"Scissors: A Novel of Youth" by Cecil Roberts is a coming-of-age novel written in the early 20th century. The book centers on John Narcissus Dean, a boy growing from childhood in exotic Asia Minor to adolescence and early adulthood in England, capturing the challenges and intense emotional currents of youth. Through John's eyes, readers follow themes of displacement, friendship, family devotion, cross-cultural encounters, and the search for belonging. The opening of the
novel follows John’s family as they journey by steamer from Constantinople along the Black Sea coast to the remote Turkish town of Amasia, where his father has business. Vivid scenes introduce John, his parents, and his devoted nurse Anna as they experience the marvel and peril of foreign lands, sharply observing the diversity and turbulence of the Ottoman world. The story then traces John's early life as an only child abroad: his loyal friendship with Ali, a Turkish boy; the loss of his mother; his longing for English school life; and the poignant leave-taking from his Eastern childhood. Arriving in England for boarding school, John faces the strangeness of English customs, makes new friends, and grapples with adolescent doubts and longings—a personal and cultural journey vividly captured from his youthful perspective. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
