Monday, February 21, 2011

The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

It's 1877, and a flock of purple and white hoopoes are roosting outside the house while a new mother is inside delivering a baby.  Why???


Harper, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, sent me an ARC of this book for review. (Thank you.)  The book was published February 8th, so you can get a copy at your local bookstore now.


This book is a mix of magic and history about the Ottoman Empire set in an exotic location much like Turkey.  Mr. Lukas uses words that float through the air and paint a picture of a country that has extreme poverty at the common residents level and an abundance of wealth for the high-born.  He can even make you smell the spices in the market place.  His vivid descriptions come from his personal work experiences in Turkey, Tel Aviv, and Tunisia.


His main character is the baby being born in the first chapter.  Her mother dies after delivery, and Eleanoro is raised primarily by her father.  Her aunt arrives shortly after her mother's death and marries her father, but she's never a mother to Eleanoro.  The friction between the two grows as time passes, but when Eleanoro learns to read she has a way to escape...


Mr. Lukas adds mystery, intrigue, spies, and political ploys to the story.  It's an intriguing read with a totally unanticipated ending. 


Buy yourself a copy of this book and visit another world, watch purple and white hoopoes following Elearnora around, and learn what prophecy she was meant to fulfill.  


Here is the list of those before and after my blog tour post.  Visit the sites to read more about the book and the author to entice you!

Friday, February 18th: Jen’s Book Thoughts
Friday, February 18th: Luxury Reading
Monday, February 21st: Chocolate & Croissants
Tuesday, February 22nd: Journey of a Bookseller
Tuesday, February 22nd: The Feminist Texan [Reads]
Wednesday, February 23rd: My Two Blessings
Wednesday, February 23rd: Man of La Book

I will be giving away my ARC as part of the blog tour, so leave a comment here on the blog and email me at info @ bookfaerie.com with your name and ADDRESS and tell me why you'd like to read it.

2 comments:

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

I love the idea of a totally unanticipated ending - that's not something that always works but when it does it is fantastic.

Thanks for being a part of the tour.

Esme said...

Great review.

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