The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin

 

I know this is a novel a lot of people liked, and I know there are four sequels, but this novel didn't really work for me. The prose struck me as mostly bland (except for some weird distinctly English class signaling) the characters who weren't Yashim seemed mostly interchangeable, and Istanbul came across as mostly a cesspit with no redeeming characteristics. The story was cluttered and jumbled and seemed to turn on several instances of someone (usually/probably Yashim) knowing something not yet revealed to the reader--this is fine, as it's not really trying to play at being a fair play mystery, but it does make have a distancing effect for me. Well, at least I know four novels I don't need to read; though I do wonder if the author's history books about Istanbul are more enjoyable.