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kmoses87's review against another edition
2.0
I found it difficult to finish this book as it became just a book of describing the places they went. The first part drew me in when they talk about their car breaking down, and the pension that their friend was going to turn into a hotel but left to ruins. However after that it lost the sense of a story as it became merely descriptive.
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
4.0
I have dreams of traveling to far off places. But lacking a passport and the funds I do my traveling through reading. And this was a nice book to read, although I didn't quite get the vision of Turkey like I had hoped.
Joy Stocke and Angie Brenner meet when they agree to help a friend with a pension (bed & breakfast) she has bought in Turkey. Arriving though, they find the place in deplorable shape and their help no where to be found. After trying to make it work they decide to move on, but by this time have become friends and decide to do their travels around Turkey together. Meeting the local people and seeing some of the historical sites, they come back year after year, to look at different places in Turkey and meet up with old friends (and new!).
I really enjoyed the people that Stocke and Brenner encountered in this book. It's told from their perspectives (and the start of each chapter lets you know who's narrating) and through them we get to become seduced by Turkish men, filled with the warmth of Turkish women's hospitality and all the other emotions that people can evoke in each other. Sure they come across a couple of sleazy people, but there is good and bad in every country in the world. And the two narrators are nice people so they seem to make friends easily. Although I do kind of wonder whatever happens to their mutual friend Wendy from the beginning. Not a lot of explanation is given about her silence in regards to the pension. I do have to say the people were nothing like I had expected. They all seemed to be pretty carefree and hospitable. Either the ladies had good luck in meeting people or they left the majority of the nasty ones out of this book.
I think the first half of the book is the best. There's a lot more description and a lot more of them interacting with the people they meet in the book. The second half combines a lot of trips and they're always on the move and it just feels a little rushed. I do have to say that all of the book had great descriptions of food. It was all I could do not to go look at flights to Turkey just so I could go over and gorge myself on the delicious dishes mentioned in the book. Ok, actually I did look, but just out of curiosity. They were just that good at describing the food. On the scenery though, I had more trouble picturing that in my head. Maybe it's because I picture Turkey as more of a desert country, like Iraq, but I just wasn't getting the images the ladies were trying to describe.
This book made me want to visit Turkey. Sure it wouldn't have taken much for me to want to go, but I think they did a good job of explaining why this book is sub-titled "a love affair". They definitely were able to write and convince me that they loved Turkey.
Anatolian Days & Nights
Copyright 2012
242 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Joy Stocke and Angie Brenner meet when they agree to help a friend with a pension (bed & breakfast) she has bought in Turkey. Arriving though, they find the place in deplorable shape and their help no where to be found. After trying to make it work they decide to move on, but by this time have become friends and decide to do their travels around Turkey together. Meeting the local people and seeing some of the historical sites, they come back year after year, to look at different places in Turkey and meet up with old friends (and new!).
I really enjoyed the people that Stocke and Brenner encountered in this book. It's told from their perspectives (and the start of each chapter lets you know who's narrating) and through them we get to become seduced by Turkish men, filled with the warmth of Turkish women's hospitality and all the other emotions that people can evoke in each other. Sure they come across a couple of sleazy people, but there is good and bad in every country in the world. And the two narrators are nice people so they seem to make friends easily. Although I do kind of wonder whatever happens to their mutual friend Wendy from the beginning. Not a lot of explanation is given about her silence in regards to the pension. I do have to say the people were nothing like I had expected. They all seemed to be pretty carefree and hospitable. Either the ladies had good luck in meeting people or they left the majority of the nasty ones out of this book.
I think the first half of the book is the best. There's a lot more description and a lot more of them interacting with the people they meet in the book. The second half combines a lot of trips and they're always on the move and it just feels a little rushed. I do have to say that all of the book had great descriptions of food. It was all I could do not to go look at flights to Turkey just so I could go over and gorge myself on the delicious dishes mentioned in the book. Ok, actually I did look, but just out of curiosity. They were just that good at describing the food. On the scenery though, I had more trouble picturing that in my head. Maybe it's because I picture Turkey as more of a desert country, like Iraq, but I just wasn't getting the images the ladies were trying to describe.
This book made me want to visit Turkey. Sure it wouldn't have taken much for me to want to go, but I think they did a good job of explaining why this book is sub-titled "a love affair". They definitely were able to write and convince me that they loved Turkey.
Anatolian Days & Nights
Copyright 2012
242 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
palliem's review against another edition
4.0
This book started much stronger than it finished (for me), but I loved it nonetheless. The details were so evocative, I could almost imagine I was there. I'm a fan of travel writing already, and this was definitely one of the best of the genre.
I've definitely added a new destination to my map for the future.
I've definitely added a new destination to my map for the future.
amysofta's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an enjoyable read for me, and probably meant more to me than to someone who has never been to Turkey. You can tell these ladies loved Turkey and they did a good job of showing the good along with the bad of Turkish Culture. Turkey and Turks are not perfect, but the country is what it is, a clash of old and new, east and west, and is a wonderful place to fall in love with...if you can accept its good along with its bad. You also need to remember that the Turkish Republic is itself a young country, still under 100 years. In those 100 years the world, society, and technology has changed a lot and in my opinion Turkey has handled it all remarkably well. It truly is a shining example of what a country from this part of the world that, while secular in governing, is an Islamic country. They should be proud of what they have accomplished as they continue to grow and figure out how the past and future have a place within its boarders. This book made me long for Turkey as I have now discovered places that I now want to visit and see for myself. The authors have reaffirmed, thou, my decision that I never want to experience a Turkish bath.
kateisabella's review
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. I am not quite sure what it was trying to be.
I think a lot of readers might be put off by the amount of autobiographical details of the various love affairs of the two authors - although equally well, perhaps this may be a pull to other readers, and frankly, as a woman who has also spent large amounts of time in Turkey, male attention does seem to be an unavoiable part of travelling around as a woman. However, the flip side of this was that the various Turkish people the authors introduced helped make the book feel more authentic, especially when we learned about the views and local histories through the mouths of these characters.
One of the highlights of the book for me was the various historical and mythological details peppered throughout, but these almost seemed to not fit with the rest of the book, which was much more memoir like.
I feel I should have loved this book - it crosses so many of my interests - Turkey, history, mythology and goddesses, but it just didn't quite do it for me. I definitely learned some interesting new things, and the book was great as a spring board for introducing me to new aspects of Anatolian history that I then further researched myself, but the pace of the book seemed at times slow - bogged down with conversations and logistics of travelling, and at other times rushed when only a few lines were dedicated to a fairly unknown piece of history, or Turkish person that they met with.
I think a lot of readers might be put off by the amount of autobiographical details of the various love affairs of the two authors - although equally well, perhaps this may be a pull to other readers, and frankly, as a woman who has also spent large amounts of time in Turkey, male attention does seem to be an unavoiable part of travelling around as a woman. However, the flip side of this was that the various Turkish people the authors introduced helped make the book feel more authentic, especially when we learned about the views and local histories through the mouths of these characters.
One of the highlights of the book for me was the various historical and mythological details peppered throughout, but these almost seemed to not fit with the rest of the book, which was much more memoir like.
I feel I should have loved this book - it crosses so many of my interests - Turkey, history, mythology and goddesses, but it just didn't quite do it for me. I definitely learned some interesting new things, and the book was great as a spring board for introducing me to new aspects of Anatolian history that I then further researched myself, but the pace of the book seemed at times slow - bogged down with conversations and logistics of travelling, and at other times rushed when only a few lines were dedicated to a fairly unknown piece of history, or Turkish person that they met with.
bluepigeon's review
4.0
Thanks Goodreads First Reads giveaways for a copy of this book.
When I picked up this book, I was worried that it was going to be either the unrealistic, romanticized view of Turkey by foreign women or a comparison piece, where Turkey is compared to the East and West relentlessly. Instead, Stocke and Brenner tell a frank, entertaining, and informative story of their many visits and their developing relationship with the country, its culture, and its people. This is not to say that they are unbiased, because from the very beginning it is clear to them and to the reader that they really like Turkey. They seem to be very open minded, have a high tolerance for hairy, macho Turkish men, and a knack for meeting the right people at the right time. But most of their adventures are experiences foreigners can and do have in Turkey, a country full of people who love to talk, feed, entertain, and host. The book and their travels captures a part of the immense cultural and historical legacy of Anatolia, the place where there are more ruins per kilometer square than anywhere else in Europe.
As a child, I lived in Asia and went to school in Europe, crossing the bridge twice a day. And most Turks experience this all their lives, literally and metaphorically. Interestingly, the authors experience this in their own way, wishing to be able to live in America and in Turkey, for them in the West and in the East, or at least this part of the East that is much friendlier than many other parts to independent, free women.
As a Turk who grew up with official history, I never learned much about the Christians who live in Turkey or the god of moon, Sin, or the goddess with the fishtail. I was also reminded of some interesting things about Turkey, like that the first Christian church is in Antakya, where we used to go for vacation when I was a baby.
Turkey is an unconventional beauty, waiting for someone to recognize just how special, strange, and unexpected it really is. Stocke and Brenner have done just that in their book.
When I picked up this book, I was worried that it was going to be either the unrealistic, romanticized view of Turkey by foreign women or a comparison piece, where Turkey is compared to the East and West relentlessly. Instead, Stocke and Brenner tell a frank, entertaining, and informative story of their many visits and their developing relationship with the country, its culture, and its people. This is not to say that they are unbiased, because from the very beginning it is clear to them and to the reader that they really like Turkey. They seem to be very open minded, have a high tolerance for hairy, macho Turkish men, and a knack for meeting the right people at the right time. But most of their adventures are experiences foreigners can and do have in Turkey, a country full of people who love to talk, feed, entertain, and host. The book and their travels captures a part of the immense cultural and historical legacy of Anatolia, the place where there are more ruins per kilometer square than anywhere else in Europe.
As a child, I lived in Asia and went to school in Europe, crossing the bridge twice a day. And most Turks experience this all their lives, literally and metaphorically. Interestingly, the authors experience this in their own way, wishing to be able to live in America and in Turkey, for them in the West and in the East, or at least this part of the East that is much friendlier than many other parts to independent, free women.
As a Turk who grew up with official history, I never learned much about the Christians who live in Turkey or the god of moon, Sin, or the goddess with the fishtail. I was also reminded of some interesting things about Turkey, like that the first Christian church is in Antakya, where we used to go for vacation when I was a baby.
Turkey is an unconventional beauty, waiting for someone to recognize just how special, strange, and unexpected it really is. Stocke and Brenner have done just that in their book.
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