Tuesday, April 08, 2008

"My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk

This is the most beautifully written story I've ever read... its a classic.

Here's a love story; accounts of life in 16th century Istanbul; a murder mystery; intelligent discussions on the philosophy of art in an era when renaissance art was evolving in the west & its impact on eastern art; a novel narrative style.

There are way too many reasons to love this book. Its a treat to read.

11 comments:

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

i love that cover too!!!! :)

Parth said...

Read this a while back and enjoyed it, though I wondered how much was lost in translation.

Radha said...

Moi,
Me too. Its 16th century miniature art from Istanbul.

Parth,
There is always some part of it that gets lost in translation, I guess. But this one I thought did a good job of preserving the look & feel of Istanbul even in English.

Anonymous said...

Hi Radha,

I came across your blog during my blog-surfing.

I must say, it was time well-spent reading it!

Keep writing,
Sneha

Radha said...

Sneha,
Well, thanks :)

Anonymous said...

I had to read "My Name is Red" as a part of my Arabic Literature class a few years ago. Great read, and a great melee of many different genres all into one :-)

-Sneha

Radha said...

Sneha,
I agree...It is a great melee!
Interesting that this book was included in your Arabic literature class though...most Turks wouldn't like being categorised as Arabs; or Turkish being confused with Arabic :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Radha,

Yeah, you're absolutely right - even I was surprised at the fact that this book was included in our curriculum, despite it having such a strong Turkish influence/theme.

Are you an avid reader?

-Sneha

shakester said...

read this about a year and a half ago. some things made me get immersed in it, the istanbul-angle I completely loved, and some parts were riveting.
Somehow, though, by the end of it, I was a little lost. It let go of all the mystery elements it had- by being so convoluted by the end of it all, I did not really hold my breath for the revelation.

suramya said...

that seems to be a really interesting book, and it has romance and murder with a historical setting is just my kind of book, thank you for bringing to my notice. The covers got me all excited.

Radha said...

Sneha,
Yes, i love to read :)

Shakester,
I actually liked the way the murder mystery angle was treated. With even the murderer narrating parts of the story. I thought it was very cool.

Suramya,
Hi there!
Yes, you must read this one!