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Orhan Pamuk- has anyone read any?

37 replies

WhyAlwaysBoris · 16/04/2012 13:39

I've just bought a copy of the 'Museum of Innocence' in a charity shop and on the blurb it says he has won the Nobel Prize for literature (slightly embarrassed admission that i've never heard of him).

Has anyone read this book or any of his others? I'm slightly put off by the first page which i've now read and has a quite frank sex scene description which isn't really my thing at all.. worth persevering??

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CoteDAzur · 24/04/2012 19:33

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CoteDAzur · 24/04/2012 16:42

I started reading the Amazon synopsis saying "Wait a minute. There was no relief camp for earthquake survivors in Istanbul", then realized the story takes place in Golcuk - not in Istanbul but another city called Kocaeli. (Correct, as the vast devastation after the 1999 earthquake was in Golcuk, not Istanbul)

I only skimmed through some reader comments, but the story rings false on a number of levels. For example, there couldn't possibly be an "American missionary aid" in Turkey. Take my word for this, it just wouldn't happen in general, and there definitely wasn't one after the 1999 earthquake (I was living in Istanbul at the time). Even Red Cross is Red Crescent in Turkey. If ever missionaries were found anywhere in Turkey, let alone in a well-publicised place like a major earthquake site where 18,000 people died, you would see a villagers and pitchforks kind of scenario developing in no time.

Equally fantastical is the idea that the young daughter of a Kurdish family (even more conservative than the Turks) can have a relationship of any sort with anybody, let alone a Christian American. The American boy lives in Turkey all his life and yet doesn't know the effect casual sex will have on he life of this Kurdish girl. And the Kurdish boy can entertain thoughts of converting to Christianity. Sorry but all of this makes me Smile, so unreal and clearly written by a foreigner it all is.

I was living in Istanbul at the time of the 1999 earthquake, by the way.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 24/04/2012 10:33

Another good book set in Istanbul is "Gardens of water" by Allen Drew. Excellent read but very sad.

CoteDAzur · 23/04/2012 15:44

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hackmum · 23/04/2012 13:50

I read My Name is Red. I struggled to the end - it was almost unreadable. It also contained a very graphic and deeply unpleasant account of someone putting his own eyes out with a needle. I feel ill just thinking about it.

But, you know, each to their own. He's a Nobel Prize-winning author, so I'm probably missing something.

AgentProvocateur · 23/04/2012 13:36

I loved Museum of Innocence. It's huge, but an easy read and I whizzed through it in a weekend. To whoever posted up thread - the museum opened this weekend. I read about it in yesterday's paper. I'd love to go...

AgentProvocateur · 23/04/2012 13:35

I loved Museum of Innocence. It's huge, but an easy read and I whizzed through it in a weekend. To whoever posted up thread - the museum opened this weekend. I read about it in yesterday's paper. I'd love to go...

mixedmamameansbusiness · 23/04/2012 13:32

For comparison. The English would help me with the Turkish and vice versa.

BlackSwan · 23/04/2012 13:29

Museum of Innocence - I finished it, but didn't feel rewarded for persevering through chapter after chapter of unrequited obsession.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 23/04/2012 12:26

Barbara Nadel's books are very good. I actually loved Shadow of the Wind too and The Angel's Game.

CoteDAzur · 23/04/2012 07:38

I don't know what that would achieve, except spend 2x the time per book and tell us later what you thought about the translation Smile

mixedmamameansbusiness · 22/04/2012 19:07

I have Snow and Museum of Innocence and havent read either yet. I am really busy and distracted and feel I need a bit of time to concentrate. Also, since I can read Turkish part of me in toying with reading the English and Turkish simultaneously.

stubbornstains · 17/04/2012 19:34

I'm reading "Snow" at the moment. Really well written- I keep on thinking it's going to get too boring as it's a really claustrophobic tale of political infighting, repression and paranoia in a small town, but somehow he manages to pull it off despite the oppressive subject matter.

I'm keen to try another of his books set more in the big wide world, so am following this with interest..

chibi · 17/04/2012 19:27

No, no, it is a book by a different author, not Pamuk - i wanted to concur with you about the way translation can change a book, but using my own experiences

CoteDAzur · 17/04/2012 19:26

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CoteDAzur · 17/04/2012 19:22

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CoteDAzur · 17/04/2012 19:20

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chibi · 17/04/2012 19:15

Indeed.

a more trivial example-for me personally was the shadow of the wind, in spanish it was a gripping potboiler, in english, overboiled Grin i was embarrassed to have recommended it to my english speaking friends.

CoteDAzur · 17/04/2012 19:12

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chibi · 17/04/2012 19:02

i started reading snow but couldn't get into it- i did wonder if it was maybe a translation issue, as i have found this to be the case sometimes in another language i was fluent in

CoteDAzur · 17/04/2012 18:59

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niminypiminy · 17/04/2012 18:32

I've only read Snow but thought that was fantastic. Extremely powerful and atmospheric. It's really stayed with me.

wigglybeezer · 17/04/2012 18:23

I bought it but abandoned it.

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WhyAlwaysBoris · 17/04/2012 18:19

(DH and I got engaged there so special for us!)

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WhyAlwaysBoris · 17/04/2012 18:19

that is really interesting, thanks. Do you live in Istanbul, CoteDAzur ?? Can you recommend other novels set there?

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