Blog

Jun 29, 2023

The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs; Collected Works; Queen Bee

The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs by Marc David Baer (Basic Books, £12.99) The Ottoman Empire is often regarded as Islamic-Asian but this book argues it has been a central part of European

The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs by Marc David Baer (Basic Books, £12.99)

The Ottoman Empire is often regarded as Islamic-Asian but this book argues it has been a central part of European history. At the height of their power, the Ottomans ruled much of southeastern Europe – nearly one-quarter of its land mass. Tracing the empire’s history from its late 13th-century founding, chapters focusing on successive rulers are interspersed with chapters discussing cultural issues. Ottoman power peaked at the end of the 16th century but gradual decline set in – because of internal and external factors – after the failure to capture Vienna in 1683. Perhaps the author could be accused of adopting an anti-western slant in places and of treating the Ottomans as too enlightened, but this well-written, thought-provoking account argues persuasively for the empire as multiethnic, multilingual and multireligious for much of its history. Brian Maye

[ The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East review ]

Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren, translated by Agnes Broomé (Pushkin Press, £20)

At page 554 of 733 of Collected Works, I was due to travel to Berlin with only hand luggage. Unable to fit it, I used a scalpel to remove the final section. That’s how much I wanted to keep reading. This novel, an intergenerational family saga (with a feminist bent), has been likened to Jonathan Franzen’s work. Luckily, it contains none of Franzen’s showy intellectual drum solos. Rather, Sandgren’s writing is entertaining, intelligent and emotionally incisive. There were some bizarrely basic mistakes (a woman goes to bed, then she’s chatting in the livingroom; a man’s wearing a T-shirt, then rolls up his shirt sleeves), but regardless, while I can’t guarantee I’ll it like a Franzen, this is undoubtedly a significant novel, one worth reading. Lucy Sweeney Byrne

Queen Bee by Ciara Geraghty (Harper Collins, £13.99)

Agatha – named after Christie – is a writer of historical fiction, suffering from writer’s block and the menopause. Keeping a diary of her symptoms, as advised by her young GP, “Dr-Lennon-call-me-Susie”, Agatha says all the quiet bits out loud. She barrels through family life, bedevilled by the interventions of her constant companions – hot flashes, rage, fuzzy brain, insomnia. When the red mist descends at a literary festival, Agatha delivers an explosive ad-lib speech, and the video goes viral under the title Menopause; the Movie. Suddenly she’s famous on social media and is the poster girl for menopause; an inspiration to women who have felt unseen amid their own battles. Menopause is no joke, but this book will have you truly howling with laughter. Claire Looby

[ ‘There’s too much talk about menopause? We’re just making up for the last 20 goddamn years when women suffered in silence’ ]