Tangled Web UK Review December 2007
The Snake Stone by
Jason Goodwin
hbk out July 07
Published by Faber
at £12.99
This is a book that demolishes the snooty argument that crime fiction
cannot be considered good literature. It is a sequel to The Janissary Tree
which received such good reviews and it continues the investigative
exploits of Yashim Tugalu, an eunuch at the Ottoman court in Istanbul in
the first half of the 19th century.
Yashim is a confidante of the Sultan, who in this story is dying, leaving
the country in a state of uneasy tension, especially between the Greek
community and their Turkish overlords. The plot is complex, but begins
when a French archaeologist arrives, seeking lost Byzantine treasures. A
series of murders begins, including that of the man himself, leaving
Yashim's reputation and even his life vulnerable.
Much of the action revolves around the guild of watermen, Albanians
who handle the complex system of underground cisterns and tunnels that
supply what was the most populous city in the world supplied with
water. The final excitement takes place in these, especially in the famous
underground lake built by Constantine and Justinian, which is now a
showpiece in modern Istanbul.
But though the tortuous story-line is a good page-turner, it is in the
quality of the writing and especially in the mass of detail of 19th century
life in Istanbul that is the book's attraction. Perhaps a sketch map of
some of the many places mentioned might have been a help, as I had to
resort to Google Earth to follow the action, as a welter of locations on and
around the Golden Horn are described in almost cinematographic clarity.
Another bonus is the frequent Turkish cookery lessons that are offered, as
Yashim is keen on making his own food!
An excellent book, redolent with the expertise of a writer who not only
studied Byzantine history at Cambridge, but actually walked there from
Britain and has written an award-winning book about his experience.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
Thousands of New and used Books at your Fingertips...
Support Tangled Web - Buy Your Books Online
