The Rug Dealer - by Martha L Thompson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A naive Midwestern exchange student arrives in Turkey seeking adventure-but she never expects to fall for a hypnotizing Turkish man who pulls her into a world of passion, obsession, and intrigue.

What begins as romance quickly spirals into manipulation, heartbreak, and a dangerous secret life Martha Thompson never imagined: illegally smuggling Turkish rugs into Germany.

Back in America and determined to reclaim her future at the prestigious Juilliard School, Martha tries to break free from the exotic man and culture that threaten to pull her back in.

But unresolved feelings draw her back to Turkey again and again during a time when being alone with a man is not only culturally unacceptable-it's also unsafe. Despite receiving multiple warnings about the man she loves, Martha risks her life on a solo journey. When the situation grows dangerous, she must weigh the costs of chasing a forbidden relationship and continuing to ignore the red flags witnessed by the most important person of all-herself.

A gripping memoir of fixation, losing and finding identity, and battling the intoxicating pull of loving the wrong man at the wrong time.

Review Quotes

"In this delightful self-portrait, Martha Thompson proves herself the best kind of memoirist, self-aware enough to reveal the flaws of her younger subject without romanticizing her decisions. Romance real and imagined, international crime, deception-this is the kind of book you read on the subway and realize you've missed your stop."-Dylan Brody, award-winning humorist, storyteller, playwright, filmmaker, and author of Relatively Painless

"Not everyone is as artistically gifted as Martha Thompson, and few lives are filled with as much adventure. But every reader will identify with the longing for love that runs throughout this page-turning memoir."-Rev. Michael Kinnamon, PhD, author of A Rooftop in Jerusalem

"The Rug Dealer expands Martha Thompson's growing-and impressive-body of work, and it is her strongest memoir to date. In this coming-of-age tale she explores her naivete intermingled with duplicities, both of which get her into challenging circumstances. The theme of 'acting' helps Martha explain how she convinces herself to get involved in very sketchy and dangerous situations. The Turkish backdrop and the young artist's struggle to succeed make this a compelling read: It is not difficult to see this memoir being adapted as a colorful limited series or film."-Steven Stiefel, coauthor of Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album and Tomorrow's Flight

"The Rug Dealer is Martha Thompson's page-turning, coming-of-age memoir of the elating, devastating power of first love (especially an exotic, foreign first love) to shape who we want to be, shifting our hopes toward something we never knew we wanted, casting a spell not easily broken. I could barely turn the pages fast enough to keep up with Martha's brave young self on the adventure of a lifetime as she finally becomes who she was meant to be."-Sephe Haven (Isadora O'Boto), author of My Whorizontal Life: An Escort's Tale and A Someday Courtesan, solo show My Whorizontal Life: The Play, and podcast My Index to S$X