She is called Nurdane, the famed weaver of Mavisu. From her remote mountain village in southwestern Turkey, she creates dowries for young brides: dazzling rugs that are marvels of shape and color, texture and light. For her unique rugs possess remarkable healing qualities that have inspired local legend. But it is her hands that are at the heart of her mystery. An artist's hands. A virgin's hands.

An extraordinary series of events drives Nurdane to question the limitations of her faith and culture as she is caught between the cost of remaining pure in body and spirit...or risking everything for the chance to live a loving life. Shimmering with the history and lore of Turkish culture and tradition, this is a richly woven, brilliantly hued novel about a young woman who travels from innocence to knowledge, from loneliness to love. In this luminous debut, The Virgin's Knot heralds the arrival of a gifted new voice in literary fiction.

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