The gaze

Winner of the Union of Turkish Writers' Best Novel Prize, Elif Shafak explores what it is to look and be looked at in the humorous and carnivalesque novel "The Gaze".

An obese woman and her lover, a dwarf, are sick of being stared at wherever they go and so decide to reverse roles.

The man goes out wearing make-up and the woman draws a moustache on her face.

This elegant, unforgettable novel explores our desire to look at others. "Beautifully evoked". ("The Times"). "Original and compelling". (TLS). Elif Shafak has emerged as one of the most distinctive voices in both English and Turkish contemporary literature; her novels, "The Bastard of Istanbul", "The Flea Palace", "The Forty Rules of Love", and "Honour", are consistently at the top of bestseller lists across the globe.

Elif Shafak's examination of national identity, "The Happiness of Blond People" is available as part of the "Penguin Specials" series - a digital only series of shorts designed with commuters in mind.