Seven Houses

by Alev Lytle Croutier

"An exotic and beautiful story" (Isabel Allende) chronicling the lives of four generations of remarkable women, sweeping readers from the last days of the Ottoman monarchy to Turkey's transformation into a republic and the present day backlash.

"A highly imaginitive family saga...Croutier's measured prose is artistic and sensuous" ( San Francisco Chronicle ) as the story of a silkmaking family iss told through the houses they occupied. From a grand villa in Smyrna in the early twentieth century to a silk plantation in the foothills of Mount Olympus, from a tiny house in a sleepy town to an apartment in a modern urban high-rise, the family's dwellings reflect its fortune's rise and fall. As communal baths and odalisques give way to movies and cell phones, four unique yet powerfully linked women experience all of life's hardships and pleasures.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Middle East, Historical, Cultural

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Alev Croutier was born in Turkey. She has written and directed award-winning independent films and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship (the first ever for a screenplay) for her work on Tell Me a Riddle. She is the author of the internationally acclaimed bestseller Harem: The World Behind the Veil. She divides her time between San Francisco and Paris.

Reviews

[Lindsey Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

[Rusalka · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know when you find a book with a really interesting premise. One that makes you think, if this works it could be great, but if not... Yeah... This book is the example of it not working.

This book is a family saga over roughly 100 years in Turkey. It follows the grandmother, through to the granddaughter, but looking at everyone in between and beyond. What it tries to do is to tell the story through the eyes of the houses. Which would be interesting, if it did it. Or was consistent. It was neither. It would be thrown in sometimes at the beginning of the chapter if it was remembered. Otherwise it carried on as an omnipotent narrator, but threw the building card in now and then. And then ignored it completely and discussed things there was no fricking way a building a couple of kilometres back could observe. It was haphazard, sloppy and badly executed.

Also, as I am pedant and such. There were 5 houses. Not seven. We went back to two.

Maybe, if the characters were interesting it would be forgivable that you forgot the premise you named your book after. Beauty Queens are not interesting to me though. Sorry. I maybe a failure to my gender, but primping and preening to be beautiful is fucking boring and a waste of my time in real life, let alone reading it for a while. Even if it is one small part of the story, boring, snoring, doring...

Also, maybe I had a really sheltered childhood. I mean, I had brothers, and boys on the street I played with every day, but we never had the need to show each other our bits every five seconds. I am sure we did and went, well that's odd, and moved on. What is with the overt sexualisation of children in every second book I read? I understand that teenagehood is a western construct. I understand there is a thin line between kids and adults in many cultures. I understand that a lot of kids in many cultures around the world live in the same room as their parents sex life.

But what is the need for any book not written in a western or Anglo background for sexualising children in the first few pages? Is it to shock me into another culture? Coz cheers, got that, not completely fucking stupid. Is it something I was incredibly sheltered from? Was everyone else as children humping anything that walked along? If so, I stand corrected. Or was she trying to make a point about a repressed sexual society? I don't know, but it grated me (obviously) whatever she was planning. And this is not about the obvious child sexual abuse case. This annoyed me before that story, at least that was explainable and understandable.

As a family saga, it wasn't horrible. It interested me a little in what was going on, and the family at large. I assume it gave me some insight into Turkish society, or probably more accurately, a Turkish diaspora's or immigrant to another country's opinion of Turkey. Overall a big Meh from me. It wasn't terrible, but if it wasn't for the challenge I read it for, I wouldn't have finished it.

For more reviews visit http://rusalkii.blogspot.com.au/

[Peta · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book. i read it years ago and want to re-read. the house acting as narrator is fabulously inisghtful....if only these walls could talk and they can!

[Heather Harbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lives of four generations of women whose family gained wealth and prestige through the production of silk -- then lost all as modernity dawned -- are chronicled in this intriguing and exotic novel. Their stories are told from the point of view of the houses they inhabit across time -- a house in Smyrna, a rambling silk plantation, a modern apartment building erected in a wasteland, a cottage -as Turkey emerges in the early 20th century from a misty Arabian Nights atmosphere of silks, spices, and genies in perfume bottles to duller secularization and Americanization. In the later eras, the younger generations scatter across Europe and the USA returning to retrieve what's left of a mythic, enchanted past enclosed in an amber egg. Daily details of the women’s lives across the decades are lovingly presented – food, clothes, traditions, superstitions, hairstyles and changing fads.

The walls of their seven houses witness and protect the heroines’ most intimate thoughts, secret transgressions and desires. The author’s evocative, sensuous prose style echoes classic oriental fairy tales, but is underpinned by gentle irony. Her heroines are determined women with minds and ambitions of their own. They want to sing, dance, choose their own lives and lovers, and acquire souls and identities of their own. This book is a delightful escape into a rich, diverse culture beautifully portrayed with an exquisite sense of place.

[silvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've finished this book in 2 days. that means i'm recovering my good old reading speed!

seven houses is tels was the history of turkey from the otoman empire at the begining of wwI to the end of the last century.
it follows the history of a silk manufacters family, focusing on the female point of view and is narrated by the houses they live in.
this was a promising ideia to start whit and it is a interesting, well written book, but I can't shake the feeling it could've been better. first of all the ideia of the houses narrating the story only really happens whit the first house, thats the only one that really was a voice and a personality. on the other chapters the houses are just an excuse.

in all I enjoyed reading the book and the author style, still I think the book could have another 100pages to tigth the lose ends, but I understand that the author porblably prefred to leave them hunging to combine whit the story's aura of mystery and magic

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed the story of this Turkish family, which spans several decades and incorparates a lot of Turkish history. The device of having each house in which the family lives narrate the story is an unusal one - but in fact the only house with a distinct voice is the first house, in which Esma comes to live. I loved the story of Esma - and her lover, and none of the other other stories were as strong, although there were aspects of Amber's story I enjoyed too. There were also gaps in the story - and in the timeline - which I wanted filled in - what happened to Amber between her Parents return, and her own departure? What happened to Papatya after she and Amber are briefly reunited? A good read though, and one which will stay with me I think.

[Iriswtzhang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story is not that appealing. But when I looked back after finishing, can feel the the richness of the book, combining the life route of an individual, a family, and a country.

[Leylaˢ ᵖᵃᵍᵉˢ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's taken me long to write a review about it because I have such mixed feelings about it.
The synopsis sounded so promising and such an original concept (!) [the narrators are seven houses inhabited by a Turkish family over the decades], if only the outcome of the idea was as great... It sadly put me in a reading slump; i started it the end of June, finished it 8th of August and only in October I am writing a review. See, the writing style was definitely amazing and descriptive but the story became so dreaded and boring sometimes? I got excited to read about some history set in Turkey and learn about my ethnicity. I loved Esma's character as well as the curious Amber.

In the last 30% we made such a time jump which made the story confusing and makes you wonder about what happened in 40 year time. So many questions about the characters which were left in the dark. I'm still gonna put some quotes here which I'll remember the book by:

Their heartbeats harmonize with each other. And their breathing.

Every now and then, distracted, they look at each other for a moment instead of at the sky. They cannot keep their yearning eyes from the impetuosity they see then, but hands, they restrain the hands. Never touching, is the promise they have made, the promise that makes it possible for them to come together like this every night. For years. To love each other this way. Without a blemish.

'...for it had never been Allah's intention that a flower and a bird should mate. Although she trembled at the nightingale's song, her petals remained forever closed.'

They sit together and recite poems and stories to compensate for all the needs they cannot fulfill. They sit together until prayer at dawn, when Esma gives Süleyman a handkerchief full of the most delectable Turkish fruit.

Unable to distance herself from her mother-in-law, who had detached herself from her body and was pacing back and forth in the room directly above hers, Kamile took refuge in books. She devoured words until she couldn't take more in, until she could no longer keep her eyes open, locked in the realm of fictional dreams.

'No love is as great as the love of Allah, my child.'

* quotes directly translated from the Dutch edition

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

ERC Book Club, July 2004 selection

Pretty good glimpse of Turkey and its customs. Author did a good job of capturing the generations of the Ipekci family. I might have been more bored if it hadn't been a country I hadn't read about (similar to how I felt when reading about Glass Palace, hence same rating). I don't think the author did as good a job of blending magic realism like Allende or Marquez. She'd kind of abruptly end a scene with it and that was it. -- eps 07/17/04

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A sixth sense through four generations 

Reviewed by Eliza Wilmerding

Sunday, October 6, 2002 

©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article... 

Seven Houses 

By Alev Lytle Croutier 

ATRIA; 306 PAGES; $24

Along the lines of novels that enrich our idea of what is "real" (works by Garcia Marquez, Carlos Fuentes, Isabel Allende) fits Alev Lytle Croutier's new book, "Seven Houses." Croutier, a San Francisco and Paris-based writer who was born and raised in Turkey, wrote two nonfiction books on Turkey and the Middle East ("Harem: The World Behind the Veil" and "Taking the Waters") and one historical romance novel ("The Palace of Tears"). In her new book she focuses again on Turkey and spins memory, knowledge, lore and history into a highly imaginative family saga spanning the 20th century. 

"Seven Houses" is the panoramic story of four generations of Turkish women in the Ipekci silk-making family who find their way through the ebb and flow of wealth, social freedom and their country's turbulent history. There is the widow, Esma, whose love for another man is forbidden; her niece, Papatya, whose family can't help her because "only God has the right to interfere between a husband and a wife." There is beautiful Aida, who ignores the wise men's warnings and suffers the consequences; Maria, who keeps her identity secret to shield her family from danger. There is the protective Camilla, who fights evil spirits and curses to give birth to a living baby. Finally, there is Esma's granddaughter, Amber, who connects with elders, comes of age and feels the pull between "progress" and reconnecting with her country's old soul -- a pervasive theme throughout the book. 

Croutier's measured prose is artistic and sensuous. By lacing her historical tale with surreal coincidences, premonitions and the supernatural, she offers a refreshing break from the contemporary trend of realist storytelling. The form fits her story well. The culture presented in "Seven Houses" values dreams, spirits, myths, religion and the work of charms. The boundaries between fact and fiction blurred. And, as Allende once said, "all that which is important in our lives has a place in literature -- our sense of family, religion, and superstition, too." 

The magic begins with the narrators. The women's stories are told by the voices of the seven houses they inhabit over the decades. The houses listen and peer into the thoughts, prayers and dreams of the Ipekci family. They have opinions, manipulate situations, feel love and pain and keep spirits. 

Family members also have surprising abilities. Some have a sixth sense that they use to save each other. One character, like the Hellenic gods who wept precious stones, weeps diamonds when she hears of a lost lover. When the Greeks set Izmir (which was known as Smyrna) on fire, Esma prays for ice while her maid makes a charm and prays for rain; the heavens answer with hail ("melting like a salve over our burning flesh . . . The white city buried in a cloud of black mist. Like its women. The whole city weeping for human stupidity. As the world wept for the city"). 

There are other surreal scenes: A young patriarch, angry at the loss of his family's silk fortune, hurls a coffee cup out the window; it shatters and imbeds into the cement below forming a mosaic of a silk moth. A mother reincarnates as a bird. Ghosts frequent both dreams and reality. 

Yet "Seven Houses" depends on history as much as myth. Aside from a minor historical sketch near its beginning, the book shows how Turkey's transformations affects the Ipekcis both as the changes happen and later, when, 

as aged characters, they remember the past. Following the defeat of the Ottomans, the Greeks invade and burn much of Izmir including part of Esma's house. Men leave lovers to join Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's Liberation Army. After the Turks win their independence, Ataturk embarks on a course of swift reform and Western-style modernization. Esma's sons learn a new alphabet. Men abandon traditional headwear. Women burn their veils. Children ogle Hollywood movie stars. People move into hot high-rises with plumbing and away from their villages, wells and gardens -- and their past (" . . . imitating forms they did not understand, homes that did not belong to them" ). Some political leaders backtrack toward fundamentalism. 

The spirit of one of the houses (one that's been bulldozed and built over) sadly contemplates the change in people and towns: 

"Their confidence gone, they became unfathomable . . . They hid behind the emptiness . . . or locked their women behind lattices, behind veils to cover their shame, which they couldn't contain. They had lost their souls . . . The houses disappeared. The boxes rose vertically and multiplied. People above, people below, and people on each side. Look at us now." 

A visit to Turkey by Esma's California-born great granddaughter brings the novel -- and the family -- full circle and revives faith and the power of roots. We're left with a rich tale that seems like a series of vivid dreams. It took Croutier seven years to write "Seven Houses." It was worth the wait. 

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[André · Rating 5 out of 5]

Citaat :
Review : Alev Lytle Croutier is in Turkije geboren, maar verdeelt haar tijd tussen San Francisco en Parijs en schrijft in het Engels. Ze produceert en regisseert indepent films. De bestseller Harem: The World behind the Veil is ook door haar geschreven. Ze is een geëmancipeerde vrouw die niet van de Turkse wet of censuur afhankelijk is en dat laat haar dan ook toe heel open over de situatie van de vrouw in de Turkse samenleving te schrijven.


In Zeven huizen maakt ze van dat voorrecht ten volle en met stijl gebruik. Ze vertelt het verhaal van vier generaties Turkse vrouwen en neemt ons daartoe mee op een tocht gedurende de hele twintigste eeuw.
Het is een heel mooi werk waarin het verhaal op een originele manier gestalte krijgt. Niet de vrouwen vertellen het verhaal maar wel de huizen waarin ze hun levens leidden. De huizen werden door mannenhanden gebouwd maar het waren wel vrouwenhanden die de de zorg op hen namen om ze te onderhouden en ze mooi te maken.


Alev Lytle Croutier weet heel knap de historiek van een eeuw Turkije te verwoorden. Ook de geografie van dit prachtige land doet zij alle eer eer aan. Maar vooral is dit uitzonderlijke boek een ontroerende hommage aan een eeuw leven en lijden van vier generaties Turkse vrouwen.

[Tari Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book. Having traveled to Turkey, I found it especially interesting. I was hooked from chapter one. I loved the fact that the story started from the perspective of an abandoned home. I have often wondered about the stories such homes had to tell and this one was telling it tale.

We begin with Esma, a character I quickly grew to love. Her affair with her tutor was so endearing. The story takes us through several generations and into seven homes, ending with Esma's great granddaughter Nelli who ties it all together. Along the way we meet Esma's brothers and sisters as well as her children and their families while learning about the Turkish culture. A very enjoyable read.

[Sally Edsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this book! It is a brilliant evocation of place (various locations in Turkey), and exploration of familial relationships from women's point of view.
There are so many new fiction books trying to attract our attention all the time. This one stands out from the crowd and is one of the most rewarding I have read in many years. It is on my list of all-time favourites.
Try it. Take it on holiday, snuggle under the quilt for a couple of days and be transported!

[Britta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Seven Houses. I thought it was a stunning, evocative portrayal of Turkish life at various points throughout the twentieth century. The magical realism added a gorgeous layer to the novel, and the characters, while not the most well-developed, were intriguing and beautifully written. I loved that the houses were the narrators, and my only complaint is that Croutier seemed to fall away from this halfway through the book. This was disjointing and disappointing for me as a reader. Otherwise, I thought Seven Houses was a beautiful and enjoyable read.

[Elena Giacomini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Semplicemente meraviglioso. Un libro che ti fa vivere con gli occhi delle protagoniste e con il cuore della casa in cui hanno abitato per lungo tempo, descrivendo difficoltà e momenti di gioia, ricchezza e povertà, tristezza, felicità, malinconia. Attraversando gli anni e i decenni, rappresentati dai loro cambiamenti e dalla cultura della Turchia.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't care for this book. None of the characters were very likable. I stopped on page 185. I could no longer deal with the child sex in the book. I realize other cultures view children and sexuality differently, but I could not stomach it.

[Aleida Socarras · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the angle of the story being told by each house. I also like the main character a lot, Amber. She’s the string that ties the stories together. It was hard to keep up with all the names though and I had no historical reference so it made some portions hard to understand.

[Cristel Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

een geweldig boek over een stormachtige periode van een groots rijk. Met magistrale neerzetting van personages. De grootmoeder is voor eeuwig in mijn hart gekerfd

[Eliza Wilmerding · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote this review of the book for the San Francisco Chronicle:
https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/...

[Janny]

Dit was echt mijn boek niet. Daarom geen beoordeling. Daarmee zou ik de schrijver tekort doen

[Leanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven Houses: A Novel was recommended to me as a must read for anyone with a love for or connection with Turkey. Seven Houses is a beautifully written, literary novel, and I agree with the recommendation. The premise of the novel is that the seven houses, located in Turkey throughout the 20th century, have a soul and a connection to the inhabitants and their stories. The idea of the houses speaking for the family is interesting but not necessary and sometimes a clunky tool. It should also be noted that the family featured in the story is representative of the Turkish secular ideal so only portrays part of the population and does not address the reality of the much more conservative-leaning Turkish society of today. Even those that do not have a connection to Turkey but enjoy well-written literary fiction will enjoy this novel.

[Glenna Barlow · Rating 2 out of 5]

i really wanted to like this book, but in the end i think i liked the premise more than the story itself. generations of women in the same family, as told by the houses in which they lived. it seemed like a novel (pardon the pun) idea but in the end turned out to be more of an afterthought. it was so sporadic that it was almost jarring when the house once again reverted to first person, and you had to remind yourself of the premise. i didn't care much about the characters inside the houses either. pity. 2 1/2 stars.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book the first year I lived in Turkey, and I enjoyed it then, but re-reading it has been sheer joy. It's a beautifully crafted saga of a silk-producing family that follows four generations as Turkey moves from the Ottoman Empire through independence and into modern times. Croutier expertly depicts Turkish traditions from street bazaars to hamams to curcumcision ceremonies. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in other cultures.

[Diego Urbina · Rating 3 out of 5]

La leí en su versión en español titulada Los palacios de la memoria.
La leyenda de la casa de Adonis, fantasmas, yumms, ruiseñores, casas testigos y otras leyendas más hacen de esta novela un poco nostálgica de recuerdos de Turquía para los personajes de la novela.
"Por mucho que lo intentemos, no podemos escapar cuando el cambio nos llama" hablan de los sucesos que tuvieron que pasar los personajes.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were parts of this book that I liked, parts that I didn't like, and parts that I just didn't understand. It follows a few generations of women but their stories are told through the houses that they live in. It's a cool idea, but partway through the book the author seems to tire of it and begins to narrate things that the house would never have known. It was ok but I wouldn't read it again.

[Sandra Massry · Rating 4 out of 5]

En Español: los Palacios de la Memoria; es una novela que narran las casas donde vivieron 3 generaciones en Turquía. Es como un viaje al Medio Oriente con descripciones exquisitas de la vida de hace como 70 años y la transformación a la época actual. Los personajes muy interesantes, sobre todo las mujeres. Se disfruta mucho!

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was kind of slow moving for me. I had a hard time keeping the characters straight. It was interesting to read about Turkey through several generations, but it took me a while to read this one!

[Wafia · Rating 5 out of 5]

very mystical and mysterious. A book that was told by the houses that one family lived in through a couple generations. Its a sad story, one that is captivating and kinda chilling. A lot of ghosts and spirits lurking in the story.

[Sita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the concept of the book. This is a story of several generations of a Turkish family told through the eyes of a house. I like stories that transend generations.
I did not like how the author had a way of giving away the story before it actually occured. This diminished the surprise element.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was transported back to Turkey whilst reading Seven Houses. I really enjoyed the originality of telling the story from the perspective of various houses. I was intrigued by the fortunes and losses of the family, mirroring the rise and fall of a great country.