My Name Is Red
by Orhan Pamuk
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Book Reviews of My Name Is Red
Book Review: Perspective, density, the ability to see.
Summary: 5 Stars
Early in the novel, a miniaturist named Olive says "Through our colors, paints, art and love, we remember that Allah had commanded us to "See"!". I found myself thinking about that line repeatedly later throughout this wonderful book.
First, be warned, this is not a quick read by any means. There is no omniscient narrative voice to smooth the path for the reader. Instead, the reader is presented with multiple voices and perspectives-- some from the characters themselves, some from the illustrations in the books, one memorable passage is even told from the point of view of ink itself.
And while there is a story and the story is important (the commissioning of the religiously dubious book by the Sultan, the subsequent murderer of Elegant Effendi, Black's efforts to find the killer, save the book and win the hand of his cousin Shekure), it is not as though the story were the book and it only orders the flow of the multiple perspectives rather than really making the reading of the book easier.
Pamuk has been much cited in the press lately, not only for his views as a novelist, but also for his views on what he calls the "absurd" conflict between east and west. Through using the medium of the narrow world of the miniaturists in the 16th century, Pamuk gently addresses the issue of heresy and pollution by stressing the continual influence of other cultures on the classical miniature form and by making clear through debates on individuality, blindness, and style where many of the differences between east and west are located. And also, of course, the similarities are revealed in the same manner.
I found _My Name Is Red_ to be by turns funny, thought-provoking and moving. I was never bored even though it took me perhaps three times as long to read as another book of similar length.
Some tips to the reader: read and even re-read the chronology at the back. Also, the publisher's web site for the book has some images of the paintings referred to by the characters. I found it useful to refer to them after I had finished the novel.
Book Review: MASTERPIECE
Summary: 5 Stars
Winter 1590: in Istanbul a violent murder has been perpetrated. It is the same victim, a miniaturist, who tells the story of his death, describing as well his deep sorrow for the loss of the pleasures of life and his puzzlement for his curious new state of unrest. But this is not a police story.
In the following chapters a gold coin, a dog, two dervishes, a tree will tell new stories... new murders will happen ... until the violent end of the killer that "restore" the equilibrium.
If not a police story, what kind of novel is this?
Well, it has been likened to Eco's "Name of The Rose" and the writer has been likened to Borges for his visionary and metaphysical imagination, but I believe there's much more: a kind of melancholy for the passing of time and its irreparable loss, the fascination for books and painting, the clashing of two different worlds (not only the East and the west, but also inside the Islamic faith), and far above, below and inside, the sense of life, flowing of life, of passion, love and delicate all-pervasive compassion and humanity, painted with such a craftsmanship to leave you open-mouthed.
So, if I must liken this book to something, it his the famous painting "The Tempest" of Giorgione who first come to mind. Not the description in itself his important here, but the whole portrait, the "sense of life" that delicately comes out from the many layers of painting.
On a purely literary level, I was amazed at the ability of the writer in mastering story and style: there are parts in which the expert reader can identify a portrait in the style of Dostoevskij... but loo... only for few pages ... only a hint of colour, because the writer is now changing again and using irony, and he seems to softly challenge you.
This is one of those rare books (rare indeed) in which you deeply regret, the more you proceed in reading, that inevitably the novel will reach an end.
I'm a passionate reader. If you have suggestion for further readings, you don't agree with what I write, or just want to say hallo... feel free to write.
Book Review: Sixteenth century remedy
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, whole world talks about Orhan Pamuk, now the he received Nobel Prize for literature, so why shouldn't I say couple of words. Don't answer that one. I will not talk about him, it is neither time nor place, I will try to say thing or two, about his book, the one you are browsing for right now.
There have been too many comparisons with Umberto Eco's "Name of the rose." There should be, cause this books is much similar to it. And yet, so much different. For example, while the reader with fair ammount of knowledge of western tradition and literature cna move himself with more or less ease trough Eco's pages, his entire knowledge will be of little help whilst reading Pamuk. For on to understand the novel in all it's views, one should be educated in old Persian poets, in arabic literature and tradition, in constant and many feuds and debates over religion and the right way to interpret Kur'an. One should be educated in history of Art and much, much more.
But, like in Eco, one does not need all of that to enjoy the novel on a certain level. It is still very intriguing mistery that unravells on these pages, voices of characters are numerous and one has to change his viewpoint allmost eratically to gras them all. But in this ordered chaos lies the whole beauty of the novel.
Whilst it may be true that this novel does not actually grasp the 16th century Istambul, it still gives away that special feeling when one reads about places that are not so far away in time but are nevertheless looked upon as somethign exotic and wondrous. With a slight pinch of mystery and decadence, and marvel of arabian culture that you just have to stop and apreciate in full.
And that, amongst other thing which we could chat about all day long, is what makes thin novel special. If you truly give yourself to the world of Orhan Pamuk, you'll want to learn more, you'll want to expand yourself. And, somehow, as the time goes by, I have found that to be the most wondruous impact that literature can have.
Book Review: A book of very special qualities
Summary: 5 Stars
I find this to be a very special book for different reasons. One reads novels and stories, and one may find them engaging and interesting. But this is different. It is more than just this. One must 'get' into the style before starting to enjoy the reading and appreciate its beauty and dept. What caught my spirit most was the many reflections on the philosophy of art that Pamuk expounds along the way. Particularly, I was very much impressed by his views on what one may call the 'darkness of God'. One may find literature on the 'silence' of God, or even on the 'humility', and 'suffering', of God - all paradoxical concepts of a somewhat mystical nature. But one may rarely, if ever, come across reflections, and, moreover, so simple and profound, on the 'darkness' of God. This book is just one of them. Most of us are familiar with the image of God as light; with the vision that God bestows light on the human intellect to 'see' or 'behold' things. But Pamuk gives a much more interesting and captivating perspective to this. In order for us to 'see' God bestows pitch darkness, and in the darkness of our physical vision we 'see' the unseeable. This concept is analogous to those of God's eloquence in perfect silence, greatness in extreme humility, and impassibility in his impressive suffering. Pamuk gives the concept of darkness a new interpretation, inviting the reader to explore the 'darkening away' of the world from the vision of the physical eye, or, better still, from the distracted view of our 'intellectual eye', in order to concentrate or focus entirely our faculties on the mystery of God. And Pamuk gives us this and much, much more - including a beautiful love story, and a fascinating murder investigation -, within a narrative that delves into the diverse, but maybe complimentary, world-view of the Islamic East and the Christian West. You will find various aspects of this book returning to you over and over again after finishing it. In a good sense, its reflections are surprisingly haunting.Book Review: Red As Sin
Summary: 5 Stars
If for nothing else, this book deserves my highest ratingjust for the wonderful and tormenting description
of death, spoken from the first perspective by one
of the victims.
Now back to the book.
Another great book by Orhan Pamuk!
If you have read all of his books so far,
you will find this book somehow different in style.
The most noticably, as previously mentioned, is the
angle of narration.
The story is told by all participants that have to do
something with the story - be they humans, animals, objects
like coins or materials like paint.
At first, it is hard to grasp the angles, and to catch up
with the development of the story.
Characters in this book are larger then life in their envy,
passion, talent, greed, and other natural gifts.
Yes, there is a murder mistery, but I am not really sure that it is the point in any way, except to amplify redness of the passions involved. Murder here comes more as a driver that keeps all the characters tunneled.
I almost feel like Pamuk threw the murder in the story to get more interests from the "historical mistery" audience.
Let me be honest with you - this is not
a "Da Vinci Code". This is a difficult, complex
master piece of the modern European and Turkish literature
that does not compromise with too many "historical"
elements. History here is invested rather then
described.
The book is actually a page turner, but with delayed ignition.
This is now it worked for me:
It took me several weeks to go through the first half of the book,
and then it took me 2 days to finish the second half of the book.
For the ones familiar with Orhan Pamuk's works - you will not
be disappointed. At first, it feels a bit different then his previous novels,
but soon you get his common themes intervoven (such as Turkey between East and West)
in the story.