The Young Man in the Gray Suit

Hacikyan resumes his Turkish-American saga that began in 2000's A Summer without Dawn with this sweeping sequel. In 1955, Nour Kardam, son of Riza Bey, finds his position as head of the successful firm Kardam & Sons Tobacco International precarious after his father's death. When Nour tries to deal with a corrupt but long-established company underling, he inadvertently angers his five half-brothers and three half-sisters, a problem exacerbated after Nour's role as their father's executor makes him responsible for locating Riza's Armenian mistress, Maro Balian, and paying out funds to her. That charge leads Nour to revelations both about his father's involvement in Turkey's shameful treatment of Armenians and his own parentage. His search leads to New York City, where Maro has settled with husband Vartan Armen, raised a family, and run a newspaper for the Armenian community. Besides dealing with treachery within his family and his company, Nour finds an illicit love before eventually coming to terms with his complex heritage. (Jan.)