Balthasar's Odyssey Kindle Edition

I have to confess that I did not expect to enjoy Balthasar's Odyssey. I had chosen it on the strength of The Crusades Through Arab Eyes and it was only after I bought it that I became aware of the mixed reviews and the unhappy readers.I am pleased to say that in the end I enjoyed it quite a bit. Far from discouraging me in reading further in the Maalouf novels, it has encouraged me to think that I will enjoy the rest of his work. I will be picking up Samarkand next, I think.The key to enjoying Balthasar's Odyssey is in having the proper expectations before you read the book. Based on my two-book selection I will say that Maalouf writes history like a novelist, and novels like a historian.I can understand why so many readers were irritated. Maalouf does not tie up his loose ends. Unexplained motivations remain unexplained. Things are lost and never found again. Conversations remain unfinished and characters disappear, never to reemerge. If you are looking for a plot in a restorative Hollywood sense, you will not find it in this book.What Balthasar's Odyssey is about, fundamentally, is communication. Balthasar is a Levantine seller of books and antiquities. His family came to the Levant from Genoa, and are famous for being foreigners-- "the last Genoese to come to this part of the world." The quest for the book "The Hundredth Name" takes him on an amazing journey to Constantinople, the Mediterranean, London and France-- all in the aid of finding an answer to a question that he is not even sure needs answering.Along the way, he meets people from all over the world. He travels with a mysterious Persian prince, becomes close to a woman in London just prior to the great fire, flees through France with an Austrian emigrant, and finally has to come to terms with his "own"-- Genoese families who know him by family name rather than in person.The trip and its goal are largely incidental. The beauty of this book are in the moments of communication that Balthasar is able to find with his fellow travellers. If you set those conversations and efforts at cultural understanding against the backdrop of 1666 (the year of the beast), you have a complex and quietly cutting commentary that just as easily applies to our own time as it does to history.The translation seemed largely very good (aside from a tendancy to over-use exclamation points) and Maalouf is a very good writer. The journal form works well for the subject, but does take a little bit of persistence on the part of the reader in the beginning.I would recommend Balthasar's Odyssey to people who like intelligent historical literary fiction. It will probably appeal more to people who like Pamuk than it will to fans of Eco. A potential readers should be comfortable with non-traditional plotting and not be expecting too much in the way of resolution.

This book, as are most of Amin Maalouf's books, is amazing, the story is very well told and it is captivating. I bought it after having read it years ago in my school library, and I've read it several times over the years.I strongly recommend this book to anyone, it is a great read, very enjoyable.

The history is intriguing, the author's elegance is remarkable but I felt bit frustrated to not know more about the content of the Hundred name.

17 years before the famed year of the beast, 1666 ad, a Russian named Evdokim enters the sleepy Levantine village of Gibelet in search of a rare tome.  Balthasar Embriaci , the owner of a curio shop had heard of it but does not have it. In fact Balthasar is completely unsuperstitous and does not believe that the book has any power what so ever. This provokes an angry confrontation. Year later in the year 1665 ad an old neighbor named Idris passes on and leave a rare book in his possession. Lo and behold it is the book. No sooner does he have when a member of the French government comes in and declares interest . Balthasar sells it for an exorbitant sum. No sooner does he sell the book that he regrets not having copied it or kept it. The French official sets off for what was then Constantinple.Balthasar along with his two nephews Habib, and Boumeh and an an emlolyee named Hatem set off for  an overland journey wrought with adventure and peril. There is a back story to all of this involving a girl named Marta, who Balthasar is in love with and her missing husband. THE missing husband is a brigand and has disspaered. THe dead husband's brother suspect that Balthasar has secret p[lans for Marta. AFter traveling with them along the way for part of the journey he leaves off satisfied, but Habib the womanizer catches up with her and brings her along. Along the way they encounter prophets, Jews, and brigands. Cities are struck with plague.Upon arriving in Constantinople they find out that the French official drowned in a shipwreck . Iin Constanttinope both Balthasar and Marta start falling in love. But they need a paper confirming her husbands death. They get milked for their money by corrupt Ottoman officials. It is in the capital city that a fire breaks out in the museum collection of a Wallachain count.They are accused of the crime. After several bribes they make their escape to Smyrna.Smyrna is a turning point. THEy find out that Marta's Hiuusband is alive on Chios, Balthasar discover that the Book of 100 names is in London. Boumeh the superstitious one spurs him on to find the book. Habiab and his womanize ways are a cause of constant correction. In Smyran Shabbtai Tzvi has arisn, a false Jewish messiah. Everyone is expectant and the Jews along with other have stopped working. Eventually the false Messia will go before the Sultan and be forced to convert to Islam, But that is later.In Chios they find the husband and the wife is seemingly kept prisoner their for several day. In  a vain attempt to rescue her it is found out she is quite content to remain there and Balthasar is forced to flee to Genoa. Genoa, Italy is the city of his forefather before they transplanted with thee Crusaders to the Levvant. In Genoa Balthasar links up with Gregoria who wants him to marry his daughter andd be part of the family but Balthatasr must get to London and obtain the book.  Needless to say he does so. He can never read the book because he gets over come with blindness which goes away when he puts the book down. London catches fire and in the end Balthasar stays in Genoa.

Maalouf (probably one of the most popular writers in the Middle East from Egypt to Turkey) gives us another of his historical novels.Set in a time when many thought the end of the world was iminent (something like at the start of the year 2000) The story surrounds a Lebanese bookseller who goes out in search of a mysterious book that contains the '100th name' (based upon God having 99 names and attributes known to man) This myserious 100th name is a name hidden from man.He travels to Turkey to witness the movement of Sabbetai Sevi whose followers would later be known in Turkey as the 'Donme' then on to Europe where he witnessed the great fire of London.While some may be critical of some of the historical detial in the novel (the strange Muslim sect for example dont seem to have any historical base) he is mostly praised for bringing history to life and this book is no exception. The lives of the people of the time are wonderfully brought to life something no history book could do.Probably a book for the airport while waiting for that flight or sitting on a plane with nothing more than a 9 hour journey to look forward to.Decent read, you will probablyl have it finished in a day, 2 at best but still worth a read.

This is an excellent novel, it's a travelogue, a philosophical work, a tale of relationships and religion - and that's a lot to ask of any book. The hero is a somewhat bumbling antique dealer who becomes obsessed with a book which is alleged to contain a secret magical word, the 100th name for Allah/God. The book of our hero's imagination literally falls into his lap but then he looses it before reading a word and in his growing obsession he sets out on a journey to search for it across the near east and Europe of the 17th century. Along the way, he falls in love, meets lots of interesting people, visits well known spots, gets caught up in the Great Fire of London, has strange encounters and muses a lot. The novel takes the form of a journal of his search, and, the fact that he is somewhat foolish and somewhat old and somewhat ugly means that he is all the more believable as a character. The tale is told in simple language and his observations on the encounters along the way are those of an innocent, often only later seeing meaning or logic in events. The book of the 100th word is elusive, as is the real reason for his search.It's an engaging tale, full of ideas but also a story which holds the attention for the fascinating view of 17th century travel and all the action along the way - I couldn't put it down. It's full of imagination and observation and the good and bad choices he makes are thoughtful and resonate, as we are all trying to bumble along the best way we can through life. A highly recommended read.

happywith thepurchase and i recommend it

This is the 4th novel that I read by Maalouf. He definitely knows how to emphasize the magic of the middle east country. Reading one of his books it is like being there.

This is an ok read but to be honest I expected more from such a prolific writer. Story line began well but became less credible as I read on. The end a bit disappointing and left too many loose ends for me.

Very well written, providing a clear insight into the views and minds of the eastern Mediterranean in the middle ages.