The Architect's Apprentice
Ratings14
Average rating4.4
'Tell me. What would be the right gift to send to a man who has everything?' 'An elephant, my Lord. The biggest animal on the land.' Sixteenth century Istanbul: a young stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy has no wordly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare and valuable white elephant destined for the palace menagerie. So begins an epic adventure that will see young Jahan rise from his lowly origins to the highest ranks of the Sultan's court. Along the way he will meet deceitful courtiers and false friends, gypsies, animal tamers, and the beautiful, mischievous Princess Mihrimah. He will journey on Chota's back to the furthest corners of the Sultan's kingdom and back again. And one day he will catch the eye of the royal architect, Sinan, a chance encounter destined to change Jahan's fortunes forever. Filled with the scents, sounds and sights of the Ottoman Empire, when Istanbul was the teeming centre of civilisation, The Architect's Apprentice is a magical, sweeping tale of one boy and his elephant caught up in a world of wonder and danger.
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The story of a boy, Jahan, who runs away from his abusive stepfather in India and becomes an elephant keeper in the menagerie of Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Sultan in Istanbul, Turkey. By being in the right place at the right time as a young man, he becomes an apprentice to Sinan, the Chief Royal Architect. The book accompanies Jahan as he grows up, develops in his profession and in his character, encountering some long-simmering difficulties along the way. The book takes a leisurely approach to dealing with its central issues; they are allowed to develop organically over the course of Jahan's whole lifetime. There are periods of action, but also long periods where these issues seem to be dormant.
Elif Shafak's writing is wonderful for an adventure novel, which this is. She conveys the atmosphere of her locations with a sure touch, without overdoing the description. Jahan is a sympathetic character, an outsider without any status in the Ottoman Empire, observing the environment and customs and attempting to fit in and avoid making fatal mistakes.
A mesmerising, beautifully detailed and simply magical book! As Shafak herself admits in the author's notes, she clearly has taken liberties with the chronology of historical events, and what she creates is a story that is a marvelous mix of fact and fiction. Ottoman Istanbul is beautifully realised, and the endless adventures of Jahan the mahout, elephant tamer, and architect's apprentice, kept me guessing and wondering what was around the corner. All the characters are strong, even Chota the elephant, who is endearing beyond measure. I cried, smiled, laughed throughout, and wouldn't change a thing. Thank you, Shafak, for such a delightful historical novel!
This was my second read by Elif Shafak after The bastard of Istanbul, I love how she makes a living character out of Istanbul in both the book set hundreds of years apart.
As an architect myself, Elif taught me many a things through the words of master Sinan which I will hold dear to myself. The characters that she has created purely out of fiction, Jahan and chota, the white elephant and the bond they shared will stay with me for a long time.
The way she manages to narrate a story that took place over a period of hundred years with many characters ranging from the Sultans to the gypsies with ease is praiseworthy.
