Conclusion of The Janissary Tree

I spoke too soon.

The Janissary Tree proves to be another novel written by an amateur author. The writing was lovely in some parts of the book, but excruciatingly puzzling in others. Goodwin's writing is rich with description; he leaves nothing to the imagination. Chocked with history, The Janissary Tree paints a well-informed picture of 1839 Istanbul. Goodwin obviously knows a tremendous amount about the Ottoman Empire. In some parts of the novel I thought he came off a little pretentious. More than once I found myself saying, "Enough, enough! I believe you that you know a whole bunch about the Ottomans. Get on with the story already."

The story proved to be weak. A good mystery usually has that "Aha!" factor in the end, when all is revealed and everything comes full circle. The Janissary Tree had too many holes, probably because the writing was unclear towards the end. It read almost like Goodwin was so excited about revealing the ending that he wrote in a fast frenzy, skipping important details. The Janissary Tree, like The Red Apple, was a fun and different way to absorb history. Although not perfect, I enjoyed both books (but for completely different reasons).

The Red Apple v The Janissary Tree

Feels good to be done with The Red Apple! I thought that the colloquiom went well. It was interesting to hear how my classmates interpreted the book. I have a love/hate relationship with The Red Apple. The historical facts were easy to digest because the writing was simple. It was an undoubtedly easy read (which was convenient because I had a lot of homework!). I engulfed it quickly and without much thought. I definitely enjoyed the book, I just have a few qualms with it. The story itself was weak and felt rushed. I believe Levitan tried to comprise a poingnant story enriched with history... but fell a little short. I still think Ibraham should have died defending Constantinople!
I started reading The Janissary Tree. I am on chapter five or six and it is already apparent that the writing is superior to The Red Apple. Jason Goodwin's writing is more creative and captivating. I was quickly drawn into the story and am excited for more of the mystery to unfold! I thought that The Janissary Tree was just going to be another account of a Janissary's life. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is set in the 19th century - well after the Janissaries fall from grace. Jason Goodwin's novel is also not going to be such an easy read. His writing is more advanced and I have had to look up a few words and historical events. Perhaps towards the end of the novel I will be longing for the simplicity of The Red Apple.

Conclusion of Peace, Propaganda, and the Promise Land

I did a little research on one of the organizations that the movie had mentioned, Seeds of Peace. When I saw the name Seeds of Peace listed, it immediately struck a chord. In the summertime I work as a camp counselor in southern Maine. There are several other camps in the area, one of them being Seeds of Peace. Working at my camp for four years, I have come into contact with a few counselors and campers from Seeds of Peace. The campers all come from regions of conflict (Palestine, Israel, Egypt, the Balkans, etc). For the summer, the campers (and counselors) come together, away from their home countries, and live and work together. Relationships are fostered and a seemingly ironclad barrier of prejudice, religion, and hate is crossed.
"Founded in 1993 by journalist John Wallach, Seeds of Peace is dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence." If you have a chance, take a look at the Seeds of Peace website. It is chock full of information, some very similar to what Peace, Propaganda and the Promise Land discusses.

Reaction to Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land

Never in my twenty-one years have I heard, read, or watched something about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict from a non-Israeli sympathetic point of view - until this film. Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land was definitely low budget and without special effects, but the writing was professional and obviously well edited. The commentators were credible. Noam Chomsky is an acclaimed writer with many books on his resume, and I was impressed by his taking part in the film. Also noted, there were commentators both Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish and Muslim. After watching the film, I was inspired to research the topic more thoroughly. The film is unmistakably one sided, so watching objectively was hard to do. Next post will be on my research findings!