Great book let down by irritating reader

I enjoyed the book very much & would highly recommend it - but the reader’s frequent mispronunciations were a constant irritation. I lost count of the number of words he appeared unfamiliar with - couldn’t he have asked someone how to pronounce words he hadn’t heard before, or looked them up?

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12 people found this helpful

A charming memorable read

I loved this book for its evocation of 16th century Istanbul, relationship between Johan and the white elephant and the determination of a brave architect’s apprentice which eventually led him to work on one of the greatest monuments to love the Taj Mahal

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Very slow not paricularly engaging for me

Very slow……not interested in providing more words I am afraid..this is an annoying feature of Amazon’s website

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Superb

I could not stop listening to this.....many hours lost on sleep as I kept extending the timer! :)

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14 people found this helpful

Ponderous but interesting

The Architect's Apprentice describes in detail the daily life and historical events in Istanbul in the 16th century. Checking some of the facts, it seems to be well researched and historically accurate. The writing has some nice touches with original imagery and it's almost worth reading for the non-fiction content. Overall I found it unsatisfying, largely because of the narrator but also because of the character of the apprentice hero who is generous in spirit to the point of neglecting his own interests. This is all very virtuous perhaps but at times became unconvincing and almost ridiculous. The narrator is not only ponderous with a flat voice devoid of expression, but jolts every few words a bit like a child learning to read. Seriously, any 6th former who did a bit of drama would have done a better job. If you get it, experiment with the playback speed.

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Delightful

This book was on the Duchess of Cornwall's reading list and I believe that she chose well. A beautifully written and narrated story. I was slightly disappointed by the last few chapters but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment.

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Immersion in 16th century Istanbul

This is my second Élif Shafak book, I so enjoyed her 10 minutes and 38 seconds.

This book looked very different so I was a little apprehensive.

It took at least an hour to get into the book, as the prose is quite flowery in places. However the words soon weave you into a 16 century Istanbul, the Middle East and parts of Europe with its magic, mystery and mythical senses that are almost palpable at times.

The characters were beautifully drawn, the good the bad and the ugly. I loved the way she included and wrote about the animal as they too were a part of the court of the Sultan. Chota the white elephant is magnificent and makes the man that is Johan.

The summary of this book tells nothing, it is like the tip of an iceberg and you get drawn down into the vastness of this tale.
Exemplary narration by Grant Cartwright.

Highly recommend for lovers of historical fiction.

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Semi factual great story, great character

Really enjoyed this book, started on kindle but enjoyed more as audiobook. Became really fond of Jahan and Chota and Sinan.
Architectural and historical facts really intersting but kept alive by Characters.

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1 person found this helpful

Epic

Great story, so we'll presented/narrated.
I loved the lead character and enjoyed the story's setting, in time and place.

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Wonderful

This book takes you to a magical place part truth part fiction and a insite to the beauty of Istanbul

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