Ezan

Ottoman Slavonia, a swampy land where mosquitoes kill more surely than armed infidels. On his deathbed Ibrahim tells his son his life in forty chapters, one for each of the forty days he has left. Around 1530, as a boy called Luka, he was taken from his mother in Jablanica in Bosnia as the blood tribute, circumcised into a new faith and given a new mother. He accepts his new world without protest and becomes a janissary: training, campaigns and journeys across the empire, from Edirne, Izmir and Istanbul to Ohrid, Osijek and the siege of Siget, encounters with historical figures such as Suleiman, friendships and a great love for his wife Vasilisa. Though he could have risen high, he chooses to be less than others thought he could be, seeking above all a sense of measure, and he sees what others on the battlefield cannot.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Length

381 pages in the original

Genres

Historical, War, Love (assigned by AI)

First published

2018 by Fraktura

Author's age

47 when first published

ISBN

9789533580524 (original)