Halide's Gift : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A good read, but ultimately disappointing
Review: The beginning of Halide's Gift was quite promising; the death of Selima, Edib's finding of another man's picture in his dead wife's locket, the mystery of Halide's sister Mahmoure, and her relationship with Riza, Halide's ability to see and hear the dead ... there were a lot of interesting little undeveloped plots that kept me reading. However, as the book continued, it didn't seem to develop in line with the expectations I had for it. Halide seems to be the least interesting character in the novel, and I think she would have been more interesting if Kazan had told the story more from Halide's point of view. I got no deep sense of Halide's faith or her inner strength. Since she did tell the story in the third person, I wished that there had been greater development of characters other than Halide. These other characters--Granny, Mahmoure, Edib, and particularly Teyze--actually seem much more interesting than Halide herself, but Kazan doesn't develop these characters to any satisfying extent. She touches on them just enough to make me wonder what makes them tick. I got the feeling that she didn't "know" them well enough (particularly Edib) to delve into the meanings behind their motivations and actions and to write them to be more believable. Also, it's almost as if she has so many characters and so many small plots going on that she can't do justice to any single one.

I also found the title to be a bit of a misnomer. Halide's "gift" is an ability to see (and communicate?) with the dead that later manifests itself in an ability to write arresting fiction. This "gift," however, is a very minor part of the story, and it seemed weird that the entire novel would be named for it. It was almost quaint the way this "gift" was brought up in the end--quaint and ultimately unsatisfying for a reader who was hoping for something more emotionally and intellectually stirring.

Finally, I found the writing to be rather poor. The sentence structure was very repetitive and predictable, and the descriptions were not rich enough to make me feel like I was experiencing Ottoman life at the turn of the century.

I do applaud the author in her choice of a subject matter, however. Halide's Gift definitely piqued my interest regarding the historical figure of Halide. I had never heard of her until I read this novel. I'm sure she was much more interesting than the novel portrays her to be.

Rating:
Summary: Congratulations, Mrs. Kazan!
Review: This book was written by someone who cares deeply about women's rights and their lack in Ottoman Turkey at the turn of the century. The attitude is objective and the tone full of love for characters that are of such a different road of life from the author's. Having elements of both the Orient and the Occident in her upbringing and personality, Halide was one of the first Turkish girls to attend a school which has contributed tremendously to the enlightenment of Turkish women -- namely The American College for Girls, of which I am a graduate myself...

I'd like to correct a couple of minor details, though.. The mosque in Scutari is called Mihrimah, and I've never heard the name Mamounia [Edip's third wife]... Another point is that in those days it was not usual for women to go to mosques, even for funerals. Otherwise it's obvious that a thorough research went into the preparations for this book.

Rating:
Summary: Not The Greatest
Review: This was not the book I expected. Its plot is weak and its characters were poorly developed. The plot holds together in a rag-tag sort of way, but there are a lot of small plotlines that went nowhere. The book was a disappointing read because it was not so much about Halide's Gift, as it was about the series of events occuring in her life. Halide was a boring character, perhaps one of the blandest in the book, especially so considering that she is the protagonist, although there is no real conflict or problem in the theme.