Book Review of The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
First published in 2006, The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin has been
followed by three other books, the last of which was released in
2011, so it’s not clear whether or not the series will continue.
The Janissary Tree sees Yashim in a race against time to find out who
is behind a total of four, very public and brutal murders, one
further murder in the Sultan’s palace and the theft of some hugely
valuable jewels belonging to the Sultan’s own mother.
Characters
The main character is Yashim Togalu, linguist, cook, all-round
problem-solver - and eunuch, which gives him access to the Sultan’s
harem and the women in it. This is very handy as a plot device and
since this is a work of fiction rather than a science text book, it’s
fine with me that there’s quite a bit about Yashim’s appearance
and behaviour which frankly doesn’t tie in with historical
information about eunuchs. Likewise, I’m prepared to accept that
Yashim often shows attitudes and behaviours which seem rather too
much ahead of their time, even for the liberal intelligentsia (as do
other people in the book). To be honest, I could live without the
repeated emphasis of Yashim’s isolation due to his state as a
eunuch, particularly since I know (and the book makes clear) that
eunuchs can have physical relationships, so really there would have
been nothing to stop Yashim marrying and adopting children if that
was the life he wanted. This, however, is a minor issue, in my
opinion.
There are two, key secondary characters Stanislaw Palewski and Preen.
By a quirk of fate, Palewski is paid by the Turkish court to be the
Polish Imperial Ambassador to the Sublime Porte, even though at this
point in history, Poland does not actually exist. He is arguably a
bit of a caricature, albeit in a nice way, being somewhat loud,
rather melancholic and very definitely fond of a drink or three, but
he is also kind-hearted, loyal and often entertaining.
Preen is a köçek dancer, who is always described as being female
and referred to as she, but was born a boy. This is another aspect
of the book, where it’s arguably just best to go with the flow and
accept the character as is rather than getting tangled up in knots
with the real köçek dancers who were certainly erotic dancers and
generally dressed as women (at least when working), but were
definitely boys. Preen is also arguably a bit of a caricature,
coming across very much as the stereotypical theatre “luvvie” but
still, appropriately enough, entertaining. As a side note, the book
is set in 1836, a year before the köçek dancers were banned, not
for religious or moral reasons, but because the dancers tended to
provoke fights (inadvertently) as viewers vied for their attention
(and favours) and in addition to the disturbance and damage this
caused, some people were actually killed.
Setting
Jason Goodwin is absolutely brilliant at depicting 1830s Istanbul
without ever making the reader think that they’re being given a
lesson in history and geography (although we are). If the author’s
characters are less well-rounded than they might be, his descriptions
of the city are superb and take us from the great palaces and mosques
to the tanneries and the docks via the bustling streets and markets.
In addition to describing the locations and the history of the city,
Goodwin also gives us plenty of information about the culture of
Istanbul and the everyday life of its people both high-ranking and
low-ranking. If you enjoy good travel writing then you’re probably
going to like The Janissary Tree.
Plot
Both the theft of hugely valuable jewels belonging to the Sultan’s
mother and the murder of one of the Sultan’s many concubines seem
to be insignificant compared to the murder of four young army
officers who are found one by one at places which were significant to
the old Janissary Corp, which was believed to have been annihilated
with only their tree remaining as a reminder that they had ever
existed. Yashim soon comes to suspect that the murders are intended
to stir up panic and to set the scene for a revolution it is his job
to prevent. For the most part the plot speeds along briskly and the
climax is excellent (and would be great in a TV adaptation). Some
people might find the descriptions of Yashim’s cooking and love of
books to be a bit excessive and I must admit there were times I did
wish Goodwin would speed it up a bit, but to be fair they could be
quite interesting.
Overall impression
Taken purely as a detective novel, The Janissary Tree is a pretty
decent effort, particularly from a first-time novelist. In the
nicest possible way, this is a fairly old-school whodunnit which
often reminded me of Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael mysteries. Like
many detective stories, the plot does contain pointers as to who the
real villains are, so it’s possible you might guess, but there’s
also a decent sprinkling of red herrings to keep you diverted and
distracted.
Taken as a work of historical fiction, which just happens to be in
the format of a mystery story, then The Janissary Tree does have a
lot to offer. Historically, in the days of absolute rulers like the
Turkish Sultans, palaces were always full of plots and intrigue and
more than a few murders (or assassinations) and cities were generally
the places where revolutions took hold, so although this novel isn’t
historically accurate, it is certainly historically believable. It
also provides lots of truly memorable descriptions of Istanbul and
its people as a whole.
In short
This novel strikes me as being the written equivalent of a walking
tour round a city, with the mystery element used to give some sort of
coherence to the excursion. In that sense, it’s a worthwhile and
enjoyable read. I just wish the author had put a bit more effort
into developing his individual characters, because that could have
taken The Janissary Tree from good to great and massively increased
its re-read value. Having said that, I’d certainly recommend
reading this book at least once.
Overall verdict - May read again, but would borrow rather than keep.
