John arrives in a Montreal airport with a suitcase in hand. We do not know where he is from, or who he is. The novel sets out to explore his identity by following his daily movements and intimate thoughts, as well as his connections to those coming into contact with him. He writes his own reflections and impressions in a notebook which he carries with him at all times.

The story unfolds through non-linear narrative connections that flow across city blocks, continents and oceans, and meander in and out of characters' minds, dealing with questions of displacement, identity and meaning.

Loren Edizel was born in Izmir, Turkey and has lived in Canada most of her life. The Ghosts of Smyrna was published in Turkey in 2008 by Senocak Yayinlari (trans. Roza Hakmen) and then published in Canada under the same title in 2013. Her 2011 novel, Adrift, published in 2011, was longlisted for the ReLit Awards in 2012. She lived in Montreal for over 20 years. She currently lives in Toronto.

Loren Edizel's profile page

"[Adrift] is a beautifully written and compassionate émigré experience that will thrill readers interested in timely debates about multiculturalism, immigration, and mortality." --Sarah Ramsey, All Lit Up

"Adrift is a soulful read with a brand of acceptance that is uncommon in an era of intolerance." --Herizons

"Adrift pushes at the limits of possibility by asking the reader to accept the impossible...In so doing, it reveals a reality of a higher order, a plane of existence upon which all of us are connected, however alienated our experience of the world might be. Like a Murakami novel, Adrift mixes the spectacular with the mundane to highlight the wondrous qualities of ordinary reality." --Maple Tree Literary Supplement