Interesting. Lively. Engaging ( )

I fell gradually more and more in love with this book until the very final chapter, which almost completely broke the spell. Until that point, it's an enchanting weaving of various bizarre characters' stories, and the whole edifice makes sense in the world that had been set up, yet Şafak felt the need to add an ending directly equivalent to the "then I woke up and it was all a dream" that we were all sternly told not to use in primary school. It tarnished the book so much for me that I'm tempted to just tear that chapter out of my edition. ( )

I fell gradually more and more in love with this book until the very final chapter, which almost completely broke the spell. Until that point, it's an enchanting weaving of various bizarre characters' stories, and the whole edifice makes sense in the world that had been set up, yet Şafak felt the need to add an ending directly equivalent to the "then I woke up and it was all a dream" that we were all sternly told not to use in primary school. It tarnished the book so much for me that I'm tempted to just tear that chapter out of my edition. ( )

This is a fictional story about several inhabitants of a house. Although the characters and their lives are invented, they reflect Turkish society in Istanbul. There is a hairdressing salon, which is led by twin brothers and mainly serves a meeting place to gossip about everyday especially on the residents. But the twins also have a colorful past, as they were separated as children. One lived with his father in Australia while the other with his mother in Turkey remained. The caretaker family fights especially with the vagaries of the pregnant woman and her son, who does not want go to school. In the basement there lives a student with his strange dog. The student grew up in Switzerland and went for study back to Turkey. He spends his time prevail with drugs and alcohol. There is a family that mostly holed up in their apartment. Their daughter struggles with her weak self-confidence which is also reflected on her skin. In another apartment a grandfather lives with his grandchildren and daughter. While she is to work, the grandfather tells to the grandchildren old traditional stories, which the mother doesn't like the. In the next apartment lives a couple whose husband beat his wife so that she has to go to hospital. Furthermore, there is a mistress, which is sustained by an olive oil merchant. She has strong psychological problems and scratches regularly. In another apartment, a woman is living with her daughter. The woman has mania for cleanliness, therefore often are objects flying out of the window. The daughter is strong in puberty and tries to escape from the clutches of her mother. An elderly lady who lives in the largest apartment is a messy and collects everything, even things that are washed from the sea shore. Last but not least there is the narrator, who has a big drinking problem.
I liked the story, because it is true to life. Each figure reflects a part of society. The end was quite surprising. ( )

De Franse schrijver Georges Perec beschreef in "La vie, mode d'emploi" al eens alle bewoners van een apartementsgebouw (in Parijs). Elif Shafak doet dat nog eens over, maar veel luchtiger (zonder de ingenieus-maniakale wiskunde-fobie van Perec) en gesitueerd in Istanboel. Sommige stukken zijn best leuk (de kapsalon-scenes bijvoorbeeld), en de verhoudingen tussen de bewoners intrigerend om te volgen, maar ik had de indruk in een filmscenario terecht te zijn gekomen zonder echte verhaallijn, een soort groteske; de relatief theoretische inleiding van de zogezegde auteur (over de verhouding tussen waarheid, misleiding en nonsens), en het min of meer verrassende verlengsel ervan aan het slot, versterken dat onbevredigd gevoel. Wat overblijft is een impressie van het bruisende leven in een Istanboels flatgebouw. ( )