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vasha's review against another edition
4.0
A fine and entertaining comic novel. The format of focusing on a large cast of characters, each of whom has a problem of some sort, could suggest a feel-good ending is on the way, but no, this is more honest and satisfying: some people's lives get better over the course of the book, but some get worse, or end up on balance much like they began. The characters are somewhat caricatured, but not to the point of utter unbelievability. The best thing about the book, besides its ending, is its sense of the texture of life in this crowded neighborhood of Istanbul.
lisc3's review against another edition
4.0
An enigma. While I found this heavy & dry at times, once you enter the realms of the Bonbon you find yourself immersed in the emotions of its inhabitants. It's akin to people watching with emotions included. Joy, sorrow, ludicrous antics, cynicism to say I enjoyed this read is not quite fitting, to say I felt it would be more apt.
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
3.0
Altădată în acest cartier erau două cimitire vechi, unul micuţ, aproape dreptunghiular şi bine îngrijit, celălalt uriaş, în formă de semilună şi vădit neglijat. Înconjurate de garduri năpădite de iederă şi coline umbroase, sprijinindu-se pe acelaşi zid dărăpănat, ele se întindeau pe un teren vast, unul în continuarea celuilalt. Amândouă erau pline ochi şi totuşi cu desăvârşire pustii. Cel micuţ era al armenilor, iar cel mare – al musulmanilor. Coama zidului de aproape doi metri ce despărţea cele două cimitire era presărată cu cuie ruginite, bucăţi ascuţite de sticlă şi, în ciuda fricii de ghinion, cioburi de oglindă, toate cu vârful în sus, ca să împiedice oamenii să treacă dintr-o parte în alta. Cât despre porţile duble cu grilaj de fier, de dimensiuni gargantueşti, ale fiecărui cimitir, ele se aflau exact la capetele opuse, una îndreptată către nord şi alta către sud, aşa încât, dacă din întâmplare vreun vizitator simţea dorinţa de-a străbate drumul de la una până la cealaltă, să fie descurajat de lungimea distanţei pe care o avea de parcurs. Oricum, în realitate nimeni nu trebuia să suporte un asemenea inconvenient, fiindcă nu existase niciodată vreun vizitator cu rude îngropate într-unul din cimitire care, aflat acolo, să dorească să viziteze şi celălalt cimitir.
undinecerelia's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
udai's review against another edition
5.0
this was the best book i ever read why?
it's like real life: it has no center story all the events are shallow and not important for other people but the charecters who are living the story
there are no heroes or villans just people
the mood of the book is amazing whenever i read it i feel like i'm sitting in a dark humid basment and it's amazing
elif is the best director i've ever seen the way she takes you from one apartmet to another is amazing like when she uses the TV or so
there're alot of tiny details in this book that will take you to a whole different world
the way the first two and last pages are connected are amazing
no story has a specific ending like it has no beginning every thing is perfect
i can re-read this book any time anywhere and still enjoy it like it's the first time its just sublime ,superb and great.
it's like real life: it has no center story all the events are shallow and not important for other people but the charecters who are living the story
there are no heroes or villans just people
the mood of the book is amazing whenever i read it i feel like i'm sitting in a dark humid basment and it's amazing
elif is the best director i've ever seen the way she takes you from one apartmet to another is amazing like when she uses the TV or so
there're alot of tiny details in this book that will take you to a whole different world
the way the first two and last pages are connected are amazing
no story has a specific ending like it has no beginning every thing is perfect
i can re-read this book any time anywhere and still enjoy it like it's the first time its just sublime ,superb and great.
mo_reads_'s review
3.0
2.5
Whimsical.
Elif Shafak has the ability to crawl into the minds of wildly different characters and write from their headspace. Her writing was beautiful, captivating and her metaphors brought them to life.
However, it was pretty hard to read and really slow at times. The ending was anti-climatic and it was hard to keep up with the characters. I wanted to rush the book to finally see what happens.
Overall, a pretty great book, with charming characters and thought-provoking ideas,
but... a hit or miss.
Whimsical.
Elif Shafak has the ability to crawl into the minds of wildly different characters and write from their headspace. Her writing was beautiful, captivating and her metaphors brought them to life.
However, it was pretty hard to read and really slow at times. The ending was anti-climatic and it was hard to keep up with the characters. I wanted to rush the book to finally see what happens.
Overall, a pretty great book, with charming characters and thought-provoking ideas,
but... a hit or miss.
snonono's review
1.0
This has been one of the most mind-numbigly boring books I have ever read. Recommended only to my enemies.
katarzynabosman's review against another edition
4.0
Kupiłam ta książkę 4 lata temu po przeczytaniu artykułu o autorce i na fali zachwytu Pamukiem. Miałam kilka podejść, ale za każdym razem odkładalam "Pchli pałac" że znudzeniem. Jednak nadeszła chwilą i kolejny raz siegnelam po książkę Safak i okazało się, że jest czarujaca i wyciągająca. Opowiada losy mieszkańców kamienicy w Stambule. Mimo że tak nie została opisana to ją wyobrażałem konstrukcję w stylu gaudiego. A lokatorzy sama klasyka gatunku "are we the Fuck upa? oh yeah we definately are!"
emason1121's review
3.0
3.5, for the individual stories, especially the Anitpov’s. They were both inventive and descriptive.
Each of the apartments in The Flea Palace could be a stand alone short story, without dividing them and adding them into a single book, even though they serve mainly as description and no central conflict of note is ever brought to a climax and resolved. And though I don’t care if books have no concise beginning and no particular end, without an arc around a specific conflict, this one dropped steeply off a cliff after building tension toward a particular centralized climax. Shafak would have done better to dispense with this central event altogether and just let each of the stories end where they may, with nothing to connect the stories but the physical connection of the apartment building. She did the richness of her description a disservice by building toward the climax, increasingly integrating the lives of her characters, and then ignoring most of them after that central event. Two further complaints are the premise she lays out in the epilogue felt rushed and awkwardly tacked on, and the garbage metaphor/allegory (if indeed it was that) was dense and inadequately connected. I feel like (though can’t think of any examples right now) I’ve seen books structured similarly that were executed better.
Though Flea Palace is by far my favorite of Shafak’s books, the bar is quite low. Expectations around her novels are high and— for me— she fails to meet them, mostly because her stories are rushed, take on too much, or, like Flea Palace, are resolved too quickly. These problems could be easily solved with some adequate editing, so I do wonder about the process of writing them and what I seem to missing that makes them so deserving of accolades once published.
Each of the apartments in The Flea Palace could be a stand alone short story, without dividing them and adding them into a single book, even though they serve mainly as description and no central conflict of note is ever brought to a climax and resolved. And though I don’t care if books have no concise beginning and no particular end, without an arc around a specific conflict, this one dropped steeply off a cliff after building tension toward a particular centralized climax. Shafak would have done better to dispense with this central event altogether and just let each of the stories end where they may, with nothing to connect the stories but the physical connection of the apartment building. She did the richness of her description a disservice by building toward the climax, increasingly integrating the lives of her characters, and then ignoring most of them after that central event. Two further complaints are the premise she lays out in the epilogue felt rushed and awkwardly tacked on, and the garbage metaphor/allegory (if indeed it was that) was dense and inadequately connected. I feel like (though can’t think of any examples right now) I’ve seen books structured similarly that were executed better.
Though Flea Palace is by far my favorite of Shafak’s books, the bar is quite low. Expectations around her novels are high and— for me— she fails to meet them, mostly because her stories are rushed, take on too much, or, like Flea Palace, are resolved too quickly. These problems could be easily solved with some adequate editing, so I do wonder about the process of writing them and what I seem to missing that makes them so deserving of accolades once published.