The Architect’s Apprentice

Written by Elif Shafak
Review by Sarah Bower

When Jahan runs away from his overbearing father and boards a ship bound for Istanbul, he finds a baby white elephant on board, and his kindness to this fellow orphan will define the rest of his long life. Admitted to the Sultan’s palace as mahout to the elephant, which is a royal gift, he falls in love with the Princess Mihrimah and under the spell of Sinan, the royal architect, to whom he is apprenticed. The novel is full of romance and adventure, intrigue and tall tales, but the story of Sinan lies at its heart. Sinan was a real historical figure who worked for Suleiman the Magnificent and his two sons Selim and Murad through much of the 16^th century.

Herein lies the difficulty with the novel, which never seems to know if it is a biography of the architect or a fiction about Jahan and his elephant. The writing is lovely, the characterisation of Chota the elephant particularly strong, but a thin plot struggles to maintain itself, and the narrative veers uncomfortably between pure fiction and historical exposition. The final reveal comes all in a rush in the last few chapters without any real flagging up through the rest of the book, which tends to make the reader feel manipulated.

As Sinan tells Jahan, every building must include a deliberate flaw; otherwise, if the architect aspires to perfection, he is challenging god. This is an enjoyable enough read but certainly doesn’t challenge the deity.