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The Architect's Apprentice
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction
Non-member price: $49.17
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When Pembe leaves the Kurdish village of her birth, and her twin sister with it, it is for love. She follows her husband, Adem, to London with the hope of making a new life, but the family soon faces a stark choice: to stay loyal to the old traditions or try their best to fit in. When Adem abandons his family, it is Iskender, Pembe’s eldest son, who must step in and prevent shame from falling on the family name. And when Pembe begins a chaste affair with a man named Elias, Iskender will discover that you could love someone with all your heart and yet be ready to hurt them.
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Best of Élif Shafak
- By Linda Susan on 10-07-2020
Publisher's Summary
There were six of us: the master, the apprentices and the white elephant. We built everything together...
Sixteenth century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign land, with no worldly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare and valuable white elephant destined for the palace menagerie.
So begins an epic adventure that will see young Jahan rise from lowly origins to the highest ranks of the Sultan's court. Along the way he will meet deceitful courtiers and false friends, gypsies, animal tamers, and the beautiful, mischievous Princess Mihrimah. He will journey on Chota's back to the furthest corners of the Sultan's kingdom and back again. And one day he will catch the eye of the royal architect, Sinan, a chance encounter destined to change Jahan's fortunes forever.
Critic Reviews
What listeners say about The Architect's Apprentice
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shane Geard
- 01-09-2016
Couldn't stop listening
This is a jewel of a book. Both beautifully written and expertly read, it draws the listener through in a way only a master story teller can. As an architect myself I was intrigued to identify the timeless struggles our protagonist experienced as part of his profession. Thank you Shafak and Cartwright!
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 17-01-2021
Enchanting!
A captivating story taking you back to the heart of the Ottoman empire. Beautifully narrated. A masterpiece.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Chris
- 13-10-2015
Spoiled by the narrator
The book is not about a boy's rise from rags to riches as the book description says. I can only think whoever wrote that did not read the book.
The book is in effect a series of interlinked short stories. They are well written & entertaining.
What spoiled the book for me was the narrator. He has a good clear voice but his frequent mis pronounciation of many words became extremely irritating. The narrator is telling the story in an English accent but tends to use the American pronounciation of many words. Many other words he just pronounces wrongly. It really spoilt tje book for me
10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 19-11-2020
Superb
I could not stop listening to this.....many hours lost on sleep as I kept extending the timer! :)
7 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amir
- 05-02-2019
Great story, a bit long winded, bad narrator
I love Elif Shafak, this story is interesting immersive and informative - but it made me wish I had read it myself - the narrator really ruined it - dull- monotone and often mispronouncing words, what a shame
I was glad when it came to an end - I'm going to get the book
5 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Teresa Gamble
- 09-03-2015
for fans of the Arabian Nights
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I would recommend this to lovers of flowery language and pious aphorisms, and lots of patience. Many would say it is beautifully written At first I was fascinated by the setting, 16th century Istanbul of which I know nothing and found Eli Shafak's account enlightening. Despite the hero, Jehan's many narrow escapes, each came to seem like the one before.The plot moved too slowly for me and I couldn't empathise with any of the characters.
If you’ve listened to books by Elif Shafak before, how does this one compare?
na
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
I found the narrator's voice and tone monotonous.
Could you see The Architect's Apprentice being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?
Probably. It would be very PC and look gorgeous. Probably best made in Bollywood
4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- R. J. Miles
- 27-02-2021
Great book let down by irritating reader
I enjoyed the book very much & would highly recommend it - but the reader’s frequent mispronunciations were a constant irritation. I lost count of the number of words he appeared unfamiliar with - couldn’t he have asked someone how to pronounce words he hadn’t heard before, or looked them up?
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs Caroline A Goodeve
- 27-02-2021
Enthralling
Fascinating look at the Ottoman Empire, from the lowly lives to the highest in the land. It is such a visual book that I feel as if I have been to Istanbul and didn't notice my covid lockdown life so long as I kept reading. With Grant Cartwright's narration, he brought everything so brilliantly written to life, superb.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Jenny Cutler
- 15-02-2021
Interesting in parts, especially about elephants.
I also quite enjoyed the lengths architects go to, but the story was not gripping and it sort of fizzled out (for me) a bit. It was far too slow and the love life part barely held any attention for me at all.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nicholas J. Kafka
- 15-11-2020
Evocative entertaining escapism
Like a Paolo Coelho novel but with more focus on the story than the message, this book captures the exotic remote world of Ottoman Istanbul as its protagonist lurches from love to architectural masterpiece like a 16tj Century Forrest Gump. Captivating escapism from modern life!
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Yusuf
- 08-10-2017
A trip to sixteenth century Ottoman Istanbul!
This is the second book by Elif Safak that I have read. I was not disappointed. Set in the 16th century it is based around the life of a boy who becomes apprentice to the most famous of all Ottoman Architects, Sinan. But nothing is what it appears. A wonderful story filled with vivid characters by a mistress of story telling. If you enjoy historical fiction you will like this.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Annie
- 14-08-2015
A lyrical listen
I liked this book for its pace (as well as its unusual story line!!), reminiscent of Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori, a leisurely and respectful listen. And I liked to accent and tone of voice of the reader...at a guess, softly South African...lent itself well to the subject and our hero being foreigner in Istambul. Highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
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