The Oracle of Stamboul

I had a difficult time rating this book. On one hand, it was very readable and almost lyrical. On the other hand, nothing happens and there are many missed opportunities for character development and drama. It also ends quite abruptly and unsatisfactorily. All in all, this book has a lot of potential but could have used significant edits.

I thoroughly enjoyed the poetic description of Turkey during the last days of the Ottoman Empire (1877), and I found myself entranced by the character of Eleonora, the girl prodigy who has such an affinity for literature. But, by the last third of the book, I was disappointed that the author just frittered away these strengths with a plot that kept meandering and fizzling out, until the book just ended with really no purpose.

Since this was a debut novel, I'm going to keep an eye out for his next book. He obviously has a talent for writing about a place and for creating interesting characters, he just needs to focus on a path and stay with it.