Not so entertaining but fascinating history

After a very slow start, this became more and more interesting. The description of the fighting at Gallipoli is equal to the best wartime literature I have read. The historical insight into the making of Turkey from the collapsing Ottoman Empire is brilliant. Yet more powerful than all this is the terrific sense of humanity that emerges from the descriptions of the villagers, for all their simplicity, ignorance and superstition.

The narration is brilliant. Unfortunately the accents are so well done they seriously grate. It helped a great deal to increase the speed to 1.15, just about the only time I have done that in a few hundred books I have listened to.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Wonderful

amazing narrator fantastic story, depicts exactly the turkish character and the area a great classic, quite the best loved it

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Enjoyable but slow

I thought I would give up after the first few hours of listening as the story progression was very slow. However the scene setting is rewarded by the rest of the book which gives a detailed if depressing account of the end of the Ottoman period and early Turkish history. Narration is excellent but patience is required and rewarded throughout.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A haunting & daunting warning against nationalism

Unrivaled storytelling on the end of the Ottoman world, and all the peoples crushed or irrevocably changed by it. A book so dear to my heart, brought to life by exquisite reading. Sadness and laughter mixed in with a great deal of context. Truly a must read for every human being.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Beautiful

I’ve read this book before and wanted to revisit it. I decided to try the audio book which I thought might be a risk as sometimes you shouldn’t mess with a book you’ve loved.
I loved listening to it even more and will no doubt listen again. A beautiful story with expert narration.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

simply beautiful story.

This book is simply beautiful. I have laughed and cried. I got educated in a history that was not made available when I was at school. I

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Just a beautiful and hugely evocative story

Unashamedly I adore Louis De Bernieres. He has an ability to paint pictures in words and create fullsome worlds that make the listener ache for times gone by. Much like Captain Corelli this a gentle, evocative account of broadly unremarkable people going about their daily lives, but wrought in such a way and woven into historical context that you absolutely fall head over heels for them. I can picture almost every character and somehow De Bernieres succeeds in combining complex, multiple characters and plots into an easy to absorb narrative. The detail is superb and despite plenty of traumatic and violent events, the story feels warm and heartening. It’s a huge soft couch of a narrative. I love this story!

Equally there are very significant real events in play, demonstrating the very worst of human ignorance, stupidity and our ability to scapegoat through prejudice. There are lessons from history, not dissimilar to the Third Reich or more recent Balkans War and these are vividly portrayed, not through violent detail but by the individual and collective journeys of key characters.

One criticism I would level is that much like ‘The Dust That Falls From Dreams’ the story is possibly a little drawn out in the final few chapters. But this is a small price to pay for the immersive story provided in both instances.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Excellent listen

Loved this book.. Well read interesting entertaining and in places so funny that I laughed out loud. The last time I remember laughing out loud at a book is when i was a child. Thoroughly recommend it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Very easy listening

One of the best stories I have ever heard. Fantastic!!!!! Very well narrated too. I recommend this story to everyone.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

Outstanding!!

Excellent narration; superb story; heart-breaking history, respectfully told through lovable characters. Absolutely loved it and unreservedly recommend it!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful