyrna at the end of World War I. Through the eyes of Niko "the Orphan"-his Armenian father was taken away by the soldiers-we see this close world going about its traditional ways. But dark clouds loom in the near distance. We meet Elena, Niko's aunt and talented artist; his idiosyncratic uncle Polycarp, wiser than he pretends; Manolis the Greek doctor who loves her; Nazım the Turkish journalist who also loves her; Niko's grandmother who holds the family together; and an assortment of neighbours of all backgrounds. As the War draws to a close, all these people await their fates as the Greek armies invade from the west and are fought back by the forces of Ataturk from the east. A story of love under impossible circumstances and a novel about growing up, this is also an account about a people, a neighbourhood, and a legendary city caught up by forces beyond their control. Aya Katerina goes up in smoke. Quiet and understated, colourful and intensely moving, this is a memorial to a charmed city now lost.

Loren Edizel was born in Izmir, Turkey and has lived in Canada most of her life. The Ghosts of Smyrna was published in Turkey in 2008 by Senocak Yayinlari (trans. Roza Hakmen) and then published in Canada under the same title in 2013. Her 2011 novel, Adrift, published in 2011, was longlisted for the ReLit Awards in 2012. She lived in Montreal for over 20 years. She currently lives in Toronto.

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"An absorbing read. The Ghosts of Smyrna is a wonderful foray into cultural history, a masterful interweaving of large-scale political events and the minute particulars of daily life." --Morris Berman, author of Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire