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Title: The Janissary Tree: A Novel
ISBN: 0312426135
Author:
Jason Goodwin
Publicate Date: 2007-05-15
Publish: 2007-05-15
List Price: $14.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.00
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.85
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.20
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Introducing Yashim!!!
What a lovely character he is! Goodwin is a fine writer, a historian of great caliber and is just top-notch in this first offering. This book is a must - read! There isn't a single page in the book where you feel bored or want to skip a page or two. I think that's a great achievement. I will read Bellini Card later since it is bit expensive, meanwhile I will be starting to read Boris Akunin who has been compared to this writer.
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2: Interesting setting but weak story
Interesting setting for a mystery novel. The descriptions of 19th century Istanbul are vivid, but the story is lacking.
I was looking for an interesting historical novel and this caught my attention. The author is obviously familiar with Ottoman history and culture and the backdrop to the story is intriguing. I did need to spend some time on Wikipedia making sense of the Ottoman setting though. I found the attention paid to the main character's interest in cooking a bit hard to believe. From what I know of 19th century cooking practices, it's unlikely anyone from that time period would find that laborious process to be a pleasant diversion.
As for the story though, a major plot line involves solving a puzzle. That's fine, but when solved, it leads to, well, nothing. When a plot line ends, it should advance the story at least a little.
Also, at climactic points in the story, there are noticeable switches to a rather abstruse writing style. I found myself rereading chapters in a vain attempt to figure out exactly what is going on. Maybe that was just an attempt to be fanciful, but it might also be an effort to cover up weak plot structure.
While I found this book to be interesting, I don't think I'll be reading more of this series.
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3: My Name Is Blue
This promised to be a great summer read. I had enjoyed Goodwin's "Lords of the Horizons" immensely. It was a unique book, a brilliant creation. This one did not come close. The fact that he is so knowledgeable about the unique and at times bizzare Ottoman culture and Istanbul and its history, which he exposed generously in this book alone made it worthwhile, but as a novel it fell flat at the end having started out so promising. Maybe non-fiction is more his style.
In any case, we have everything in this book, all cliches and aspects of Ottoman history and cuture are given their due: Sultans, their foreign mothers, enuchs, harem and k??zlar agas (not kislar!), circussian "cariye"s, janissaries, instant death around a corner, transvestites, palace schemes, Potamkin, all kinds of races and religions, Aya Sofya, Bospourus, Topkapi Palace, proto-Jeun Turcs, Tanzimat reforms, hamams, and the city itself. Though it provides a very interesting and expert caliedoscopic view of this ancient queen of cities, a virtual and authentic time-travel of sorts, all too much for one book.
Choice of the decade after the demolishing of the Janissary corps was smart as this period truly connected old and new, and there were so many influences pulling the Ottoman Empire in different directions at the time.
Plot itself kind of goes surreal towards the end and loses credibility.
There were some faux pas in spite of his intimate knowledge of Istanbul and history. Sun never sets behind the Princess Islands in Istanbul Mr. Goodwin, and Salacak near Uskudar is the best place to watch the real sunset.
In any case, I like his point of view of the Ottomans. More than any other author, Goodwin appreciates the uniqueness of the Ottomans and how they represented, for a good while, a totally different path for the human civilization and history.
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4: Spectacular
This is best mystery I have read in years. Goodwin combines an insider's sense for the life of Turkish Istanbul with a fantastic sense for character development, intricate and surprising plotting, and a real gift for literary style. Absolutely amazing!
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5: Disappointing!
No spoilers
After reading all the rave reviews The Janissary Tree has gotten here on Amazon, I was very excited to read it. However, having finished it I am baffled and these glowing reviews and wonder if these people ever read the book. A murder mystery in 19th century Istanbul is indeed a great premise to me, especially knowing more than the average person might now about the fascinatingly complex history of the city like I do, but Goodwin does not pull it off. On the detail side, he does a great job describing the city physically and a pretty good job describing the feel. However, when it comes to the novel, it fails. Flat out, this book is boring and the protaganist is not one I felt like I wanted to "get behind" and see him save the day. Me finishing this book was more a function of its short length and the fact that I almost NEVER not see a book through (no matter how bad), instead of me actually having a desire to see what played out.
The bottom line is that this book, in terms of murder mystery qualities (that is the genre, after all) is a yawn and you will not miss out on much at all if you pass it over.
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