My Name is Red - General Talk, No Spoilers Please (February 2012)

[William]

The place for general discussion on the book, and of our efforts as a group to read it.

Looks to be 60 chapters, so I'll make divisions of 15 chapters each, so we'll have 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60.

I read the first chapter just now, and I have to say, looks quite interesting!

[Sophia]

I've read this book before - and am now reading again - and I can confirm it is very interesting!

[Faith]

Yes. I have heard about this book as well, and it is considered one that brings Arab and Western worlds into "conversation."

[Mikela]

Have heard very little about this book so hope to be pleasantly surprised.

[Deborah]

I'm looking forward to the discussion on this one.

[James (JD)]

Pamuk is a great choice for this group: he has won the Nobel Prize, he speaks from an Islamist-ruled, democratic country (I believe that he himself is secular). I read this book awhile ago, but I'm looking forward to the second look, primarily because I later read Pamuk's "Snow," which is a masterpiece.

Has anyone here been to Turkey or seen a museum exhibit of Ottoman art?

[Deborah]

I hope this isn't a stupid question. I am listening to this book. Does the print version have illustrations?

[William]

I've just flipped through a copy of the hardbound Knopf edition, no illustrations I could see. And there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers, of which I hope that was not.

[William]

oh, and James, I've never been to Turkey, but the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey inquired once about an arranged marriage to his daughter many years ago.

And, I have seen Ottoman Art.

[Sophia]

Deborah wrote: "I hope this isn't a stupid question. I am listening to this book. Does the print version have illustrations?"

The only 'illustration' in my copy is a map of the Ottoman Empire. But, I have to say you're not missing much. I've not referred to it, at all. NB I'm reading my copy on a Kindle, so no colour, in any event!

[Sophia]

James (JD) wrote: "Has anyone here been to Turkey or seen a museum exhibit of Ottoman art?"

I've not been to Turkey, but I'm familiar with Ottoman art, which is delightful.

[James (JD)]

I had the chance to go to Turkey years ago, and it was unforgettable. Better than Greece as far as food is concerned, and there are just as many temple ruins along the Aegean coast as you would find in Greece. Homer was from Izmir (Smyrna), and Troy is near the town of Cannakale.

[Natacha]

^Interesting; seems to confirm what I've heard, which is that there are even more Greek ruins in Turkey than there are in Greece itself... I guess it makes sense given the common histories the areas have.

As for the book, I recently read it and enjoyed it. But I may have enjoyed "Snow" a bit more... Curious to see what others' thoughts are.

[Sophia]

I've just read Other Colors by Orhan Pamuk and what he says about his books is very interesting. It clarifies a lot for me about what 'My Name is Red' is about. 'Snow' too, for that matter.

I wonder why you enjoyed 'Snow' more? I like all this books, but I think I like 'My Name is Red' best of all, for the way Pamuk uses stories to tell a much larger story.

A good book on the history of Turkey/Greece is Birds Without Wingsby Louis de Bernières Yes, the history is complex - to say the least!

[Natacha]

I'm not sure why I liked "Snow" more either, especially since I was always more drawn to "My Name is Red" and planned on reading it first... But it seems things just happened differently. I guess it has more to do with how the novels made me feel, not with anything related to the way they are written... And if that is the case, I'm sure we all know how complex feelings are, and that it's not always logical/easy to explain why we might feel a certain way... :) In any case I did enjoy them and I'd love to read more of his works. "Birds Without Wings" sounds interesting!