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A review by romankurys
Çalıkuşu by Reşat Nuri Güntekin
2.0
I was torn with the rating for “Calicusu”. It was really a good book at heart. It is filled with emotional distress of a privileged girl who is thrown into the real world, to grow up and get a taste of reality on her own.
There is a lot of good scenes here, lots of good parts that did stir up emotion in my black heart, but there was just way too much fluff and unnecessary (to me) details which did nothing else but bore me.
Characters: 2
This could just be me, but I simply could not find myself caring enough about any of the characters here. Looking back at it, I can actually say that there really is just one character: Calicusu. The rest wears kind of like a supporting cast of ever changing people coming and going to cause her grief or some happiness. Or sometimes do nothing at all to the story, just serve as a filler for Feride’s journal entry.
It gives a glimpse into her psyche, sure does! However I have to care about Feride, to care about glimpses into her psyche, and with exception of a few moments, I did not.
Call me heartless. Fine. I deserved it.
Plot: 2
Plot..was... There was no plot. There was random roaming for no reason at all. She could have prevented it all, the entire book, by just staying. She actually appears like a spoiled rich girl, who grew up in privilege and is forcing herself to live out some years in misery due to no one else but herself and her silly, illogical whimsies.
I cannot understand Feride. She does not appear as a strong female character, like I think she is supposed to. She appears to be a completely emotional, illogical, spoiled brat who did not get her way and is now throwing a tantrum.
Setting: 3
There really was not a whole lot of setting here either. Feride bounced around Turkish small and big cities but the setting played a very small effect to the entire story. Most of the places she was living in, we don’t even know the full names of. That doesn’t help the immersion.
What I did like, however, was to see how different Turkish culture was (or still is) from what I am used to. A glimpse into the psyche of Turkish citizens back in early 1900’s was great. That’s the only reason why Setting is a 3 stars.
Overall, I would say, if you enjoy novellas, melodramas or in general lots of pages about nothing, this is the book for you.
I did not see how or why this became a classic of Turkish literature and if I can avoid reading more books by this author, I will.
My personal suggestion is: steer clear of this one, it’s not worth the time.
Roman “Ragnar”
There is a lot of good scenes here, lots of good parts that did stir up emotion in my black heart, but there was just way too much fluff and unnecessary (to me) details which did nothing else but bore me.
Characters: 2
This could just be me, but I simply could not find myself caring enough about any of the characters here. Looking back at it, I can actually say that there really is just one character: Calicusu. The rest wears kind of like a supporting cast of ever changing people coming and going to cause her grief or some happiness. Or sometimes do nothing at all to the story, just serve as a filler for Feride’s journal entry.
It gives a glimpse into her psyche, sure does! However I have to care about Feride, to care about glimpses into her psyche, and with exception of a few moments, I did not.
Call me heartless. Fine. I deserved it.
Plot: 2
Plot..was... There was no plot. There was random roaming for no reason at all. She could have prevented it all, the entire book, by just staying. She actually appears like a spoiled rich girl, who grew up in privilege and is forcing herself to live out some years in misery due to no one else but herself and her silly, illogical whimsies.
I cannot understand Feride. She does not appear as a strong female character, like I think she is supposed to. She appears to be a completely emotional, illogical, spoiled brat who did not get her way and is now throwing a tantrum.
Setting: 3
There really was not a whole lot of setting here either. Feride bounced around Turkish small and big cities but the setting played a very small effect to the entire story. Most of the places she was living in, we don’t even know the full names of. That doesn’t help the immersion.
What I did like, however, was to see how different Turkish culture was (or still is) from what I am used to. A glimpse into the psyche of Turkish citizens back in early 1900’s was great. That’s the only reason why Setting is a 3 stars.
Overall, I would say, if you enjoy novellas, melodramas or in general lots of pages about nothing, this is the book for you.
I did not see how or why this became a classic of Turkish literature and if I can avoid reading more books by this author, I will.
My personal suggestion is: steer clear of this one, it’s not worth the time.
Roman “Ragnar”