The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

Isn't this cover divine?

The Oracle of Stamboul
Author: Michael David Lukas
ISBN-13: 978- 0062036834
Publication Date: February, 2011
Acquired by Me: Sent from Publisher



Description Courtesy of Goodreads:

“An elegantly crafted, utterly enchanting debut novel set in a mystical, exotic world, in which a gifted young girl charms a sultan and changes the course of an empire's history

Late in the summer of 1877, a flock of purple-and-white hoopoes suddenly appears over the town of Constanta on the Black Sea, and Eleonora Cohen is ushered into the world by a mysterious pair of Tartar midwives who arrive just minutes before her birth. "They had read the signs, they said: a sea of horses, a conference of birds, the North Star in alignment with the moon. It was a prophecy that their last king had given on his deathwatch." But joy is mixed with tragedy, for Eleonora's mother dies soon after the birth.

Raised by her doting father, Yakob, a carpet merchant, and her stern, resentful stepmother, Ruxandra, Eleonora spends her early years daydreaming and doing housework—until the moment she teaches herself to read, and her father recognizes that she is an extraordinarily gifted child, a prodigy.

When Yakob sets off by boat for Stamboul on business, eight-year-old Eleonora, unable to bear the separation, stows away in one of his trunks. On the shores of the Bosporus, in the house of her father's business partner, Moncef Bey, a new life awaits. Books, backgammon, beautiful dresses and shoes, markets swarming with color and life—the imperial capital overflows with elegance, and mystery. For in the narrow streets of Stamboul—a city at the crossroads of the world—intrigue and gossip are currency, and people are not always what they seem. Eleonora's tutor, an American minister and educator, may be a spy. The kindly though elusive Moncef Bey has a past history of secret societies and political maneuvering. And what is to be made of the eccentric, charming Sultan Abdulhamid II himself, beleaguered by friend and foe alike as his unwieldy, multiethnic empire crumbles?

The Oracle of Stamboul is a marvelously evocative, magical historical novel that will transport readers to another time and place—romantic, exotic, yet remarkably similar to our own.”

My Thoughts:

This book held so much promise for me. I loved it, right up to the ending, that is. I am usually very complacent about the decisions an author makes in their storyline. I accept most choices with an understanding that just because I may not have made it so, doesn’t mean they weren’t right to do so. They are, after all, the author and I am just a reader. The Oracle of Stamboul feels different to me in this respect. I just don’t understand why Mr. Lukas chose to end the book the way he did. It feels so incomplete and impractical. I’m afraid that, for me, it got in the way of the rest of the story. I would encourage anyone to help me see the ‘big picture’ in regard to the problem I have concerning it.

But, yes, I did love the rest of the book. Lukas is a master at setting the scene. His imagination is full of color and richness. His characters are unique and challenging to know. Eleonora was sadly fascinating. As I read about her, I couldn’t help but put her as a teenager in my mind. It was hard to remember that she was only a child of eight years. Her father, Yakob, and Moncef Bay were original as well. Their roles in Eleonora’s life played a deep and complex part of her being. The Sultan and his mother almost balanced out the story. I think I would have liked to of seen more of the interplay between them and Eleonora. Rev. Muehler seemed to fit as necessary character to bringing the two families together, but I question his role in the book. Either more or less of him would have been nicer.

Sadly, I am still hung up on the book’s ending, but that’s a personal opinion of mine. I would recommend it regardless, as I believe the tale to be a beautiful and yes, elegant, story.

The thoughts expressed in this post are solely based on my personal opinion and have not been influenced by any other entity or being. Use of my statements may not be reproduced without permission from me, the author of Fall In Love With Books.