My Name Is Red: Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

First book I've read by Orhan Pamuk and certainly it won't be the last! I think like Salman Rushdie, you need to understand the writer's psyche to enjoy books like this. That said, I found the Satanic Verses a tricky read but then again, I've been told by Muslims you need to understand the Koran. I am not religious so I'm not going to comment on that. My Name Is Red is not like the Satanic Verses so let's clear that up. It is in its entirety a great read. I read over the Christmas period and I was literally devouring great swathes of it at any time. When I finished it I gave it to my brother who wouldn't really read this sort of book but even though he's older, he's now prone to experiment with his reading. I haven't heard back from him on it. He may not read it for months! I love historical fiction and Orhan Pamuk does it as good as any one else. Umberto Eco springs to mind while I read this.

Reading the storyline of this novel and indeed some of the other reviews one could put off the purchase, however, don't be. To write a review is difficult as its a hard book to describe. On the negative side there are times when the descriptions of illumination and the comparison of painting styles between east and west are heavy going and sometimes I found myself reading whole chapters with no real understanding of their relevance. However, as I got further and further through the book everything slowly came into focus. In the end my only complaint was that there were no examples of illuminations within the book as it fired my imagination to see the work of these painters who were so clearly obsessive about perfecting their art. If you are more confused now, its a description of life in Istanbul,its a love story, its a detective novel, its a book about the conflicting cultures of east and west, its definately a book that makes one think but most of all its a interesting which unlike many books keeps ones attention until the end.

An interesting book. I wasn't sure whether i wanted to complete it or not but stuck with it and got hooked. The author knows how to create tension, all set against the background of the 16th century Ottoman empire, mainly in Istanbul, with the fight for the modernisation of Islam against the encroaching values of the west; a battle fought out between miniaturist painters, with death, violence and love all playing their part. I shall be thinking about this book for quite a long time.

Given the number of reviews the plot needs no further recounting. This is a multi-layered and demanding read that took several attempts to master it. The book has numerous short chapters with numerous narrators; sometimes a key human character in the story, other times a horse, a gold coin or the colour red. These 'characters' maintain a constant dialogue directly with the reader. The translation is intrusive. It varies between an antique style and sudden incongruous modern terms or phrases that really grate - especially 'color'. I read this as a crime novel recommendation but that element is secondary. There is a murder and an investigation which uses the 'courtesan method' as a sort of 16th Century D.N.A./fingerprinting. The real meat of the novel is all East v West, Franks v Ottomans, 'style' v 'tradition'. These subjects are explored in depth and to my surprise and pleasure I felt educated by Mr Pamuk. This is much more than a historical crime novel. However, this was not the motivation for puchasing and reading this book so caveat emptor.

The level of learning and poetical description in this novel is wonderful. It's a long but worthwhile read. Delve in!

Comparable to Ulysses in intensity. Not very easy to read but rewarding once managed. (This is from a Western European POV. Might be an easier read for those closer to Turkish culture and history/herstory).

Marvelous story (or, really, stories entwined) this book creates an absolutely enticing atmosphere that transports us for a far away fantasy place. Really comendable, the best Pamuk I have read

For non-muslim readers like me, it would be hard to digest or imagine details of islamic arts or history. However, it does pique my interest in the islamic culture.

I got through this very quickly because I couldn't put it down. Yes, the content is provoking. Yes, the literary style is tight. If the literature of Central and Eastern Europe is of interest, this is a must.

I love reading Pamuk novels. They are fascinating. This is one of my favourites.

Zum Inhalt; habe das Buch leider noch nicht viel gelesen. Aber da der Prof. von Harvard dieses Werk zu einem Weltliteratur zählt, gehe ich mal davon aus, dass es Wert ist reinzuschauen. Content: Since the Prof. in Harvard dealt with this Book as World-Literature, I think it is worth to look at it

Oğlum istedi. aldım. Ben kendi adıma eve sokmam :)

I love this book. I have never found a much more wholesome book than this. It is not just a historical fiction but also a love-story, with art versus religion conflicts and ties up with multiple other concepts. What I most found interesting about this book is the multi-faceted character story, so the story ships from the narrative of a ghost, who was recently murdered to the perspective of a person who is returning from exile. This person, nicknamed Black, visits a Coffee house and somebody in that coffee house, presents an allegorical view of dog; and finally it cuts to the murderer who murdered the person in the first chapter. So all these basically propels the story forward, and it’s a very rich and a layered narrative form of storytelling from different perspectives. The basic fictional backdrop is it covers the 16 century Ottoman Empire and tells the story of the Sultan at that time who commissions a group of miniaturists to decorate and illustrate a book commemorating the thousandth anniversary of Islam and he wants elements of western art embodied, making the project very controversial because Islam doesn’t having a stylistic view of calligraphy is against the tenants of Islam at that time. It paints a picturesque version of Istanbul in early 16 century —about the Bazaar, life and people, the emergence of coffee houses, the intermixing of peoples from various continents and ethnic groups. There is allegory representations from dog and a tree who claims to be lonely and who narrates the story of how the Sultan came to have this idea for the book of festivities. so yeah, it’s it’s a wonderful book that encompasses not just historical fiction but also has love story and a lot of emotional conflict between its multiple characters.