Spoiled by the narrator

The book is not about a boy's rise from rags to riches as the book description says. I can only think whoever wrote that did not read the book.
The book is in effect a series of interlinked short stories. They are well written & entertaining.
What spoiled the book for me was the narrator. He has a good clear voice but his frequent mis pronounciation of many words became extremely irritating. The narrator is telling the story in an English accent but tends to use the American pronounciation of many words. Many other words he just pronounces wrongly. It really spoilt tje book for me

36 people found this helpful

Great story, a bit long winded, bad narrator

I love Elif Shafak, this story is interesting immersive and informative - but it made me wish I had read it myself - the narrator really ruined it - dull- monotone and often mispronouncing words, what a shame

I was glad when it came to an end - I'm going to get the book

23 people found this helpful

Superb

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

14 people found this helpful

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?

12 people found this helpful

for fans of the Arabian Nights

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this to lovers of flowery language and pious aphorisms, and lots of patience. Many would say it is beautifully written At first I was fascinated by the setting, 16th century Istanbul of which I know nothing and found Eli Shafak's account enlightening. Despite the hero, Jehan's many narrow escapes, each came to seem like the one before.The plot moved too slowly for me and I couldn't empathise with any of the characters.

If you’ve listened to books by Elif Shafak before, how does this one compare?

na

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I found the narrator's voice and tone monotonous.

Could you see The Architect's Apprentice being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

Probably. It would be very PC and look gorgeous. Probably best made in Bollywood

10 people found this helpful

Lovely story, unfortunate choice of narrator

I enjoyed this book despite its slow pace. The book describes a life story, mostly set in 16th century Istanbul with interesting information on what life must have been like in those times.
I was disappointed in the narration, which spoilt the book for me as I find Americanised pronunciation and mispronunciation extremely irritating. The narrator reads with a British-English accent, but has clearly not come across many of the words before. It’s a pity that these issues weren’t picked up with editing at the time of recording.
I look forward to reading more books by this author, but will stick to the paper edition if the audio version is read by the same narrator.

6 people found this helpful

Enthralling

Fascinating look at the Ottoman Empire, from the lowly lives to the highest in the land. It is such a visual book that I feel as if I have been to Istanbul and didn't notice my covid lockdown life so long as I kept reading. With Grant Cartwright's narration, he brought everything so brilliantly written to life, superb.

5 people found this helpful

Interesting in parts, especially about elephants.

I also quite enjoyed the lengths architects go to, but the story was not gripping and it sort of fizzled out (for me) a bit. It was far too slow and the love life part barely held any attention for me at all.

5 people found this helpful

Evocative entertaining escapism

Like a Paolo Coelho novel but with more focus on the story than the message, this book captures the exotic remote world of Ottoman Istanbul as its protagonist lurches from love to architectural masterpiece like a 16tj Century Forrest Gump. Captivating escapism from modern life!

5 people found this helpful

A trip to sixteenth century Ottoman Istanbul!

This is the second book by Elif Safak that I have read. I was not disappointed. Set in the 16th century it is based around the life of a boy who becomes apprentice to the most famous of all Ottoman Architects, Sinan. But nothing is what it appears. A wonderful story filled with vivid characters by a mistress of story telling. If you enjoy historical fiction you will like this.

4 people found this helpful