From the Bookshelf of Turkish Reading Challenges…

My Name Is Red

Orhan Pamuk

Start date: September 22, 2012

Finish date: October 1, 2012

Discussion: Tartışmalar - Discussions

Discussion leader: Ugur

Why we're reading this: This book is selected as the third book in the poll. September 2012 poll …more
[close] This book is selected as the third book in the poll. September 2012 poll

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 82 topics — 599 comments total

Tartışmalar - Discussions

Kafamda Bir Tuhaflık ile ilgili tartışma
By Ugur , Challenge Generator · 21 posts · 285 views

last updated Apr 15, 2024 03:31AM

Mucizevi Mandarin ile ilgili tartışma
By Ugur , Challenge Generator · 3 posts · 146 views

last updated Sep 29, 2016 12:23AM

showing 1 of 1 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jun 05, 2011 Yelda Basar Moers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, turkish-fiction, ottoman-empire-history, turkish-history, turkey, esma-novel, historical-fiction, religion

"Painting is the silence of thought and the music of sight."

I adore this book, a love story and philosophical thriller immersed in the life of miniature painting in the Ottoman court. I found myself spellbound by its prose the first time I read it! And now even more so with the second read. Nobel-prize-winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk has a style reminiscent of Borges, Proust and Nabokov. A soulful, dreamy quality emanates from his sentences and chapters, which read like an epic poem as much a "Painting is the silence of thought and the music of sight."

I adore this book, a love story and philosophical thriller immersed in the life of miniature painting in the Ottoman court. I found myself spellbound by its prose the first time I read it! And now even more so with the second read. Nobel-prize-winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk has a style reminiscent of Borges, Proust and Nabokov. A soulful, dreamy quality emanates from his sentences and chapters, which read like an epic poem as much as they illuminate with vibrant storytelling. There are so many poignant and poetic phrases, such as "I don't want to be a tree, I want to be its meaning," "to paint is to remember," and "time doesn't flow if you don't dream."

My Name is Red is set in the 16th century Ottoman Empire and chronicles the lives of a workshop of miniaturists who have been commissioned by the reigning Sultan to complete a book of paintings. Two of the members are murdered and the main narrative follows the trail of discovering the culprit. It is a philosophical thriller but also a love story. One of my favorite passages from the book is the following: "Tell me then, does love make one a fool or do only fools fall in love?"

There are at times the most intricate details about miniature painting and multiple narratives that switch with each chapter (there are a total of twelve narrators, among them the main characters, but also Satan, Death, a Tree and a Dog). The book has its own original form, almost as a miniature painting in itself, and delves into the life of 16th century Islamic miniature art in a way that few books can do. Orhan Pamuk himself won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2008. His writing enchants and leaves me breathless every time! He's written a number of novels, essays and a beautiful memoir about Istanbul, the city my father was born and raised in. I've read several of his books and I look forward to reading the rest of his oeuvre!

Some critics say the novel is dead, but My Name is Red is an example of how the novel is very much alive. Here is a living, breathing piece of life and art. It’s truly a masterpiece. A contemporary classic, if such a category is possible, for we know it will go into the canons of great literature.
...more

26 likes · Like · see review

Mar 24, 2010 Sam toer rated it really liked it

Magnificent. Interesting rich history of Islamic miniaturists-Sunni Ottomans Vs. Shitte Safavid Farsi Empires. The prose is exquisite. Highly recommend it.

5 likes · Like · see review