My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of My Name Is Red
Book Review: good but long! boring on occasions
Summary: 4 Stars
The story events are of 1591 during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murat III in Istanbul,Turkey..
The Sultan ordered Istanbul's masters of art to draw a book in which to show the power and prosperity of Islam to his neighbors "the Franks", who were in the surge of the art Renaissance revolution; However,this is to be done secretly to avoid the anger that might be aroused among the islamic conservatives who consider art nothing more than "Heresy and Evil".
As a result of doubt, conflict of beliefs and greed, one of artists will be murdered by this mysterious " I will be called a murderer" who is one of those artists themselves.
At the end and by the secret of art and the distinctive style of drawing; the murderer will be caught but the bitter reality also is revealed:
-There is a huge gap between the eastern and the western cultures
- Religion controls everything
and
-Love will keep almost every character going in the tough times but does love really exist?
I thought the story was good, Its stream of consciousness writing technique and multiple narrators by different people was magical on occasions;However, there were many short stories in each chapter that was so repetitive and boring especially when you advanse further in the book.
Book Review: needs explication
Summary: 2 Stars
This book (at least in translation) is in desperate need of an introduction. The chronology at the back is not sufficient to give some unfamiliar with the history of manuscript illumination in Istanbul any idea what's going on. An explanation of the controversy surrounding art and illumination and the tensions between Eastern and Western art would have been very helpful. As it was, the bulk of the book was completely lost on me! Which means that, overall, I can't really comment on the quality of the writing or the story, except to say that I found it very difficult to read and not at all enjoyable.Book Review: strong literary work but couldn't fall into it
Summary: 3 Stars
My Name is Red came recommended by a dear friend who is also an avid reader and whose opinion holds a lot of weight with me. So, I wanted to love it...but I just didn't. I saw it's literary value and admired the pure craft that Pamuk exhibits, but I struggled with it and grew weary of it quickly.
The story is part mystery and part reflection on art, set in sixteenth century Istanbul, with a bit of love story thrown in (actually, love in multiple forms). It is told in varying voices...a style I often enjoy. It is definitely a dense book...not something to read in a busy, bustling area. I did enjoy a few of the narrators (Black, Esther, Shekure). I could see that a lot of thought went into the reflections on art and its role in society (and religion) but it just didn't pull me. I found I often had skimmed over a full page and had to force myself to go back again.
It is absolutely the work of a talented and dedicated author. It has heavy literary worth. It just wasn't for me.
Book Review: the transition between the medieval and renaissance ways of thinking
Summary: 5 Stars
Somewhere in the 16th and 17th centuries, western society made the transition between the medieval mindset where it's all about how God or the king or the chieftain sees the world to the renaissance where man begins to perceive of himself as an individual. And ground zero for this were the renaissance artists and how art changed, the jump-cut from Giotto to Michelangelo. This book does an excellent job of expressing the tension in Turkey that was an eastern society bordering the west and how the success of renaissance art would have impacted the art and society of the Ottoman empire. Even in the telling of their story, it's done as a Greek choir of voices, but everyone is expressing it as an individual, from their perspective on the ground and defending their justifications for their actions. It is no coincidence that every chapter title contains the word, "I".
It's a good story, a murder mystery, with settings and place and dynamics between the characters that were really fresh and interesting.
Book Review: thrilling, breathtaking
Summary: 5 Stars
it's one of the best book i've read and till the end you don't know who is the murderer (is there one?) it shows the superiority of East over West, a must for knowledgeable people.