My Name Is Red
by Orhan Pamuk
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.50 You Save: $11.45 (72%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.07 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of My Name Is Red
Book Review: Intricate and thought provoking
Summary: 4 Stars
I like the technique of many first persons introducing and revealing themselves and giving their perspective on the others. The highlights are the human narratives, and not those by red, the dog, coins etc. Pamuk kept my interest on "who dun it" such that the deeper I got into it, the more I became impatient with the fables and the harkenings back to the Masters of Herat, etc. I expect that many westerners lost patience with the fables long before I did and did not finish the book.
One reviewer says that the female characters are one dimensional. I disagree. Shekure is well aware of her options, and knows that she is not free to pursue them on her own. Her power is in her beauty, (but I'm not sure how this is well known, since presumably she is covered in public) which she uses to motivate Black to help her. She lays out the plan for him, and knows when and how to leave. Esther, being Jewish, has more freedom of movement. She can deliver messages to men, walk freely at night, knock on doors, etc. She is strong and savvy about people and what they will and will not do. There are only two female characters, which would be appropriate since women in this period were not "players", but both are strong.
Most of the Sultan's miniaturist artists revere paintings and styles that they have never seen. If they've seen them, the looks are merely glimpses that loom in their minds as sacred and ultraworldly. They spend their lives trying to equal them, and feel honored to be blinded in the process. They also accept as an act of love what were described as quite severe beatings, believing them a necessary component of their training. (This reminded me of some 8th graders I taught in Egypt in 1996/7 who said that the American teachers should beat them like the Egyptian teachers did, because they were bad and could not learn otherwise.)
There is a larger cultural portrait here, that affects this region 400 years later. These artists have an understanding that their way of painting is fated. While they have a chance through the Sultan and Enishte Effende to embrace new ways they do not see an opportunity and in response condemn the "Frankish" ways. Some dialog betrays deeper feelings that they will never measure up and that the Venetians will laugh at them. They do not see change as liberating them from the constraints that impede the natural tendancy towards a personal style (that must be beaten out of them), but as a threat to a hallowed past and all they have sacrificed to preserve it. In their defence, how could they embrace this freedom? They have never had it in their artistic nor their personal lives.
Book Review: Turkish delight
Summary: 5 Stars
"My Name is Red" is by far the most unique reading experience I've had in a while, and easily one of the most exquisite. Much like the miniatures that play a large role in this story, this novel is best enjoyed in a leisurely manner to enjoy the complexity and the beauty of its style. The narrative technique of changing perspective with every chapter is slightly disorienting at first, but is a joy once one adjusts. I would find myself frequently hoping for a chapter from this character or that, as I wanted to know how he or she viewed a particular series of events. Pamuk was innovative not only in the narrative style itself, but also in the perspectives chosen. In addition to the main characters of the story, we see the story told from many other perspectives, including the corpse of a murdered man, a dog, a tree, Satan, gold coin, and perhaps most spectacularly, the color red.
Just as one of the highlights of this book is its style, the concept of style is perhaps its most important subject matter. In particular, the increased influence from the West is met with varying degrees of hope, fear, and envy. With Turkey in the news again recently for its struggles over its own identity, as well as its awkward geographical and historical balance between two continents and two traditions that rarely saw eye to eye, this subject matter is extremely relevant and interesting. Of course, however, this is not a new struggle, as the 16th century setting of this novel indicates. Interestingly, the old miniatures that inspired Pamuk show obvious East Asian influences and the narrative acknowledges this as well so the issue of cultural influence is more complex than just "East versus West" (many thanks to the reviewer who noted that these miniatures were posted on the publisher's webpage ... looking at them was, well, "illuminating" if you'll pardon another pun). Given the unfavorable light in which the fundamentalist Erzurumi are portrayed, Pamuk's point seems to be that fearing cultural contamination is not only a silly venture but also futile--Turkey (as well as all countries) continually experiences a mixing of cultures. It always has, and it always will, and more is made of it than should be. After all, East AND West belong to God, so what is to fear if God's plan is at work?
A beautiful tale, told in a captivating way and wrapped around a good old-fashioned murder mystery, "My Name is Red" is easy to rate as a 5-star book. The many layers and textures of this book captivate the reader's senses, and the complex themes and messages engage the mind. Pamuk truly has delivered a delightful reading experience.
Book Review: Closet Orientalist and Palace Mysteries
Summary: 5 Stars
Pamuk has created an elaborate masterpiece. The book is a murder mystery on the surface. Like some of his books though it has many layers interwoven expertly. The setting, old Istanbul and Topkapi Palace grounds, among court artisans, allow him to dissect seemingly one of his favorite topics, philosophy and essence of East. What makes East, Orient? He constantly falls back to the rich history of Ottomans to explore and contrast East vs. West. What separates the two cultures way beyond religion? Art, especially visual art, maybe the best and most direct expression of a world view and indicator of where people place themselves with respect to God and all other creations and the story revolves around this theme. There are no introductions, no prologues, epilogues, first page takes you right in, and you are being murdered. His use of first person narrative is very effective and very unnerving. This book took Pamuk many years to finish apparently, three of which was spent on translation alone, and it shows. The effort he has put in making his work available to World readers has been well worth it, something that other contemporary Turkish writers should emulate I believe. Though some have complained about the flat prose, this cannot be all attributed to the translation. He uses a non-elaborate style to simulate realism, which I believe, works well. Some of the scenes are quite violent and sexual references are sometimes shockingly raw, but this is 16th century and anyone who has read Rumi should not be too surprised. He paints very rich scenes, and as in a Vermeer painting, one is inevitably looking for that hidden clue, a faint reflection on the mirror for the identity of the villain in the story.
Some years ago I had a chance to see the very manuscripts that inspired the artisans in this book and occupy such a prominent place, on display in NY Metropolitan Museum. Given the time period, these were very bold and very impressive expressions pointing to an era in Islamic culture when the dark curtain of conservatism had not yet descended. If Sunni Arabs represent the warriors of Islam, surely Shiite Persians represent the artists. Their wonderful paintings, poetry and miniatures have dominated the Islamic art and literature scene and have set the standard for much more to come.
Pamuk has done extensive research and period accuracy is impressive. Though the writing is smooth and not convoluted, still it is not an easy read, but given the topic, which is a lot more than just a murder mystery, it is a small price to pay for a great book.
Book Review: Structure, ideas fascinating; characters and language flat
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a tough review to write. There's much to like about this book. There's much to dislike. Comparisons to Eco's "The Name of the Rose" are accurate; both books are period mysteries, both books explore the ideas of the time, both books aspire to larger stature than their genre. Neither book does, really. Literary fiction is all about character. Ultimately "My Name is Red" gives us intriguing and intricate philosophy and fascinating structure. But its characters are flat and its language tedious.First, a quick note about the language. Does the translation stink? Or did Pamuk write convoluted, lifeless prose in the original? My guess the former. There are too many awkward sentences. The language is dull. I get the feeling the language is intended to represent a formal, fable-telling style. (More on this later.) But. It's too affected.
What really shines about "My Name is Red" is its fascinating story-within-a-story structure. The whole book is told as if by a coffee-house storyteller. Not only does the book unfold from multiple characters' points-of-view, but objects get voices, too - including a coin, Satan, and the color red.
Also the structure parallels the art form of book illustration that is at the heart of the novel. It's highly formal - all the narrators in the book speak with the same affected voice. It's traditional, in the spirit of "Arabian Nights," which uses parables and stories-within-stories. It owes much of its spirit to Islam, yet flirts with blasphemous rejection of religion. It's bending towards Western influences - in the case of the book, mystery novels. And so does illustration in the novel.
Yet for all the fascinating philosophical digressions and observations on Islam and art, what drives the modern novel is character. And it's there that "My Name is Red" is weakest. Perhaps because the language remains too formal throughout, we never get a chance to get intimate with the book's populace - their thoughts, the pattern of their speaking voices, the psychological impressions so vital to the 20th-century novel are missing here. There's also a weird obsession with sex running through the book - not in an interesting way, like in "Ulysses" - but in a middle-school, bodice-ripping way.
Still, the book is worth a read. It attempts to bring Middle East form and influence into a Western novel. The complexity of Pamuk's structure is awe-inspiring, certainly fascinating. Again, like "The Name of the Rose," it instructs as much as it entertains, even if it falls short of its artistic aspirations.
Book Review: Brilliant, unusual, and also average
Summary: 4 Stars
"My Name is Red" is a rare treat, with a fictional account of a brief time in the Muslim world of the 16th century under the Ottoman Empire. Someone with only modest awareness of that historical period and the lurking conflicts between east and west can still enjoy the novel. More knowledge would help, but even in this dense writing, the author doesn't reach too much into the obscure or excessive detail that could overwhelm the reader.
Mr. Pamuk has three primary simultaneous threads, all anchored to the assignment to create a collection of miniature paintings for the Sultan. One is a love story, one is a murder mystery, and one is philosophical contemplation about art and style. The third is easily the core of the novel and far more compelling than the rest.
The love story, which barely qualifies as one, is shallow and more like lust on one side and necessity on the other. The two participants don't bond or even have very many interactions, and I found a particular sex scene right before the end oddly placed and inappropriate.
The murder mystery opens the novel and Pamuk uses an effective alternating first-person style to provide different perspectives, even those of two dead characters and "Satan". The murderer takes its turn a few times, without identification. The perspectives are interesting and wonderfully written. Unfortunately, the murder and the mystery are relatively lame, without generating that urge to hurry to the end for the resolution.
The side discussions on what is art, what is style, where does style come from, and many philosophical riffs on those topics provided the interest for this reader. I knew almost nothing about Islamic art, so Pamuk's background on the role of Allah and other details was quite informative and well integrated, without sounding like a tutorial. Similarly, the description of groundbreaking new art of the western "infidels" and the conflict over whether to embrace the perspective style were quite intriguing.
I didn't know quite what to make of the thread about torture that ran through the novel. Was Pamuk simply describing the role of torture in the empire at that time, so casually applied, without a value judgment, or was he in fact making a concrete statement? That may well be obvious to someone with more familiarity with Pamuk and/or that historical era.