Elif Batuman Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

There are scanty adjectival phrases that can precisely and concisely describe Elif Batuman. As such, describing Batuman as, in this context, out-and-out creative is an understatement. Hereby, the bottom line is that whatever might be written about Batuman is the idiomatic tip of the idiomatic iceberg. Sans mincing words, meet Elif Batuman.

Elif Batuman, an American national, is a woman of letters, scholar, and staff writer, all rolled into. Batuman is, surprisingly for a relatively younger person of her ilk, merely a tricenarian and was born on June 1977 in New York City, in the United States. Batuman, who resides in Brooklyn upon New York, is of Turkish descent. Her parents, both academics, hailed from Turkey but are currently domiciled in the United States. Incidentally, Batuman’s parents, who met in a high-profile Turkish medical school, would later on become a researcher and professor in their own right. Did you know that, despite his Islamic background, Elif Batuman’s father is an atheist while her mother is somewhat agnostic?

Elif Batuman spent her formative years, during the 1980s and 1990s, in New Jersey particularly in Summit city and Florham Park Township. Batuman works for The New Yorker wherein she serves as a staff writer. Batuman’s articles have graced the pages of renowned publications such as the monthly magazines named Harper’s and n+1.

Elif Batuman: Education Background
Elif Batuman schooled at elite institutions. For her undergraduate studies, Elif Batuman went to Harvard University wherein she pursued Comparative Literature and, ultimately, graduated in 1999. A bodily injury prompted Batuman to further her education. For her postgraduate education, Elif Batuman attended Stanford University wherein she studied Comparative Literature too; she has a doctoral degree from the said institution and graduated in 2007. Batuman later on returned to Stanford, albeit to teach.

At Stanford University, Elif Batuman got a soft spot for Russian literature in virtue of its melancholic elements. Batuman also learned Uzbek hard on the heels of clinching a grant where she traveled to Samarkand upon Uzbekistan. Batuman had a dramatic experience in Turkey when she scoured Turkish streets without bothering to wear a head scarf and walked alone to the surprise of many residents. Between 2010 and 2013, Batuman was in Koc University as a writer-in-residence.

Elif Batuman: Early Writing Career
Basically, Elif Batuman’s bibliography comprises of essays, standalone books, and contributions. Even then it took Batuman a long time to gain a literary foothold. Batuman’s life and writing career would have been doomed were it not for the progressive Turkish president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who empowered his citizens, especially women, something that enabled his parents to become scholars. The parents, who taught Batumen how to read while aged three, did not doubt that Batumen would one day become a writer.

Incidentally, Elif Batuman’s first book was hewed out of a novel manuscript that she wrote during her early twenties. She opines that she felt embarrassed by the things that she had written in the manuscript, prompting start rewriting everything over and over again. Generally, the book revolved around her dumb actions during her late teenage.

Elif Batuman was chagrined by creative writing programs, especially the overly obsession with craft. It is in this context that she discovered Russian authors. Some of the authors that influenced Batuman’s work include Leo Tolstoy, Isaac Babel, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Alexander Pushkin, and Anton Chekhov.

Section on Books
After a sequence of false starts, Elif Batuman published her novel, albeit relatively recently. Batuman’s first book has about nine editions. However, the first edition of Elif Batuman’s debut novel was originally published in 2017, titled The Idiot. And this standalone book is shelved under the fiction genre, particularly literary fiction, historical fiction, adult fiction, and contemporary literature sub-genres.

Selin is the featured central character in Elif Batuman’s first book. Meet protagonist Selin. Just like the real-life family background of author Elif Batuman, this protagonist is a female child of parents who originated from Turkey. Like Batuman’s education background, Selin is schooling at the Harvard University. Selin, who is aged eighteen, is a 1990s freshman at the said university wherein she is studying linguistics. Selin, a prospective author, has a Serbian schoolmate-cum-bosom friend called Svetlana. On the flip side, Selin is perplexed, uncertain and not ready for what life is offering her.

The turning point in Elif Batuman’s first book, The Idiot, is the unintentional correspondence between Selin and a Hungarian Maths student named Ivan. Selin infatuation with Ivan, prompts her travel to Hungary wherein she starts teaching English. The conflicting interests of the obnoxious Ivan, a two-timer, and the infatuated Selin segues into a pleasurable love story.

Elif Batuman Awards
Author Elif Batuman has clinched several awards. In 2007, Batuman clinched the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, in the non-fiction and fiction category; the award recognizes up-and-coming female authors. In 2010, Batuman bagged the Whiting Award wherein she received $5,000 for her exceptional writing skills.

Elif Batuman has also been nominated several times, thanks to her 2010 book titled The Possessed. In 2010, Batuman was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards, specifically in the Memoir and Autobiography category. In 2011, the said book was longlisted for Guardian First Book Award. In 2011, Elif Batuman was nominated for the essay-oriented PEN/Diamonstein -Spielvogel Award. In 2010, Batuman’s book The Possessed was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award, in the Criticism category.

Best Elif Batuman Books
The following are the best books authored by Elif Batuman. The first one is the aforementioned The Idiot. The second one is called The Possessed. Concisely, this is Batuman’s travel memoir and chronicles her sojourn in Russia. The third one is Constructed Worlds. This 2017 novelette chronicles Batuman’s undergraduate school life, especially the relation with her schoolmates and her professor.

Other Books You May Like
Readers who read the books authored by Ellif Batuman also liked the following standalone books. The first one is called South and West and is authored by Joan Didion. Initially published in 2017, this book is Didion’s travelogue and revisits her mid-1970 road trip from Louisiana to Alabama, via Mississippi.

The second one is called Exit West and is authored by Mohsin Hamid. Published in February 2017, this book is all about a love story between two youthful and unique lovers while civil strife looms large. The third one is called White Tears and is penned by Hari Kunzru. This 2017 standalone novel revolves two prospective singers who are damned and doomed by a song recorded accidentally.