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sockielady's review against another edition
3.0
This is the second book I've read by Louis de Bernieres, and one of the things I really like about his writing is that it truly gives you a sense of the place about which he's writing. He does this by intertwining the stories of several members of the community rather than focus on just one single character or story arc. I have read a few books where authors tried to do the same and failed miserably, but somehow de Bernieres succeeds. Perhaps he should hold seminars for his fellow authors.
One thing that I did not like about this book, however, is the way the life story of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was woven throughout the stories of the villagers of Eskibahce. These chapters were extremely dry and read not as a story, but as a rather boring history book. And while Ataturk's life, military career, and political career had direct bearing on the story of the villagers, I think it could have been handled more successfully than it was. It got to the point that, whenever an Ataturk chapter came up, I would simply skim it in order to get the necessary info before returning to the main story. If not for that, I probably would have given this book 4 stars.
One thing that I did not like about this book, however, is the way the life story of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was woven throughout the stories of the villagers of Eskibahce. These chapters were extremely dry and read not as a story, but as a rather boring history book. And while Ataturk's life, military career, and political career had direct bearing on the story of the villagers, I think it could have been handled more successfully than it was. It got to the point that, whenever an Ataturk chapter came up, I would simply skim it in order to get the necessary info before returning to the main story. If not for that, I probably would have given this book 4 stars.
embaskowitch's review against another edition
3.0
A beautiful and haunting tale, it could have been a lot shorter and probably better.
karenw1969's review against another edition
3.0
Louis de Bernieres imagery is fabulous. I just couldnt enjoy the long depictions of war and atrocities.
lorioz's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book soooo much! I was able to get completely lost in the story and the characters. The historical and cultural facts were so educational.
alismcg's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
madtraveler's review
5.0
One of my favorite reads of the year (2020). A cast of fascinating characters of different religious/cultural backgrounds who live together in a simple village in southwestern Turkey during the final days of the Ottoman Empire. Their stories themselves are well told and the characters are both real and yet the sort you find in one of those "classic" novels of yesteryear. (Reviews often mention Dickens.) But all of this is threaded into the larger story of history, the wars and ethnic strife, the slow death of the "sick man of Europe," the Ottoman Empire. The conflicts right before and through World War I and in then on to the subsequent war for independence as Greece swept in with hopes of re-establishing their long past empire. Brutality is not in short supply, horrors of war, genocide, and ripping people from their lives to send them to war, deaths, or a new country where they no longer fit in. And throughout the novel the life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern republic. The stories are at times funny, sometimes sad and heartbreaking, and always fascinating. To be fair, I lived in Turkey for a year so many of the cultural and language elements were familiar. The author doesn't always translate or even italicize Turkish terms but context makes them clear enough. Ironically, I found myself looking up a good number of his English words. The writing is excellent and I will seek out his other books. Despite being set in a no-tech backwater sort of village with superstitions and challenges most of us will never face, the novel connects to the larger human elements, themes of fate, death, love, hatred, making it feel so perfectly relevant even to current living and history -- as any great novel should. That says as much about the masterful writing as it does about the human race never really changing. Great great book.
jerodes's review
4.0
Beautiful story! I loved how the story of the townsfolk was told in parallel to the greater history of Turkey.
claireber's review
3.0
A fascinating read, but rather too long ! I admit to skipping through some of the bumps... I liked the construction, with different characters doing the narrative. A shocking eye opener about the atrocities of the Balkan wars.
_zora_'s review
4.0
A little slow getting into this, because it starts out with too-cute kids and too-zany townspeople, and I kept tripping over weird usage glitches. But after the first 100 pages or so (don't worry, 400 more to go!), it finally managed to soften my inner grouch. Tears by the end. A vivid, generous, often funny book that conveys very well the tragedy of the end of the Ottoman empire and the whole Population Exchange.
monicajosephine's review
3.0
I learned a lot about parts of World War I that I had never heard about before. I also really liked the way this book was written from various points of view and with different chapters focusing on historical events while others were focused on the personal dramas. Overall a really interesting read. My only complaint was of the somewhat gruesome and graphic descriptions of the terrible things people do to each other in times of war. I understand the importance of conveying these atrocities, but found it difficult to deal with personally.