From a Turkish writer who has been compared with Borges, Nabokov, and DeLillo comes a dazzling novel that is at once a captivating work of historic...
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Oct 24, 2011
Ian
rated it: 
A Short Start
I started reading this novel, because it was Pamuk's shortest and although I liked the subject matter of his other novels, I was worried I might bite off more than I could chew (I am the sort of person who must finish a book once I've started it, even if I hate it).
So this was a taster for me.
From A to B Inevitably
I think it is fair to say that what happens at the end is inevitable. His craftsmanship lies in how he achieves it.
There More...
I started reading this novel, because it was Pamuk's shortest and although I liked the subject matter of his other novels, I was worried I might bite off more than I could chew (I am the sort of person who must finish a book once I've started it, even if I hate it).
So this was a taster for me.
From A to B Inevitably
I think it is fair to say that what happens at the end is inevitable. His craftsmanship lies in how he achieves it.
There More...
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Jan 31, 2012
Lavinia
rated it: 
Pamuk’s talent for storytelling is definitely unquestionable. Well, OK, you can disagree, I don’t care.
I loved the setting; it was basically the main criteria for choosing the book (I’d probably need to mention the reader-friendly length, as well). I loved the plot (the double / the identical twin, the capacity of exchanging not only identities, but also memories, ideas and beliefs), the framing device, the (unreliable) 1st person narrative, the mind games and the twisted relationship / b More...
I loved the setting; it was basically the main criteria for choosing the book (I’d probably need to mention the reader-friendly length, as well). I loved the plot (the double / the identical twin, the capacity of exchanging not only identities, but also memories, ideas and beliefs), the framing device, the (unreliable) 1st person narrative, the mind games and the twisted relationship / b More...
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Apr 19, 2008
Chul-hyun
rated it: 
Are we really so different from one another? Why am I not the magnificent white castle that sits on top of the hill but a rusty, creaking and nonsensical monstrosity wrought in hopes of "proving things to them", stuck in mud and sinking to its death with poor, accidental participants in it? Why can't I be you? If I knew who you were, where you come from and what you thought of while eating lunch with your family on an idle summer day of your youth? Are there really things to be found i
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Jan 28, 2012
I wanted to love this book, and it seems uncomfortably unintellectual for me to say that I have mixed feelings about it. Much of the time I felt like I was reading through a haze which had the added effect of slowing all action down. The end of the novel I first found vexing in the extreme--I spent the whole rest of the day after I finished it in a snit. But I've made my peace with it, and I understand (I think) why it may have done what it did. In the end, I'm glad I read it, but I didn't e
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Mar 20, 2009
Ririenz
rated it:
THE WHITE CASTLE
~ Orhan Pamuk ~
Pernah gak sih dalam diri ini dan diri kalian semua terbersit keinginan, bermimpi atau bercita2 untuk melakukan dan merasakan sesuatu yang berbeda? Sesuatu yang gak biasa Qta lakukan… Sesuatu yang bukan diri Qta… Sesuatu yang tidak lazim terjadi pada diri Qta… hingga membuahkan terjadi revolusi pada diri Qta…
Pernah kan????
Dan gak mungkin rasa itu hanya sekali timbulnya…
Kan Qta masih manusia, masih terlalu banyak komposisi duni More...
~ Orhan Pamuk ~
Pernah gak sih dalam diri ini dan diri kalian semua terbersit keinginan, bermimpi atau bercita2 untuk melakukan dan merasakan sesuatu yang berbeda? Sesuatu yang gak biasa Qta lakukan… Sesuatu yang bukan diri Qta… Sesuatu yang tidak lazim terjadi pada diri Qta… hingga membuahkan terjadi revolusi pada diri Qta…
Pernah kan????
Dan gak mungkin rasa itu hanya sekali timbulnya…
Kan Qta masih manusia, masih terlalu banyak komposisi duni More...
Nov 07, 2010
Al
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 14, 2010
Helmisade
rated it:
I was surprised at how easy and fast this was to read. Until I got to the end, I mean. Then I felt that I should start over and read it again, because I was sure I missed something. You tricked me, Mr.Pamuk! And I liked it!
The best part about this book was the exploration of identity. What does it mean, when I say who I am? What makes me me and not someone else? Not something I want to think about all the time, but excellent thoughts to spin around in the early hours of the morning.
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The best part about this book was the exploration of identity. What does it mean, when I say who I am? What makes me me and not someone else? Not something I want to think about all the time, but excellent thoughts to spin around in the early hours of the morning.
More...
Apr 22, 2010
Dennis
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 09, 2010
Stephen
rated it:
". . . was it not the best proof that men everywhere were identical with one another that they could take each other's place" (p. 151). On one level, this is a novel about cultural confrontation, with two characters from very different worlds engaging one another. Among other differences, the Venetian is obsessed with confession, with himself, the other, a Turkish Muslim, always sees the fault in others. But in the end they are a demonstration of the quote above, able to switch places
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Jul 16, 2011
Mike
rated it:
After reading “My Name is Red”, I knew that I would be reading more by Mr. Pamuk. So, in preparation for a multi-week trip overseas, I scoped out the volumes in the local library branch. In a way, “The White Castle” was pre-selected both for size (light, good form factor for reading in planes, trains, and hotels) and for holding my interest (I read the blurbs on the books that were available). Usually, I won’t do such pre-screening other than to look at the cover. (You’d be surprised how many
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Jun 30, 2011
Shovelmonkey1
rated it:
The White Castle, or Beyaz Kale as it was first printed in Turkish is a book which looks long and hard at the idea of personal identity. The narrator asks "Of what importance is it who a man is? The important thing is what we have done and will do." This Kafka-esque statement eloquently sums up the essence of the two main characters, the Hoja (teacher) and his Italian slave. Throughout their time together slave and master are caught in a tussle over their identities.
Both rec More...
Both rec More...
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May 03, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Unfortunately my reading of this book was interrupted by 'Our Tragic Universe' which had been requested from the library. I zapped through the first forty or so pages of 'White Castle', but when I returned to it after a hiatus, I found it much more of a slog.
The premise is that a Venetian scholar is taken as a slave by Turks and ends up being the companion of Hoja, his master, who entreats our scholar to teach him all he knows. The story is set in seventeenth century Constantinople. The sc More...
The premise is that a Venetian scholar is taken as a slave by Turks and ends up being the companion of Hoja, his master, who entreats our scholar to teach him all he knows. The story is set in seventeenth century Constantinople. The sc More...
Aug 24, 2009
Harun Harahap
rated it:
5 Bintang buat Covernya..wah menarik banged..agak sedikit ga jelas apa maksudnya tapi terlihat keren dan bagus..
Cerita tentang Seorang budak asal venesia dan Tuannya yang berasal dari Turki..pada awalnya mereka berdua adalah seorang ilmuwan yang belajar secara otodidak..namun Sang Tuan mulai dipercaya menjadi peramal bagi sang Sultan...Ia meramal dengan mengarang2 sebuah cerita dan menafsirkan mimpi sesuai dengan kehendaknya sendiri..
sebenernya ni cerita bikin pusing ya.. More...
Cerita tentang Seorang budak asal venesia dan Tuannya yang berasal dari Turki..pada awalnya mereka berdua adalah seorang ilmuwan yang belajar secara otodidak..namun Sang Tuan mulai dipercaya menjadi peramal bagi sang Sultan...Ia meramal dengan mengarang2 sebuah cerita dan menafsirkan mimpi sesuai dengan kehendaknya sendiri..
sebenernya ni cerita bikin pusing ya.. More...
Dec 04, 2010
Jim
rated it:
This is a curious little novel about two virtual physical doubles who happen to meet by accident: One is an Italian scholar captured by Turkish ships on the Mediterranean and sold as a slave, and the other is the Turk called only Hoja who buys him. We never learn the Italian's name, because he always speaks in the first person. Hoja becomes a confidant of the young sultan and collaborates with the narrator in coming up with predictions, stories, weapons -- whatever the sultan wants. Although the
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Jul 26, 2011
Michelle
rated it: 
I love the idea of this book: a glimpse of 17th-century Istanbul, a meeting of Italian and Turkish cultures, a murky confusion of identities, a project to build a revolutionary new weapon. Yet despite these elements of philosophy and adventure, when I finished the book I was left with no desire to contemplate its message and no hangover of excitement.
I recall no images from the novel, no sense of the narrator's everyday life, no sights or sounds or smells. I recall no turns of phrase, More...
I recall no images from the novel, no sense of the narrator's everyday life, no sights or sounds or smells. I recall no turns of phrase, More...
Oct 28, 2011
ala'
rated it:
على القائمة الحالية ، لم أبدأها بعد ن هناك أمر غريب متعلق بها اذ يبدو ان هناك شبه اتفاق على كونها اما سيئة للغاية - على الاخص من القراء العرب- واما جيدة للغاية ..
أتمنى ان لا تخيب أملي ..
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حسنا ، أربعة نجوم ما تستحقه هذه الرواية بكل تأكيد ، النجمة الأخيرة لسوء الترجمة كان بامكان المترجمة أن تترجم النص بطريقة أكثر شاعرية بمراحل . لكن لا بأس ، مهضومة ، استطعنا على الأقل ان ندخل في جو القصة .
الرواية لطيفة ، سريالية جدا ، ونهايتها مربكة تماما ..وبعد الانتهاء من More...
أتمنى ان لا تخيب أملي ..
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حسنا ، أربعة نجوم ما تستحقه هذه الرواية بكل تأكيد ، النجمة الأخيرة لسوء الترجمة كان بامكان المترجمة أن تترجم النص بطريقة أكثر شاعرية بمراحل . لكن لا بأس ، مهضومة ، استطعنا على الأقل ان ندخل في جو القصة .
الرواية لطيفة ، سريالية جدا ، ونهايتها مربكة تماما ..وبعد الانتهاء من More...
Feb 22, 2011
Elijah
rated it:
The grass is always greener. Maybe that isn't the central point of The White Castle (Honestly, how many good books actually have one central point?), but it was the one that stuck with me the most.
Pamuk, in general, was suggested to me, so I went onto the Brooklyn Library's website and picked one of his books mostly at random -- smarty-pants literary books with plot summaries that sound like adventure stories are one of my favorite genre syntheses. Perhaps picking randomly wasn't the More...
Pamuk, in general, was suggested to me, so I went onto the Brooklyn Library's website and picked one of his books mostly at random -- smarty-pants literary books with plot summaries that sound like adventure stories are one of my favorite genre syntheses. Perhaps picking randomly wasn't the More...
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Jan 21, 2012
oppem
rated it:
An interesting story about 2 individual's who meet by accident (one is a slave & the other his Master / one from the East & the other from the West ). They both find themselves to be physically similar in appearance and through-out the story they both try to work out what or who they really are. They play mind-games with each other until it almost seems like each can step into the others 'being'...
They fool, or believe they can fool everyone around them -
".... the sultan had More...
They fool, or believe they can fool everyone around them -
".... the sultan had More...
Nov 24, 2008
Timothy
rated it:
I really liked The White Castle. However, I am at a loss on how to write a review. The novel can be described as deceptively simple. The book is short. It is written in first person narrative. At times, the narrator hints that the book is a diary of sorts. Yet, unlike a typical diary, the narrator seeks less to describe his thoughts and feelings, then to lay out his life events in linear sequence. It is as if the narrator wants to document the events in his life for posterity; as if he deems the
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Dec 26, 2009
Karl
rated it:
I neither loved nor hated The White Castle. I'd like to give it 3.5 stars, and it may have rated 4 stars, if I could have been a better reader and read the book in fewer sittings.
The issue of identity is cumbersome in fiction and I'm not positive Pamuk nails it here, but he puts in a remarkable effort. The narration is slow, ruminative, and evolving, much like an identity. There are intertwinings of personalities and characteristics, thoughts and histories. In a way, the narration, More...
The issue of identity is cumbersome in fiction and I'm not positive Pamuk nails it here, but he puts in a remarkable effort. The narration is slow, ruminative, and evolving, much like an identity. There are intertwinings of personalities and characteristics, thoughts and histories. In a way, the narration, More...
Jan 01, 2012
Not writing this review for literary reasons helps, cos I read it in fast-forward, that means I can't tell you that I read all the words but I think I got it. The content is such that anybody who is well versed with Muslim society can understand the flow of the book, the author/interpreter has done a great job though I found the style of writing a bit mysterious like Turkish culture and Muslim people in general. So I would say I was satisfied by the story and the narration.
Do rea More...
Mar 19, 2011
Ghada
rated it:
The story started off with enthrallment: a young Italian scholar’s ship is captured by Ottomans in the 17th century. He is then taken as a slave by a scholar called Hoja, who demands that he teaches him everything he knows and all that has been taught by “them” (them being the Western scholars). In time, the Sultan begins to take interest in Hoja’s astrological predictions, and appoints him as the Imperial Astrologer. The Sultan asks them to build a giant weapon, which they will later attempt to
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Aug 12, 2009
Akhirnyaaa....dapet juga buku ini. Bener-bener perjuangan yang panjang dan pengorbanan yang besar buat dapetin buku ini. Hunting lewat toko buku online ke beberapa site. Tapi gak dapet2 dan bilang kalo stoknya habis. Terakhir saya coba ke inibuku.com. Sempet sedih juga coz mereka sempet confirm kalo bukunya ga dapet, udah 2 kali order tapi stoknya tidak ada, dan menanyakan apakah mau mengganti pesanan buku atau tidak. Lalu saya jawab saya akan lihat dulu buku-buku yang ada di katalog inibuku.com
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Nov 25, 2011
Caley (Katie)
rated it:
I knew very well how this book was going to end, but who cares? It was a fantastic and satisfying journey, masterfully written, with strong, vibrant imagery and engaging themes. The question of identity is the most compelling aspect of the novel. Who are we? Can we know ourselves, come to know others, even those with strikingly different backgrounds and experiences, with absolute clarity, enough so that we might become "identical with one another that they could take each other's place"
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Jun 15, 2010
Camille
rated it:
I expected more from a book that won the pulitzer prize. As I read it, I kept thinking of the prince and the pauper. While it has some elements of that, it's more about identity and what makes us who we are and different or the same as other people. I thought the writing was well done, but I didn't like the characters. There is too much going on about how the main characters think they're better than the common masses. There's talk about science and becoming scholars, but the characters are
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May 01, 2011
Amy
rated it:
This book was translated by Victoria Holbrook. Not knowing Turkish I am unable to compare it to the original text.
The style of this short novel reminded me of "Message in a Bottle" by Edgar Allan Poe which I read recently. It takes a little bit to follow along and you have to allow yourself to be sucked in by the narrator. I would recommend reading this novel all at once because stopping for very long caused me to forget details which are brought up later. It is an intellectu More...
The style of this short novel reminded me of "Message in a Bottle" by Edgar Allan Poe which I read recently. It takes a little bit to follow along and you have to allow yourself to be sucked in by the narrator. I would recommend reading this novel all at once because stopping for very long caused me to forget details which are brought up later. It is an intellectu More...
Mar 20, 2011
Stacie
rated it:
I am not entirely sure how I feel or what I think about this book. I went into it with three people telling me it was "really confusing" and that they never really got "what was going on." So, when I wasn't confused, I thought maybe I was missing something.
I guess the real question is, are Hoja and the narrator the same or different people? I know the answer I came up with, but I am not going to tell you that here because then you would have MY answer while readin More...
I guess the real question is, are Hoja and the narrator the same or different people? I know the answer I came up with, but I am not going to tell you that here because then you would have MY answer while readin More...
Jun 19, 2011
Alfredo
rated it:
Escrita por el premio Nobel de literatura turco Orhan Pamuk, esta novela tiene reminiscencias del estilo de Borges. Se trata de la historia de un prisionero cristiano en las tierras de algún sultán. La trama está ambientada en el siglo XV o XVI. El prisionero es idéntico físicamente a uno de los más sabios consejeros de la corte del sultán. Fascinados cada uno por la cultura del otro, deciden intercambiar papeles: el escalvo cristiano se convierte en el primer ministro del sultán y el visir
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Apr 14, 2009
Denerick
rated it:
I liked White Castle. It was a short book, detailing a neurotic Turk and his Italian slave. The 'similarity' between doesn't really become that important until near the end - when Pamuk unweaves his complex web and all that came before makes perfect sense.
Pamuk is a talented writer. Perhaps the translation may have taken the flow out of the book, and his writing can get a bit dreary at times but his themes and imagery are second to none. I read Snow before I read this but regard Whi More...
Pamuk is a talented writer. Perhaps the translation may have taken the flow out of the book, and his writing can get a bit dreary at times but his themes and imagery are second to none. I read Snow before I read this but regard Whi More...
Jun 12, 2011
Zach
rated it:
The White Castle is more of an interesting book than an enjoyable one. Boiled down, it is a rumination on the nature of identity and the inner workings of the mind. It's rendered in simple and straightforward language, but I thought, especially in the middle of the book, that the thought processes were muddled. I don't know if this is a result of the translation or something lacking in the original. Pamuk seems like a perfectly capable philosopher, so I give him the benefit of the doubt. I'
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