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'THE ARCHITECT'S APPRENTICE' DRAMATIZES ARTISTIC FREEDOM DURING THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 3 2015
By Erin Kogler
In 2006, novelist Elif Shafak was charged with the crime of "insulting
Turkishness" because of her book "The Bastard of Istanbul," which
includes characters who criticize Turkey's treatment of the Armenian
population during the end of the Ottoman Empire.
The charges were dismissed, and Shafak has continued to be a passionate
supporter of artistic freedom.
In Shafak's new novel, "The Architect's Apprentice," she examines
freedom of expression and the need to create even when under pressure
from powerful outside forces.
Set in 16th-century Istanbul and based on the career of Mimar Sinan,
the chief architect of the Ottoman Empire during the time of sultans
Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II and Murad III, Shafak's tale moves
swiftly from scene to scene telling the stories of bloody ascents
to the throne, Ottoman conquests and defeats, civil unrest and the
building of some of the greatest monuments in Turkish history.
The story is told through the experiences of an orphan boy, Jahan. By
a twist of fate, Jahan, a boy escaping his cruel stepfather after
the death of his mother, finds himself on the same ship as a white
elephant destined for the sultan's menagerie in Istanbul.
Jahan is made to pretend to be the elephant's tamer by the cruel
ship's captain who threatens the boy into agreeing to steal from the
sultan's palace.
Jahan, born and raised in Turkey, is able to convince those in power
that he is the Indian trainer of the young elephant Chota.
The beautiful, exotic elephant calf quickly becomes a favorite among
the menagerie, and Jahan is placed in numerous situations where he is
in the presence of high-ranking officials as well as the sultan and
sultana. His work with the elephant also draws the attention of Sultan
Suleiman's daughter, Princess Mihrimah, who has secrets of her own.
When he and his elephant help to build a bridge during one of the
sultan's war campaigns, he meets Sinan, the man who would become the
sltan's chief architect. Sinan sees something special about Jahan and
eventually invites him to be one of his four apprentices and provides
Jahan with a formal education. Sinan also passes on his philosophy
of art, which centers on creating in spite of the dangers around him.
Jahan is at Sinan's side during the building of some of the greatest
architecture produced during the Ottoman Empire, including the
Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul and the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne.
Sinan is also placed in the larger historical context of artistic
expression when Jahan travels to Rome and meets Michelangelo as he
is working on St. Peter's Basilica.
Much like Sinan's projects for the sultans, St. Peter's was a project
that Michelangelo was under great pressure to complete from both the
pope and his own impending death.
As the novel progresses, a mystery begins to unfold that puts Sinan
and his apprentices in grave danger, and it becomes clear that Jahan
is not the only one hiding his true self. Although "The Architect's
Apprentice" is a story filled with exotic animals, wars, princesses
and adventure, Shafak's story is really one of freedom, art, love,
devotion and humanity.
"The Architect's Apprentice" has an enormous cast of characters
including sultans and sultanas, concubines, chief advisers, teachers,
animal tamers, apprentices, laborers, soldiers and gypsies, and spans
multiple decades of Turkish history.
Shafak writes in a fast-paced, episodic style,and often character
development is sacrificed as the plot advances.
However, Shafak's protagonist, Jahan, is well drawn and the scenes
depicting Jahan's relationships with the elephant, Sinan, and the
Princess Mihrimah are among the most satisfying in the novel.
http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/books/the-architects-apprentice-dramatizes-artistic-freedom-during-the-ottoman-empire-b99469758z1-298593221.html
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 3 2015
By Erin Kogler
In 2006, novelist Elif Shafak was charged with the crime of "insulting
Turkishness" because of her book "The Bastard of Istanbul," which
includes characters who criticize Turkey's treatment of the Armenian
population during the end of the Ottoman Empire.
The charges were dismissed, and Shafak has continued to be a passionate
supporter of artistic freedom.
In Shafak's new novel, "The Architect's Apprentice," she examines
freedom of expression and the need to create even when under pressure
from powerful outside forces.
Set in 16th-century Istanbul and based on the career of Mimar Sinan,
the chief architect of the Ottoman Empire during the time of sultans
Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II and Murad III, Shafak's tale moves
swiftly from scene to scene telling the stories of bloody ascents
to the throne, Ottoman conquests and defeats, civil unrest and the
building of some of the greatest monuments in Turkish history.
The story is told through the experiences of an orphan boy, Jahan. By
a twist of fate, Jahan, a boy escaping his cruel stepfather after
the death of his mother, finds himself on the same ship as a white
elephant destined for the sultan's menagerie in Istanbul.
Jahan is made to pretend to be the elephant's tamer by the cruel
ship's captain who threatens the boy into agreeing to steal from the
sultan's palace.
Jahan, born and raised in Turkey, is able to convince those in power
that he is the Indian trainer of the young elephant Chota.
The beautiful, exotic elephant calf quickly becomes a favorite among
the menagerie, and Jahan is placed in numerous situations where he is
in the presence of high-ranking officials as well as the sultan and
sultana. His work with the elephant also draws the attention of Sultan
Suleiman's daughter, Princess Mihrimah, who has secrets of her own.
When he and his elephant help to build a bridge during one of the
sultan's war campaigns, he meets Sinan, the man who would become the
sltan's chief architect. Sinan sees something special about Jahan and
eventually invites him to be one of his four apprentices and provides
Jahan with a formal education. Sinan also passes on his philosophy
of art, which centers on creating in spite of the dangers around him.
Jahan is at Sinan's side during the building of some of the greatest
architecture produced during the Ottoman Empire, including the
Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul and the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne.
Sinan is also placed in the larger historical context of artistic
expression when Jahan travels to Rome and meets Michelangelo as he
is working on St. Peter's Basilica.
Much like Sinan's projects for the sultans, St. Peter's was a project
that Michelangelo was under great pressure to complete from both the
pope and his own impending death.
As the novel progresses, a mystery begins to unfold that puts Sinan
and his apprentices in grave danger, and it becomes clear that Jahan
is not the only one hiding his true self. Although "The Architect's
Apprentice" is a story filled with exotic animals, wars, princesses
and adventure, Shafak's story is really one of freedom, art, love,
devotion and humanity.
"The Architect's Apprentice" has an enormous cast of characters
including sultans and sultanas, concubines, chief advisers, teachers,
animal tamers, apprentices, laborers, soldiers and gypsies, and spans
multiple decades of Turkish history.
Shafak writes in a fast-paced, episodic style,and often character
development is sacrificed as the plot advances.
However, Shafak's protagonist, Jahan, is well drawn and the scenes
depicting Jahan's relationships with the elephant, Sinan, and the
Princess Mihrimah are among the most satisfying in the novel.
http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/books/the-architects-apprentice-dramatizes-artistic-freedom-during-the-ottoman-empire-b99469758z1-298593221.html