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Купената булка
Забележителен разказ за съзряването и изгубената невинност!
Това е история от последните години на Отоманската империя, която разказва за Мария, гръцко момиче, купено на петнайсетгодишна възраст от един богат и много по-възрастен отоманец. Отоманската империя се разпада и кавказкото село на Мария е опожарено от бунтовници. Семейството й успява да избяга от мародерите и намира убежище в казарми от другата страна на границата, на отоманска земя. Със затоплянето на времето идват холерата и болестите, затова свещеникът, който ръководи бежанския лагер, прибягва до отчаяни мерки и решава да предложи Мария на един богат турчин от столицата.
Стъпила върху живота на бабата на автора, „Купената булка“ е роман за война, препятствия и успех, който хвърля светлина върху една бурна и опасна част от историята.
Друг свят, друго време. Константин отвежда читателя в свят на ярки цветове и крайно насилие. И го прави с таланта на роден разказвач. Тази книга е истинско съкровище! - Пъблишърс Уикли
Това е история от последните години на Отоманската империя, която разказва за Мария, гръцко момиче, купено на петнайсетгодишна възраст от един богат и много по-възрастен отоманец. Отоманската империя се разпада и кавказкото село на Мария е опожарено от бунтовници. Семейството й успява да избяга от мародерите и намира убежище в казарми от другата страна на границата, на отоманска земя. Със затоплянето на времето идват холерата и болестите, затова свещеникът, който ръководи бежанския лагер, прибягва до отчаяни мерки и решава да предложи Мария на един богат турчин от столицата.
Стъпила върху живота на бабата на автора, „Купената булка“ е роман за война, препятствия и успех, който хвърля светлина върху една бурна и опасна част от историята.
Друг свят, друго време. Константин отвежда читателя в свят на ярки цветове и крайно насилие. И го прави с таланта на роден разказвач. Тази книга е истинско съкровище! - Пъблишърс Уикли
256 pages, Paperback
Published March 25, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 30, 2022
It’s around 1909, and Maria lives in a Greek settlement in the Caucasus. She and other villagers run from their village to escape marauders, and life is hard, especially for the women, who are virtual slaves to the men. The priest gets a letter from a wealthy Turk looking for a young girl to add to his harem. She must be a virgin between the ages of 12 and 16. It’s a real moneymaking proposition if someone’s daughter is chosen, even if they are selling a Christian child to a Muslim to become one of his wives, concubines, or servants—but the money is the important thing, of course. Maria’s really pretty, so she is chosen to make the journey to meet her new Ottoman master. This novel is very plot driven, and the brutality with which women are treated may be historically accurate, but it’s disturbing. I would have liked to read more about Maria’s life after reaching the wealthy man’s house; the author says this man is based on his grandfather. I received an ARC from Edelweiss and the publisher.
April 10, 2024
Роман за последните дни на османската империя включени много исторически моменти и традиции доста интерсно факти и събития
April 5, 2023
It is interesting to read about other cultures and customs, especially ones I know next to nothing about.
Girls were considered a drain on the family and were to be sold, bartered, or traded, which is what happens to Maria.
I thought the ending was abrupt and I would have liked a follow up with what happened to the characters. Since it was based on the author’s family.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Deep Vellum Publishing for the digital copy.
Girls were considered a drain on the family and were to be sold, bartered, or traded, which is what happens to Maria.
I thought the ending was abrupt and I would have liked a follow up with what happened to the characters. Since it was based on the author’s family.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Deep Vellum Publishing for the digital copy.
May 12, 2025
This is not my usual type of book. I primarily read Sci fi, fantasy, horror, weird stuff, graphic novels, and classic literature, even non-fiction. But Im also attracted to history and to different cultures. Usually I pursue this interest by reading non-creative work, but I picked it up at library and the description and first page was compelling so I checked it out. I was not disappointed!
The story is of a young Greek girl, Maria, living in a Caucasus mountain village in 1909, after her village is attacked and they must flee. A local priest helps arrange for some of the village girls to be married off to wealthy Muslim Ottomans as 4th wives or harem concubines and the boys as apprentices/indentured workers to craftsmen, in exchange for money for their refugee families to travel across the Black Sea to hopeful safety in Athens.
But its the beginning of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and sectarian conflict is rampant, with different ethnic groups of armed men-- Russians, Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, Turks - wanting their own nationalist separatist movements. This makes their overland journey out of the mountains and to the Black Sea where the children are to be sold, very hazardous.
The journey on foot and donkey through the outskirts of a collapsing empire is very dangerous, as armed rebel groups will shoot virtually anyone. There are a bunch of dialects and languages so miscommunication is likely and has real consequences. Even the legit Otttoman guards at checkpoints checking for papers are also corrupt and might still rape or kill you.
They say the past is a foreign country and this book really brings it home. Truly it was a shock to me that Europeans lived like this in the 20th century. It seemed more like we imagine the 14th century, only with guns.
The writing is rich with imagery of a world that is brutal, fascinating, superstitious, filthy, and deeply conservative. These peasants lives are disgusting and desperate and you can see, hear, smell and taste it.
In particular the women are treated like garbage, they are both property, seen as inferior in every way, AND must do all the physical labor and eat last, while the men lounge around (because everyone knows women are physically stronger/more capable...its a weird gender philosophy compared to the Victorian model we in the West think of as "traditional"). So its normal to see a man, maybe even with shoes, riding a donkey and his wife is barefoot, with her face covered, walking and carrying all their bags, trunks etc strapped to her like a packhorse, while she simultaneously forages for theirr food and water and waits on him.
Some of the young men also hunt and fish and some have been sent to work in factories but largely the husbands/mature men appear completely useless. The women are responsible for literally every task, from the mending of roofs and fences,obtaining food, producing garments, to hauling water or trash, and the young men have some use in tasks or obtaining meat. We are told this is because the husbands must go to the village center or town to talk and "do business" daily but they dont appear to have anything to buy or sell and just sit around smoking and drinking coffee, so it seems this is just some bs they tell their women. So its really unclear what value grown ass men bring to this peasant mountain society, like why would the women even keep them around? It seems their only use is on keeping other, stranger men at bay. Perhaps in this time and place, that is enough.
Ironically to those moderns who associate such things with Islam, these are the Christians, the Muslims are actially much more civilized abd recognizable. In some ways it reminded me of rural Pashtun Afghslanistan.
It made me think alot about anthropology and how it is almost always geography and method of food acquistion that droves cultural norms until quite recently, rather than a specific differences of similar religions. Extremely rural dry mountain people seem to stumbled upon a similar mode of life in quite a few places.
A new wife is chiefly a broodmare for her husband and to birth daughters is a curse - but her real master is the mother-in-law. The best a woman can hope for is to marry at 15, have a relatively kind mother-in-law, put in her 3 decades of subjugation, cooling for all and eating last standing up (if there is any left), raise as many sons as possible, and then someday if she manages to survive til she is old, she will then rule over their wives, ( maybe even as a widow since even soft men naturally have shorter lives than rugged women - its not behavioral but linked to the x chromosome).
Though the villagers are Orthodox Christian, its a very pagan Christianity, as I imagine it was when the religion was first brought North and priests got people to adopt it by Christianizing their preexisting local beliefs. So there are Christians versions of familiar Greek stories, with stuff like Saint Achilles, and all sorts of hedge magick/withcraft of the kind herbal women do.
The Ottomans are more modern, fancy, city folk. They are Muslim, so they do have multiple wives and the women are often secluded, but they are treated more like how the middle class Victoroans treated wives - as trophies or dolls, sometimes as advisors if they are shrewd and mature. Taught manners, poetry, riding, not expected to work outside domestic pursuits.
In this context, Maria is very LUCKY to be chosen by the procurer of wives as the principle adolescent to purchase from the refugee villagers, though he will try to find buyers for the other teens at the port town. The priest accompanies the procurer, his guards and the children, in lieau of theor parents. He is a drug addict but seems to want whats best for his people.
It is an adventure and Maria is an observer type heroine, who has interior reflections and reactions to events. This is to some degree neccessitated by her gender, age, and individual role as the valuable commodity in transit. However when she is alone and in danger at the end she becomes quite physical in her defense and so also demonstrates traditional heroine qualities like physical courage.
My only major criticism is I dont feel this story has been finished. We do follow her to the safety of her new master and see it will be amore secure and idle life for her, but its left up on the air as to whether she will stay, though it seems likely.
The last scene is a nun checking to make sure she is still a virgin.
So I felt like the story required more closure. I could also see writing a sequel about her adapting to the harem life, though it would probably be less adventure exciting, it could be more house intrigue and city issues.
Really I got the impression the author had gotten bored and wanted to stop writing and wasnt sure how to end it.
I do reccommend this novel, for people who want to experience bring transported to another time and place, both grim dark and exotic, but a place and time that actually ecisted, and not that long ago. The author is an academic, and its obvious his understanding comes from diligent research. This is his first novel, and despite his background it is NOT the dry dense prose you expect from an academic, but really accessible, captivating, evocative. I would definitely read any future novels of his.
The story is of a young Greek girl, Maria, living in a Caucasus mountain village in 1909, after her village is attacked and they must flee. A local priest helps arrange for some of the village girls to be married off to wealthy Muslim Ottomans as 4th wives or harem concubines and the boys as apprentices/indentured workers to craftsmen, in exchange for money for their refugee families to travel across the Black Sea to hopeful safety in Athens.
But its the beginning of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and sectarian conflict is rampant, with different ethnic groups of armed men-- Russians, Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, Turks - wanting their own nationalist separatist movements. This makes their overland journey out of the mountains and to the Black Sea where the children are to be sold, very hazardous.
The journey on foot and donkey through the outskirts of a collapsing empire is very dangerous, as armed rebel groups will shoot virtually anyone. There are a bunch of dialects and languages so miscommunication is likely and has real consequences. Even the legit Otttoman guards at checkpoints checking for papers are also corrupt and might still rape or kill you.
They say the past is a foreign country and this book really brings it home. Truly it was a shock to me that Europeans lived like this in the 20th century. It seemed more like we imagine the 14th century, only with guns.
The writing is rich with imagery of a world that is brutal, fascinating, superstitious, filthy, and deeply conservative. These peasants lives are disgusting and desperate and you can see, hear, smell and taste it.
In particular the women are treated like garbage, they are both property, seen as inferior in every way, AND must do all the physical labor and eat last, while the men lounge around (because everyone knows women are physically stronger/more capable...its a weird gender philosophy compared to the Victorian model we in the West think of as "traditional"). So its normal to see a man, maybe even with shoes, riding a donkey and his wife is barefoot, with her face covered, walking and carrying all their bags, trunks etc strapped to her like a packhorse, while she simultaneously forages for theirr food and water and waits on him.
Some of the young men also hunt and fish and some have been sent to work in factories but largely the husbands/mature men appear completely useless. The women are responsible for literally every task, from the mending of roofs and fences,obtaining food, producing garments, to hauling water or trash, and the young men have some use in tasks or obtaining meat. We are told this is because the husbands must go to the village center or town to talk and "do business" daily but they dont appear to have anything to buy or sell and just sit around smoking and drinking coffee, so it seems this is just some bs they tell their women. So its really unclear what value grown ass men bring to this peasant mountain society, like why would the women even keep them around? It seems their only use is on keeping other, stranger men at bay. Perhaps in this time and place, that is enough.
Ironically to those moderns who associate such things with Islam, these are the Christians, the Muslims are actially much more civilized abd recognizable. In some ways it reminded me of rural Pashtun Afghslanistan.
It made me think alot about anthropology and how it is almost always geography and method of food acquistion that droves cultural norms until quite recently, rather than a specific differences of similar religions. Extremely rural dry mountain people seem to stumbled upon a similar mode of life in quite a few places.
A new wife is chiefly a broodmare for her husband and to birth daughters is a curse - but her real master is the mother-in-law. The best a woman can hope for is to marry at 15, have a relatively kind mother-in-law, put in her 3 decades of subjugation, cooling for all and eating last standing up (if there is any left), raise as many sons as possible, and then someday if she manages to survive til she is old, she will then rule over their wives, ( maybe even as a widow since even soft men naturally have shorter lives than rugged women - its not behavioral but linked to the x chromosome).
Though the villagers are Orthodox Christian, its a very pagan Christianity, as I imagine it was when the religion was first brought North and priests got people to adopt it by Christianizing their preexisting local beliefs. So there are Christians versions of familiar Greek stories, with stuff like Saint Achilles, and all sorts of hedge magick/withcraft of the kind herbal women do.
The Ottomans are more modern, fancy, city folk. They are Muslim, so they do have multiple wives and the women are often secluded, but they are treated more like how the middle class Victoroans treated wives - as trophies or dolls, sometimes as advisors if they are shrewd and mature. Taught manners, poetry, riding, not expected to work outside domestic pursuits.
In this context, Maria is very LUCKY to be chosen by the procurer of wives as the principle adolescent to purchase from the refugee villagers, though he will try to find buyers for the other teens at the port town. The priest accompanies the procurer, his guards and the children, in lieau of theor parents. He is a drug addict but seems to want whats best for his people.
It is an adventure and Maria is an observer type heroine, who has interior reflections and reactions to events. This is to some degree neccessitated by her gender, age, and individual role as the valuable commodity in transit. However when she is alone and in danger at the end she becomes quite physical in her defense and so also demonstrates traditional heroine qualities like physical courage.
My only major criticism is I dont feel this story has been finished. We do follow her to the safety of her new master and see it will be amore secure and idle life for her, but its left up on the air as to whether she will stay, though it seems likely.
The last scene is a nun checking to make sure she is still a virgin.
So I felt like the story required more closure. I could also see writing a sequel about her adapting to the harem life, though it would probably be less adventure exciting, it could be more house intrigue and city issues.
Really I got the impression the author had gotten bored and wanted to stop writing and wasnt sure how to end it.
I do reccommend this novel, for people who want to experience bring transported to another time and place, both grim dark and exotic, but a place and time that actually ecisted, and not that long ago. The author is an academic, and its obvious his understanding comes from diligent research. This is his first novel, and despite his background it is NOT the dry dense prose you expect from an academic, but really accessible, captivating, evocative. I would definitely read any future novels of his.
August 30, 2023
I am a Greek with an interest in the late Ottoman period, so this book was basically exactly what I was looking for and I was extremely excited to read it. In some aspects - such as depictions daily life, the difference in options/work for men and woman, extenuating circumstances, and misogyny - it delivered pretty well. In others - such as character arcs, multiple perspectives - it did not deliver as well. For example, the plot felt ambled and dragged, and even though this is technically more 'realistic', it's difficult to get through. The anxieties of the characters about the future were also depicted well and felt realistic.
The writing was enjoyable, and it was super interesting having a look at the lifestyle/beliefs of Greeks from the Caucasus and the melting pot of cultures and languages. I also appreciated small details that made the world feel very alive, such as the differing superstitions, the fanciful short stories in magazines, or thoughts of the priest on the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Also, Maria was a protagonist one could root for, and the other characters whose perspectives we learned from felt unnecessary, but they were at least semi-rounded characters.
That said, I felt that the blurb was misleading. It ended up covering much more of the story than I thought it would, and thus the book ended up feeling somewhat short. Also, despite the title of the book, not much time is devoted to the purchasing, but rather the events that lead up to it. It ends somewhat abruptly in a way that leaves the reader unsure of what is being conveyed, but then again, since it was apparently based on a real story told to/researched by the author about his grandmother, some lenience can be given to the book not ending as a 'story' should.
I would have liked more, but it was enjoyable for what it was.
The writing was enjoyable, and it was super interesting having a look at the lifestyle/beliefs of Greeks from the Caucasus and the melting pot of cultures and languages. I also appreciated small details that made the world feel very alive, such as the differing superstitions, the fanciful short stories in magazines, or thoughts of the priest on the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Also, Maria was a protagonist one could root for, and the other characters whose perspectives we learned from felt unnecessary, but they were at least semi-rounded characters.
That said, I felt that the blurb was misleading. It ended up covering much more of the story than I thought it would, and thus the book ended up feeling somewhat short. Also, despite the title of the book, not much time is devoted to the purchasing, but rather the events that lead up to it. It ends somewhat abruptly in a way that leaves the reader unsure of what is being conveyed, but then again, since it was apparently based on a real story told to/researched by the author about his grandmother, some lenience can be given to the book not ending as a 'story' should.
I would have liked more, but it was enjoyable for what it was.
August 14, 2023
Hard to put down.
October 4, 2023
Did not finish. Pace was too slow and the story just didn’t seem to be moving in a meaningful direction.
October 7, 2024
Здравейте четящи!
Искаше ми да мога да ви напиша хубаво ревю за "Купената булка", но за съжаление тази книга ме разочарова.
Не само, че нямаше никакво развитие на сюжета. За всички тези близо 250 стр просто нищо и телесно не се случи.
Очаквах да чета за интригуващия живот на млада гъркиня, попаднала в харема на един богат османец чрез продажба.
Очаквах да чета за интересния и бурн живот в последните години на имперска Турция.
Очаквах срещна любопитни герои, увлекателни събития и сюжети.
Нищо от това не се случи.
Нямаше изграден сюжет, никаква интересна нишка.
От началото до края се разказваше за пътят на един керван до столицата в Константинопол.
Не проумявям идеята зад тази книга.
А очевидно е била авторът да разкаже животът на своите прадеди.
Очаквах да чета за интригуващо пътешествие до Истанбул и животът на Мария в харема на нейният господар, но уви. До самия край дори не разбрах кой е този за��адъчен мъж.
Никаква любовна истоя. Нито дори помен от такава.
Целият сюжет беше едно безкрайно пътешествие, проследяващо просто самият път на момичето до Константинопол,животът й като гръцка бежанка в османската империя, времето прекарано в планините на Кавказ.
Нито един герой не беше добре развит и характерен с нищо.
Историята е лишена от всякакви събития.
За мен тази книга не разказва нищо специално.
Дори не се разбра кой е човекът купил Мария и какъв ще бъде нейният живот в Константинопол,което беше логичната развръзка на сюжета.
Отделно от всички в книгата нямаше почти никакви исторически факти(а периодът е интересен, това е разпадането на старата Турция, малко преди появата на Кемал Ататюрк.
Авторър се е опитал да разкаже историята на своята баба, но тя не е вълнуваща по никакъв начин. Или поне не и така представена.
Това е вероятно най--лошото ревю, което някога съм писала и една от най-скъпите книги, които съм чела.
Единствено бих разбрала идеята за написването на тази книга ако имаше и втора част.
За мен е малко несериозно тази книга да се представя като "historical fiction".
Оценката ми в този случай е 3 звезди.
Питам къде е развитието на сюжета?
Искаше ми да мога да ви напиша хубаво ревю за "Купената булка", но за съжаление тази книга ме разочарова.
Не само, че нямаше никакво развитие на сюжета. За всички тези близо 250 стр просто нищо и телесно не се случи.
Очаквах да чета за интригуващия живот на млада гъркиня, попаднала в харема на един богат османец чрез продажба.
Очаквах да чета за интересния и бурн живот в последните години на имперска Турция.
Очаквах срещна любопитни герои, увлекателни събития и сюжети.
Нищо от това не се случи.
Нямаше изграден сюжет, никаква интересна нишка.
От началото до края се разказваше за пътят на един керван до столицата в Константинопол.
Не проумявям идеята зад тази книга.
А очевидно е била авторът да разкаже животът на своите прадеди.
Очаквах да чета за интригуващо пътешествие до Истанбул и животът на Мария в харема на нейният господар, но уви. До самия край дори не разбрах кой е този за��адъчен мъж.
Никаква любовна истоя. Нито дори помен от такава.
Целият сюжет беше едно безкрайно пътешествие, проследяващо просто самият път на момичето до Константинопол,животът й като гръцка бежанка в османската империя, времето прекарано в планините на Кавказ.
Нито един герой не беше добре развит и характерен с нищо.
Историята е лишена от всякакви събития.
За мен тази книга не разказва нищо специално.
Дори не се разбра кой е човекът купил Мария и какъв ще бъде нейният живот в Константинопол,което беше логичната развръзка на сюжета.
Отделно от всички в книгата нямаше почти никакви исторически факти(а периодът е интересен, това е разпадането на старата Турция, малко преди появата на Кемал Ататюрк.
Авторър се е опитал да разкаже историята на своята баба, но тя не е вълнуваща по никакъв начин. Или поне не и така представена.
Това е вероятно най--лошото ревю, което някога съм писала и една от най-скъпите книги, които съм чела.
Единствено бих разбрала идеята за написването на тази книга ако имаше и втора част.
За мен е малко несериозно тази книга да се представя като "historical fiction".
Оценката ми в този случай е 3 звезди.
Питам къде е развитието на сюжета?
April 28, 2025
Πόσο να κοστολογείται άραγε η ελευθερία μιας γυναίκας;
Στον Καύκασο, ένα χωριό πυρπολείται. Η Μαρία και η οικογένειά της είναι ανάμεσα στους πολλούς κατοίκους, που προσπαθούν να διαφύγουν από τη μανία των εισβολέων. Θεωρητικά, υπάρχει ένα ασφαλές καταφύγιο για αυτούς, ένα μέρος όπου ένας δικός τους ορθόδοξος ιερέας θα τους προφυλάσσει: ωστόσο κι εκεί, ο φόβος της αρρώστιας τους απειλεί.
Πρέπει να βρεθεί λύση για να προχωρήσουν παρακάτω οι πρόσφυγες. Αυτό όμως χρειάζεται και χρήματα: έτσι, ο ιερέας βρίσκεται εμπρός σε ένα σημαντικό δίλημμα. Για να σωθεί το σύνολο, ο ιερέας θα πουλήσει τη Μαρία και τη φίλη της, τη Λιτα, σε πλούσιους Οθωμανούς. Για τα δύο κορίτσια, το ταξίδι έως τα χαρέμια που τις αγόρασαν θα είναι δύσκολο και επικίνδυνο. Θα περάσουν μέσα από ορεινες περιοχές που απομακρύνονται από την επιρροή της παρακμαζουσας Οθωμανικής αυτοκρατορίας, θα δοκιμαστούν, και εν τέλει, η Μαρία θα περάσει στη νεα της ζωή μόνη.
Το συγγραφικό ντεμπούτο του Peter Constantine είναι ένα προσωπικό μάθημα ιστορίας για ένα θέμα που λίγο ξέρουμε. Είναι μια συναρπαστική, αλλά δύσκολη αφήγηση, και μια υπενθύμιση πως η ηθική πυξίδα των ανθρώπων παντα τους κατηύθυνε να βρουν μια Ιφιγένεια για θυσία. Λιτό και συγκλονιστικό, και με την εμπειρία του συγγραφέα επί σειρά ετών ως μεταφραστή, είναι εμφανής η γοητεία στη γραφή του.
Στον Καύκασο, ένα χωριό πυρπολείται. Η Μαρία και η οικογένειά της είναι ανάμεσα στους πολλούς κατοίκους, που προσπαθούν να διαφύγουν από τη μανία των εισβολέων. Θεωρητικά, υπάρχει ένα ασφαλές καταφύγιο για αυτούς, ένα μέρος όπου ένας δικός τους ορθόδοξος ιερέας θα τους προφυλάσσει: ωστόσο κι εκεί, ο φόβος της αρρώστιας τους απειλεί.
Πρέπει να βρεθεί λύση για να προχωρήσουν παρακάτω οι πρόσφυγες. Αυτό όμως χρειάζεται και χρήματα: έτσι, ο ιερέας βρίσκεται εμπρός σε ένα σημαντικό δίλημμα. Για να σωθεί το σύνολο, ο ιερέας θα πουλήσει τη Μαρία και τη φίλη της, τη Λιτα, σε πλούσιους Οθωμανούς. Για τα δύο κορίτσια, το ταξίδι έως τα χαρέμια που τις αγόρασαν θα είναι δύσκολο και επικίνδυνο. Θα περάσουν μέσα από ορεινες περιοχές που απομακρύνονται από την επιρροή της παρακμαζουσας Οθωμανικής αυτοκρατορίας, θα δοκιμαστούν, και εν τέλει, η Μαρία θα περάσει στη νεα της ζωή μόνη.
Το συγγραφικό ντεμπούτο του Peter Constantine είναι ένα προσωπικό μάθημα ιστορίας για ένα θέμα που λίγο ξέρουμε. Είναι μια συναρπαστική, αλλά δύσκολη αφήγηση, και μια υπενθύμιση πως η ηθική πυξίδα των ανθρώπων παντα τους κατηύθυνε να βρουν μια Ιφιγένεια για θυσία. Λιτό και συγκλονιστικό, και με την εμπειρία του συγγραφέα επί σειρά ετών ως μεταφραστή, είναι εμφανής η γοητεία στη γραφή του.
May 11, 2024
"Това е история от последните години на Отоманската империя, която разказва за Мария, гръцко момиче, купено на петнадесетгодишна възраст от един богат и много по-възрастен отоманец. " Това изречение от представянето на книгата ме обърка. Аз си мислех, че ще чета книга, чието съдържание разказва за живота на момичето след като е купено, а то се оказа точно обратното- книгата свършва с нейната продажба. Не че не ми беше интересна, но още от самото начало се знае какво ще стане и може би, заради това не ме развълнува. Мисля си - сега ако има едно продължение...
Съдбата на Мария ми стана ясна, но за другите участници имаше само догадки, а ми се искаше нещо повече и за тях да разбера.
Съдбата на Мария ми стана ясна, но за другите участници имаше само догадки, а ми се искаше нещо повече и за тях да разбера.
April 27, 2025
Книга с възможен потенциал ,описваща ситуацията в Османската империя в нейния залез,когато гърци, арменци,кюрди и кой ли още не от малцинствата се опитва да оцелее . Един такъв начин са избрали гръцки селяни от едно малко селце в Кавказ,избягали от идваща орда мародери и решили да продадат дъщерите си на богати мъже от Константинопол. Като интересен пример бе даден - ако имаш синове ,това е на късмет,но ако имаш дъщери,е ад,защото трябва да им осигуриш зестра и едва ли не подобна продажба е представена като нещо хубаво,манна небесна ...Но пък с такъв край,човек остава леко разочарован.
May 26, 2023
SPOILER ALERT!
I expected this book to focus on Maria's life after she was bought as a child bride, but it really is a recounting of her journey from her home to the port. And the author abryptly abandons the narration at the port so we have no idea how she made her way to Constantinople. Maybe the author plans a sequel? I would read that!
I expected this book to focus on Maria's life after she was bought as a child bride, but it really is a recounting of her journey from her home to the port. And the author abryptly abandons the narration at the port so we have no idea how she made her way to Constantinople. Maybe the author plans a sequel? I would read that!
January 18, 2025
Ah, reading about those times can be truly an adventure of my patience. The book was written in a way that made me travel back in time so I give it that. I would like some more narration about life after getting in the household but it was an interesting experience reading about all the pain and pressure of people back then.
July 22, 2023
It was a good story. The only thing that tripped me up was the writing style and the POV. It took me a sec to realize it was supposed to actually be written by the author.
April 20, 2024
Авторът е изключителен разказвач! Просто не можех да оставя книгата дордето не я прочета! Много ми се искаше да има още.
August 28, 2024
Очаквах по-интереснен разказ.Някак си доста монотонно вървеше цялата история и някак си не наблегна толкова на самия смисъл на многоженството
July 18, 2025
Καλογραμμένο μεν, αλλά ο τίτλος είναι κάπως παραπλανητικός - περιμένεις κάτι άλλο. Είναι περισσότερο μια ηθογραφία της τότε εποχής.
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