Defne Suman, born in 1974 in Istanbul, grew up on Bujukada, the largest Prince's Island. She studied sociology at Bosphorus University, and at the age of only 28, with a backpack on her back, she traveled to Thailand, where she began to study Eastern philosophy and practice yoga. This experience introduced the author to the world of literature and served as inspiration for the travelogue Blue Forest. After that, she wrote several novels that became international bestsellers and were also translated into English. He lives in Athens.
The main protagonist of the novel The Circle is seventy-five-year-old Pericles Drakos, who seems to be isolated from the world - he communicates with only a few acquaintances, and his attention is constantly drawn to the details of a circular building that is threatened with demolition and which remind him of the irreversible past. Childhood, parents, loves from youth, but also violent events that forever changed the course of life for members of his community.
His world changes when young Leyla moves into the Krug building. Her past is shrouded in secrets, and he is inspired to start writing memoirs in the hope that she will get to know him better. His personal story is intertwined with the story of the Greek community's experience and a tender tribute to the Istanbul of old.