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paola_mobileread's review against another edition
5.0
Warning: you have to relax to read this book, just let go and let it take you where it wants.
This is a novel on identity: the plot really does not matter (is this the defining feature of good literature?), the crucial point is how two individuals actually become one, to the point that we no longer know ourselves who is whom.
Is the Italian slave really taking the place of his "hoja" (i.e. master, according to Adam Shatz in the London Review of Books), are they really swapping lives as previously fantasised?
Or is this really a fantasy in itself, of the Turk, the Hoja, so disappointed with his fellow Turks, so disgusted with their intellectual inferiority, with their passiveness, with their lack of imagination, so much craving for the intellectually stimulating life that he can just barely perceive through the bearing, knowledge and stories of his learned slave, that he decides to live this swapped fantasy himself, willing himself to believe that he is no longer the Hoja, but the Italian former slave?
The conclusion I want to believe is the latter - it is the Italian that really flees the siege of the White Castle, and who knows whether he ever reached his native land - and maybe good for him if he did not, what could have come out of such an impossible readjustment? Or maybe, it is Hoja himself who killed him on that fateful night, with such quintessentially unreliable narrator we will never really know.
But I like to think that having finally reached that zenith he had been aspiring too for so many years, accepting the inevitable debacle was too much to bear, and finding comfort in living a dream nobody could take away from him almost unescapable.
A great read.
This is a novel on identity: the plot really does not matter (is this the defining feature of good literature?), the crucial point is how two individuals actually become one, to the point that we no longer know ourselves who is whom.
Is the Italian slave really taking the place of his "hoja" (i.e. master, according to Adam Shatz in the London Review of Books), are they really swapping lives as previously fantasised?
Or is this really a fantasy in itself, of the Turk, the Hoja, so disappointed with his fellow Turks, so disgusted with their intellectual inferiority, with their passiveness, with their lack of imagination, so much craving for the intellectually stimulating life that he can just barely perceive through the bearing, knowledge and stories of his learned slave, that he decides to live this swapped fantasy himself, willing himself to believe that he is no longer the Hoja, but the Italian former slave?
The conclusion I want to believe is the latter - it is the Italian that really flees the siege of the White Castle, and who knows whether he ever reached his native land - and maybe good for him if he did not, what could have come out of such an impossible readjustment? Or maybe, it is Hoja himself who killed him on that fateful night, with such quintessentially unreliable narrator we will never really know.
But I like to think that having finally reached that zenith he had been aspiring too for so many years, accepting the inevitable debacle was too much to bear, and finding comfort in living a dream nobody could take away from him almost unescapable.
A great read.
amclhr's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
fred312's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anawalt's review against another edition
3.0
The book was engaging and difficult to put down, but also difficult to fully immerse into. This is a book you would need to read again to know what details to pull out and tuck into your subconscious for safe keeping.
I believe this would be a great book to examine at length, and there are many hidden meanings to be found. However, barring the desire to dive in further, it left me wanting as a casual read.
Good. Enjoyable. Deep. Ending was more of a soft question than an actual conclusion.
I believe this would be a great book to examine at length, and there are many hidden meanings to be found. However, barring the desire to dive in further, it left me wanting as a casual read.
Good. Enjoyable. Deep. Ending was more of a soft question than an actual conclusion.
ecemces's review against another edition
3.0
Edebi açıdan bir ziyafet sunmasına rağmen okurken çok keyif aldığım bir kitap olduğunu söyleyemeyeceğim Beyaz Kale'nin.Orhan Pamuk'tan okuduğum ilk romandı.Bir daha okumak ister miyim çok eminim değilim.Kesinlikle anlatmak istedikleri çok değerli ve harika bir kalemi var ama daha çok eğlenmek için kitap okuyan bir kişi olduğumdan bana pek hitap etmedi.Görünüşte birbirinin aynı gözüken ama iki farklı kültürden insanın yolların kesişmesini hatta çatışmalarını anlatan güzel bir eserdi.Ana fikir kişinin kim olduğunun çok da önemli olmayışıydı.Kısa ve sade bir anlatıma sahip olmasına rağmen çok derin anlamlara sahiplik ediyor ve dediğim gibi sizi sözcüklerin dünyasında düşündürücü bir yolculuğa götürüyor - karakterlerin de bu yolculuğa çıktığı gibi- Okuyabilirsiniz.
karinlib's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure really how I feel about this book. It start out pretty well, then it seemed to be a slog in the middle, but the ending was good. An Italian scholar, traveling from Venice was captured by the Turks, and forced into slavery. The scholar tried to convince his captors that he was worth treating well because he had some medical and scientific knowledge. A Turkish man of science wanted the scholar as his slave, to teach him everything he knew. The scholar and the scientist looked alike enough to be twins.
amlibera's review against another edition
3.0
Hmmm...I found this short novel hard to get through. Having said that, it reminded me of some of my favorites-Robertson Davies and Italo Calvino but still something of slog for me right now.
gelainmariaelena's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tyyne's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
When it’s good I do enjoy historical fiction almost anytime I pick it up, though I rarely do. Long and boring passages of introspection and character analysis often felt comforting. It does feel like something that can benefit from several readings.