Irwan's review
Istanbul: Memories and the City
by Orhan Pamuk
Been there to Istanbul, around 10 years ago. Well, it's exotic city. I love it. Is this kind of novel?
Never been read Pamuk's book. Maybe I should try it once. Don't have plan to coming home to Indonesia, in a short time?
I love Pamuk's work. I did go home in December last year. Maybe I will go there again in the autumn or winter this year.
Irwan's review
Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk
Irwan's review
rating:
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bookshelves:
finished
The most enchanting thing about this book is its symmetry. He opens with a statement that from a very young age he suspected that somewhere in the streets of Istanbul, there lived another Orhan so much like him that he could pass for his twin, even his double. In the last chapter, his father apparently led a double life just like in his imagination.
Pamuk manages to intermingle the story about Istanbul and himself - reflecting each other along the way. The writing style is mostly visual - his trademark - and of course when it comes to sensitive or personal facts, he would be cheeky enough to sort of hide it from the readers, certainly without compromising the dramatic effect nor the reading pleasure.
This intricate prose taught me about "huzün" - the collective melancholia of istanbul and its people, being a former high civilization plummeted into poverty and defeat. It also taught me about the radical westernism who wish Turkey to be uprooted from its traditions an...more
Pamuk manages to intermingle the story about Istanbul and himself - reflecting each other along the way. The writing style is mostly visual - his trademark - and of course when it comes to sensitive or personal facts, he would be cheeky enough to sort of hide it from the readers, certainly without compromising the dramatic effect nor the reading pleasure.
This intricate prose taught me about "huzün" - the collective melancholia of istanbul and its people, being a former high civilization plummeted into poverty and defeat. It also taught me about the radical westernism who wish Turkey to be uprooted from its traditions an...more
Been there to Istanbul, around 10 years ago. Well, it's exotic city. I love it. Is this kind of novel?
Never been read Pamuk's book. Maybe I should try it once. Don't have plan to coming home to Indonesia, in a short time?
I love Pamuk's work. I did go home in December last year. Maybe I will go there again in the autumn or winter this year.
