About Red Dress in Black and White
Red Dress in Black and White is a literary novel by Elliot Ackerman set in Istanbul, Turkey, exploring marriage, politics, corruption, expatriate life, and personal freedom against the backdrop of a society in crisis.
Catherine has spent years married to Murat, a wealthy and influential Turkish real estate developer, and together they share a young son, William. When Catherine decides to leave her marriage and return to the United States with William and her photographer lover, Murat moves to stop her from leaving the country.
Enlisting the help of an American diplomat, Murat draws their private lives into a widening web of political influence, corruption, deception, and surveillance. As the hidden architecture of these relationships gradually emerges, the novel reveals a cast of artists, businessmen, expatriates, diplomats, spies, and a child caught between competing worlds.
Set in the aftermath of political unrest and shaped by the atmosphere surrounding modern Turkey and the Gezi Park protests, Red Dress in Black and White examines love, betrayal, power, identity, and the intersection of the personal and political.
Through intimate storytelling and geopolitical realism, the novel portrays a nation on the brink while exploring the emotional consequences of ambition, loyalty, freedom, and control.
