Barbara returns to Istanbul ‘on respite’ from a stifling marriage. Waiting there are people and events that will have a lasting effect on her life.
In 1993, on holiday with her husband in Turkey, Barbara meets the handsome though troubled Mehmet. Back home in Oxford, Barbara returns to the stifling routine of her ‘brother and sister’ relationship with her sociopathic husband – further foreign travel denied him due to illness. Mehmet and Barbara exchange letters. One year on, in 1994, Barbara returns to Istanbul, alone, to discover whether the ‘spark’ between she and Mehmet is real or imaginary. But her beloved home-town has a habit of following her around.
The story explores the themes of changing relationships; of unexpected events and fluctuating emotions; the confusion of uncertainty; and the value of kind and supportive friendships. It will appeal to readers able to remember life before email, mobile phones and text messaging, as well as to those with an interest in, and drawn to, the novel’s various and unusual locations, cultures, and connections: – Istanbul/Turkey; Oxford; Baku/Azerbaijan; Afghanistan; and Ireland.
When We’re Least Expecting It weaves together freedom and duty; the exotic and the mundane; an exciting journey through passion, friendship, tragedy, love and loss, to an eventual and deserved contentment.