The Four Humors

In spare, funny writing, Seckin invites us into a summer spent in Turkey with a young woman named Sibyl and her boyfriend, Cooper . . . If you've ever abandoned plans to study for the MCAT in favor of a lot of soul-searching, uncovering family trauma, and TV watching, come meet Sibyl. -Jenny Singer, Glamour If stories expand us, secrets shrink us, as this deep, wise, and intricate debut novel by Mina Seckin illustrates. -Jeffrey Ann Goudie, The Boston Globe Mina Seckin's debut novel chronicles Sibel's attempts to understand herself, her family, and the stories her body tells about both with tenderness and grace. -Eve Sneider, WIRED [An] expansive novel about a grieving young woman, generations of her family, the mysteries and fallibilities of health and illness narratives, and the geopolitical and cultural histories we all carry . . . [Seckin's] dynamic writing carries the reader on a multifaceted journey through time and psychological and physical landscapes. -Sarah Neilson, Shondaland A funny and loving story for readers of all backgrounds. -Emily Burack, Alma An engaging read that addresses both the Turkish diaspora and what it means to change. -Wendy J. Fox, BuzzFeed Mina Seckin's debut novel . . . explores intergenerational trauma, healing, and the tradition of female caretakers with pathos and humor. -Mina Hamedi, BOMB A deliciously bittersweet meditation on the elastic, shifting narratives we weave from the fragile threads of our daily existence, the people around us, and the places we call home . . . What holds these unraveling characters together is Seckin's precise, direct prose, which balances the grotesque with the beautiful, the funny with the genuinely moving. With lyricism and blunt, humorous honesty, Seckin pokes and prods at the complexities of family history and personal identity from different angles. -Malena Steelberg, Los Angeles Review of Books Fans of Elif Batuman's The Idiot should take note of Mina Seckin's debut The Four Humors, another wry and intelligent novel that engages with the Turkish diaspora in America. As twenty-year-old Sibel seeks relief from an unshakable headache, she ends up delving into her family history and dubious medicinal theories, all of which Seckin captures with a mordant wisdom that belies her own young age. -Chicago Review of Books Mina Seckin writes about the human body in a way that is exacting and beautiful, and I am in awe at the way she pins pain onto the page . . . The narrative voice is infused with levity, generosity, and (yes) humor. The Four Humors is a gorgeous excavation of the body-its flaws and its desires-and what it means to heal. -Katie Yee, Literary Hub Like the Russian soap operas that Sibel and her grandmother watch devotedly, The Four Humors unfolds at a leisurely pace, with an extensive cast of characters and a multigenerational plot . . . You'll find yourself hooked. -Thane Tierney, BookPage Seckin's lively prose and empathic portrayal of her characters make for an evocative and entertaining first novel. -Booklist [A] perceptive debut . . . Seckin moves with poise from Sibel's modern-day, deadpan tone to the stories of her older relatives, which are related as stand-alone narratives and are often entangled with Turkey's tempestuous political history . . . A moving family story. -Publishers Weekly A convincing, often dryly humorous sense of life in a constantly changing city . . . A captivating treat. -Kirkus Reviews Mina Seckin's brilliant and understated first novel describes a young person's quest to situate herself geographically, culturally, historically, and physiologically-to map out a place for her inner self in the world, in her family, and in her own body. Funny, heartrending, illuminating, informative, brimming with cultural specificity and human universality. -Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot