Asli Sancar is author of Ottoman Women Myth and Reality, a book which challenges the Orientalist myth that Ottoman women were erotic, indolent and suppressed. The book, which gives a realistic account of Ottoman women and harem life based on valid documentation, was awarded first place in the history/politics category in the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Publishing Awards and was a finalist in cover design. It was also published in Turkish in March, 2009.
Ms. Sancar has written intermittently on women鈥檚 issues for the last twenty-five years. Most of her articles have been published in Turkish in the Istanbul-based magazine, Women and Family. She has two other books published in Turkish: Awakening to the Light of Islam (1986) and Women and Family in Ottoman Society (1999). Ms. Sancar also lectures extensively in Turkey and the U.S. and has been featured broadly in the Turkish media. In addition to writing, she does English/Turkish translation professionally. Born and raised in the U.S., Ms. Sancar converted to Islam in 1968 and is the mother of three children.
I would give this book closer to 2.5 stars, but I'll be generous and go three.
This book had a lot of potential, the language is very proper and unrealistic for most of it, reminding me of the simple primers you use with children when they start to read, all the proper punctuation and word order. It's a quick read covering two people and their different life styles, while it goes into detail of the culture and to some extent some of the language, its not woven in such away that you feel as though you are in the middle of Istanbul in the 1850s. The Turkish words are put in awkwardly, just using the word and not giving a translation at the same time, but listing them all at the back of the book.
The characters are all flat and one dimensional, never really forming personalities or quirks that are relateable. Its a very easy read, not long and not complicated to follow, though really not worth the $13 I paid for it. You're better to get it from the library. (from first read, January 3-4, 2013.
My God, this was a painful read for what had so much potential. The first chapter opened well, and then it all fell apart when Jamila was introduced. This book is the epitome of telling instead of showing, and time-skipping through events. The descriptions in isolation are excellent, but in a story that rushes through events and tells you everything like a documentary, it all drags on and numbs your mind. No wonder the book is barely 100 pages. This is hardly a story at all; it feels like an outline of plot events and character information with a message attached to it.
There's nothing much to say about the plot considering how much is skipped over. I feel nothing for the characters because they have no depth or agency. The ending is so predictable and lame. Slavery is cartoonishly romanticized here; I understand that the culture and people would think that being sold into slavery is the best thing ever, but there's no nuance to it at all. Heck, Demetra Vaka's Harem journals were more realistic when it came to this, and she romanticized harem culture to the ground. At least Vaka questioned the morality of Ottoman slavery and hinted at a former palace slave being unhappy with her lot.
What a waste of what could have been a great story.
Kitab谋n isminin Harem olmas谋, kitaba bir 枚n yarg谋 kat谋yor bence. Tarihe dair sa臒lam olaylar beklerken asl谋nda 莽ok 眉st眉n k枚r眉, geli艧i g眉zel yaz谋lm谋艧 bir kitap oldu臒unu anlamak zor de臒ildi. 脟ok yava艧 ve olays谋z bir ilerleme mevcut kitapta, anlat谋lardan sonra s眉rekli 鈥渢amam da bunlardan banane? Bir olay yok mu? Bir karma艧a olmayacak m谋?鈥� Diye kendime sorular sorarken buldum kendimi. Anla艧谋lmas谋 莽ok basit ve ak谋c谋l谋臒谋 inan谋lmaz derecede k枚t眉 olan bir kitapt谋. Hi莽 bir kitab谋 yar谋da b谋rakmay谋 sevmedi臒im i莽in kitab谋 bir an 枚nce bitirip, kurtulmak istedi臒im i莽in a莽谋kcas谋 bir 莽谋rp谋da okuyuverdim, yoksa bir g眉nde bitirmemin sebebi konunun g眉zelli臒i falan asla de臒ildi. Aksine daha k枚t眉 bir konu g枚rmemi艧tim.. 眉z眉lerek s枚yl眉yorum..