CAP AND CANDLE

An unusual background of Turkey and the religious and superstitious traditions that have dominated Filiz Demir's upbringing give this story a new dimension. Filiz Demir's decision to enter the field of nursing after completing her undergraduate training and the American School in Uskadar was met with shocked disapproval by her family. But the tragic death of her younger sister served only to deepen her determination. Her nurse's training takes her to Istanbul. Disobedience to regulations and great courage lead her away in secret to aid the inhabitants of a friend's flooded village. After graduation, her assignments include a small village clinic and later a larger hospital, and everywhere she and her fellow workers have to cope both with disease and kismet, a sort of do-nothing fatalism deeply entrenched in the Turkish people. The situations she encounters, her acceptance of some traditions, her rejection of others, mold and shape her growth in both her professional and personal life. Life and death, stark poverty and gaiety, intelligently handled here, provide sensitive young Americans with a sense of identification with young, realistically drawn characters.