The Flea Palace

I have read many reviews from readers complaining about the structure of the book. Being organized on chapters around characters can make you lose track of who is who, they say. I suppose these readers dislike A Game of Thrones then as well. Personally, I loved it. This kind of structure allows you, as a reader, to get to know characters better and it allows more stories to take place at the same time. The beauty of it is also when the stories intertwine! I love how the tone of the author changes from character to character. I said it before in a review of another Elif Shafak book - I love how she manages to share the Turkish traditions and mentality without seaming to try and make a stand for her culture. And she makes it enjoyable to read and I really have to say, it is a rich culture! I love all the superstitions they have, whether they really do believe in them nowadays or not. One of the things I love most about reading books written by authors from different cultures is that I find myself in the most unexpected characters. For example here, where the Blue Mistress talks about her grandfather: "When one departs from this life, he doesn't actually leave, but comes back to earth, at times as a human, at other times as an animal. Every time we take on a different form, whether it's a donkey, swan, butterfly or frog, it's all up to chance. No need to become embittered. To prevent such resentment, our memories instead of our souls will die upon death. So that we won't be able to keep track of all the creatures we had previously been. (...) grandpa and I used to wander the streets greeting every animal we met. We would yell greetings at cats, dogs, sparrows, donkeys and crickets. (...) Perhaps that's an old friend of yours there, it would be awfully impolite not to pay your respects. " I always, always, go around saying "Hello, how are you today?" to cats and dogs on the streets or in courtyards, but I never wondered why I`m doing that or when did I start doing that?! And when I come upon an explanation like this (being one who believes in reincarnation myself) I find it absolutely unbelievable how it fits me perfectly. I feel I am being completed like a big puzzle, always adding pieces to empty spots, with every bit of lovely detail that I find here and there, and in books mostly. Of many of these spots I don`t even have the feeling to be empty, but I can truly say that I am more complete now, after reading this cute novel than before I started it.