Product Description

Keen irony and humour amongst the cats and tomb thieves of Istanbul The setting is a stately residence in Istanbul built by Russian noble émigré Pavel Antipov for his wife Agripina at the end of the Tsarist reign, now sadly dilapidated, flea-infested, and home to ten families. Shafak uses the narrative structure of A Thousand and One Nights to construct a story-within-a-story narrative. Inhabitants include Ethel, a lapsed Jew in search of true love and the sad and beautiful Blue Mistress whose personal secret provides the novel with an unforgettable denouement. Add to this a strange, intensifying stench whose cause is revealed at the end of the book, and we have a metaphor for the cultural and spiritual decay in the heart of Istanbul

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92390 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-18
• Original language: Turkish
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
Shafak can switch from a picareque tale of a father and son's broken noses to astute observations of how strangely depair and love manifest themselves without pausing. --The Guardian

A cast of wacky flat-dwellers lends it punch and pizazz --The Independent

Shafak is well set to challenge Mr Pamuk as Turkey's foremost contemporary novelist' --The Economist

About the Author
Elif Shafak was born in 1971 in Strasbourg,and spent her teenage years in Spain, before returning to Turkey. She has become an outstanding name amongst young Turkish authors. She has written five novels, and won the Mevlana Prize for the best work in mystical and transcendental literature. She is in the middle of a residency at the Massachusetts Five College Program in Women s Studies, and resides in Mount Holyoke, USA.

Customer Reviews

Disappointing portmanteau novel
Rambled on and on. The early part about how the White Russian couple came to own the house/apartment block, and the story of the saints buried in the grounds, was promising, but the main body of the novel just failed to engage. I was glad when I got to the end, and the attempt at a post-modern frame-tale, which explains that the whole thing had been made up by an imprisoned revolutionary, did nothing to foster either enjoyment or interest.

novel of a historical city with a philosophical stand
this is a novelof an historical city, istanbul. the story of the city withits different type of people and stories of the past, and now and maybethe future. the flea palace is alive with all its residences and their ownstories. there is no claim of documentary as elif shafak states it withinthe forst pages of her brilliant novel. nor can it be claimed to beuntrue. it is the circle, where there is no beginning and no end. so wejump into the story form one point, and go back and forth. it is one ofthose novels that you would like to refer in your daily life. thecharacters are so real, as if you already know those people and thestories are still weird but believable.
it is brilliantly edited andone of the best examples of turkish literature.

fantastic novel with a historical and philosophical stand
The Flea Palace is a novel of an historical city, Istanbul. The story ofthe city with its different type of people and stories of the past, andnow and maybe the future. The Flea Palace (name of the apartment) is alivewith all its residences and their own stories. There is no claim ofdocumentary as Elif Shafak states it within the first pages of herbrilliant novel. Nor is there a claim its being unture. The novel itselfis the circle, where there is no beginning and no end. So we just jumpinto the story from one point, and go back and forth. It is one of thosenovels that you would like to refer in your daily life. The characters areso real, as if you already know those people. And their stories both weirdand normal, unbeliavable and real.
It is very cleaverly edited and oneof the best examples of Turkish literature.