Mer Barr
I get a bit peeved when the title doesn't really match the overall story. It says 1890 to the Present yet 30% of the book was pre-1890 completely and it really didn't move beyond 1890 entirely until the 50% mark.
Other than that, it's a tough subject to stick with but the details of each region of the US was amazing! I'm from Kansas, was just back there for more than a month, and found it kinda creepy to see the sign for Haskell; which seems to still be open.
All along I wondered where the story was leading to, I began to skim the paragraphs for movement of the plot rather than the words that provide detail for the mental image, until, all of a sudden, “The end”. It feels like a bigger book was split into someone's definition of ‘manageable' sections.
Still, the images were very good, the people have depth and variety, and the story telling is smooth. I liked it and will read the next in the series.
Maybe it was the rate the recording was running and maybe it was that it was in audio but I had a hard time catching the transitions between the bible quotes, the stories of the time being lived in, and the lives of the people involved. Maybe if I'd read this in text it may have made more sense.
Regardless, what I did pick up was intriguing.
Same story line and people as [b:Zandru's Forge 410901 Zandru's Forge (Darkover, #4; Clingfire, #2) Marion Zimmer Bradley https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1319444385l/410901.SY75.jpg 400175] but from one of its non-primary characters. This book has good pacing, although I started to scan the paragraphs in the last several pages to get to the meat of the plot. Thankfully I read this in hardback where the vocals and the mental thoughts have different font styles; I suspect I might have been frustrated by the audio and it's inability to distinguish this without an narrater's inflections to distinguish this.
The title Midnight at the Pera Palace is very misleading, the sub-title is much closer to the topic. Yes, the Pera Palace Hotel and the Pera neighborhood are prominent ‘figures' throughout the book but this book spans time, not just one moment.
Although I've not read much about the history of Turkey before, I thought this was a great book to start with! The author moved thru history at a nice pace, stopping now and again to focus on a particular topic or person. As he got closer to today, he began to slow down and focus on more topics. It sounds like he ended just after World War 2.
I never realized how prominent Turkey played as a place where the cultures and religions of the northern landmass, and some southern, intermingled; especially when there was war nearby and refugees were on the move.
I'll have several new areas of the city to look for next time I visit the city.
The authors threw me into the ‘deep end of the pool' and I sank.
Where's the bit of backstory to get you settled in? And more importantly with all the jumping about, I can only assume because there's no history of the timeline, I'm completely lost and frustrated.
Where are the definitions of some of the terms and groups involved?
I need this in the beginning pages, or sprinkled among them at least, or I drop the book.
At times the level detail is hard to see clearly in the mind's eye but already knowing some of the terminology and boat parts, and rereading at a slower pace got me thru.My mind is not geared to record and replay detail -mine records ‘the gyst' of the scene and what was said, and the emotions- so it amazes me to read the level of detail that's remembered years later; every body motion, every look, that would have been remembered after revisiting her log books, is incredible to me. I”m sure this is not incredible to someone whose mind stores this way.I know I read her 2nd book first, and that's what put this book on my to-read list. And I seem to have read Perfect Storm but not knowing the 2 books contained the same individuals. I did rewatch the movie and seeing that help tremendously with my visualization for this read. After recently reading [b:The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean 248441 The Secret Life of Lobsters How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean Trevor Corson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442199105l/248441.SY75.jpg 1825671] I think rereading her 2nd book [b:The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island 173166 The Lobster Chronicles Life on a Very Small Island Linda Greenlaw https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348425070l/173166.SY75.jpg 1055109] would be better appreciated.This one is going in my library...
Something definitely different from my usual books. I loved the stories mixed through out but I enjoyed most the people and their interactions and a view into a culture I didn't grow up in.
My favorite lines “Let him find balance and moderation in all things. Let him listen to himself, and not the noise of others.”
I liked this alot better than the 2 prior books for their tone and hints at possible next book storylines. And I want to go back and reread some parts as I don't remember Duarte's history, or if the novella Strange Dogs is or isn't Laconia.
I'm thankful for the epilogue because I was wondering where some of the characters had gotten to.
The author must have Circus Barker blood somewhere in his family tree. He really has a ‘flair for dramatics' in telling the story. He also seems to have taken excellent notes or really good recordings of second hand sources to retell what someone no longer alive was thinking. I prefer the less wordy and dramatic flair of [a:Jon Krakauer 1235 Jon Krakauer https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1430856379p2/1235.jpg], but still applaud the level of work involved in the telling of this story... and what a contrast! Kurson is ocean themed, Krakauer has many mountain themes.I enjoyed the mystery and especially the research! I lived in Washington for a while, in the Navy Yard neighborhood no less, so I'm familiar with the National Archives and the Navy Yard Museum. I'd always wondered what researchers do when they're behind the closed doors of an archive and after the Trade Tower bombing and Navy Yard shooting, the Navy Yard is no longer as accessible as it once was.
I enjoyed the main character's irreverence, that she is portrayed as a skilled individual, the growth of the relationships across the book, and especially enjoyed how the mystery did not get revealed too soon, or that I guessed it.
I did not like that there were more than 5 ways used to refer to every individual; I had to use a web page someone built to help me remember who was who; I had to rely on myself to remember how each house related to each other. I eventually got there but it took a long while to do so.
Strange to find this book so readily available, as new the book seems to be, where others have a6 month waitlist.
The action keeps moving and I agree with others you have to stay on your toes to follow the story as well as the characters. Also agree with the skill of the narrator, and editors.
Since I've not known war up close, the detail through out was uncomfortable.
