History and Magical Realism with Author Michael David Lukas

New author Michael David Lukas, an Oakland native and school teacher, will be at the Capitola Book Cafe Wednesday, where he'll read from his debut book, Oracle of Stamboul.

Lukas' book, set in the Ottoman Empire during its first years of decline, tells the story of a young girl, Eleonora Cohen, who attempts to charm the sultan and subsequently changes the course of history in her quest.

Cohen, who was born a gifted child with unusual abilities, loses her mother at birth and is raised by a weak-willed father and oppressive stepmother.

This book offers a mixture of historical fiction and magical realism. Cohen always has a flock of birds flying over her and, coincidentally, the day of her birth in 1877 is also the day that her hometown is attacked by the Russian cavalry.

Lukas has been a Fulbright scholar in Turkey, a proofreader in Tel Aviv and a Rotary scholar in Tunisia. He lives in Oakland, teaching creative writing to third- and fourth-grade students.

The event starts at 7:30 p.m. and is open to all, free of charge.

Where: Capitola Book Cafe

Address: 1475 41st Ave., Capitola

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday