Ann Jojo từ Golnam, South Khorasan, Iran

annjojo93

11/05/2024

Dữ liệu người dùng, đánh giá và đề xuất cho sách

Ann Jojo Sách lại (10)

2019-02-14 23:31

Những Ngày Mang Thai Bé Củ Lạc Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn

Sách được viết bởi Bởi: Mẹ Cháo quẩy

The setting of the The Janissary Tree> is fascinating: the novel takes place in 1836 in Istanbul, with the Ottoman empire on the cusp between tradition and the modernity that will ultimately destroy it. And the main character, Yashim, who is a eunuch, certainly provides a twist on the traditional detective! However, I can’t say that I loved the novel as a novel, rather than as a thinly veiled history lesson about a rather forgotten period in history. In fact, every character was ready to spout off pages of Ottoman history or the arrangement of the Sultan’s harem, at the drop of a hat, so that we, the readers, understood what was going on. But since they actually lived through these events, why would they spend so much time talking about them? That’s a completely unnatural, novelistic contrivance. As for Yashim himself, I never felt like I got to know him at all throughout the course of the novel – his two distinguishing characteristics (being a eunuch; being a good cook) defined him and we never saw any growth in the character. He would start to be angsty about having been, err, eunuch-ized, and then he’d suppress that angst and cook something and learn some more Ottoman history (plus his being a eunuch seemingly does not hinder him in the least in his affair with a beautiful lady whom he encounters during the course of his investigation. I am not 100% sure that Yashim would be physically capable of what he does… hmmm!). Lastly, the solution to the mystery was rushed and not very well thought out; I would have liked to know how the villain had managed to carry out some of his plans and who assisted him and the two separate mysteries that Yashim was supposed to be solving weren't very well-connected. Also, one small and completely infuriating thing is that Jason Goodwin keeps referring to the Janissaries as “Karagozi” Sufis, which is just bizarre, because he wrote an Ottoman history book and therefore undoubtedly knows that the Janissaries were followers of the Bektashi Sufis. Did he just not want to offend any existing religious group by using their name in a work of fiction? It constantly takes me out of the story! That said, I did like the setting a lot and the recipes were mouthwatering, so I'm giving it an extra star.

Người đọc Ann Jojo từ Golnam, South Khorasan, Iran

Người dùng coi những cuốn sách này là thú vị nhất trong năm 2017-2018, ban biên tập của cổng thông tin "Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn" khuyến cáo rằng tất cả các độc giả sẽ làm quen với văn học này.