My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of My Name Is Red
Book Review: A worthwhile read
Summary: 4 Stars
It took me a while to get through, but it was a very interesting, textured book: a love story combined with a murder mystery and a complex meditation on the power of images. The writing is good, overall, but I sometimes got impatient with the philosophizing.
So I skimmed.
On the whole, though, a worthwhile read.
Book Review: Absolutely fabulous
Summary: 5 Stars
An extremely interesting, illuminating and erudite account of Ottoman days and how they were lived by miniaturists. Pamuk masterfully intertwins the tales of lovers, miniaturists, Ottoman bureaucracies, a murderer, even as inanimate as a coin, the color red, a tree, a horse and death as true characters. The story rolls on as a first-person narrative consisiting of the monologues of these and many other characters, unravelling the psyche of each individuals. This way the writer makes the reader read the intimate thoughts of the characters. Its also a thriller where it unlocks the secret of the death of two gifted artists. Pamuk surely had done years of hardwork on miniaturists and their ways of the art and put all of it into this book. An absolutely sumptuous reading from a Nobel Laureate master writer.Book Review: Art and Murder
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was chosen for book group, but unfortunately we were never able to meet to discuss it. I brought the book with me on the drive from MA to TX and had started reading it even before the trip, but it took me some time. I wondered initially if the reason why it took me so long was that it was translated from Turkish (and we all know that sometimes translations can be more difficult to read than a novel that is read in its first language). I forced myself to read at least one chapter per night, and when I told my best friend that I was having trouble she told me, "It's not you, it's just slow." When I repeated my worries she reiterated, "No, it's JUST SLOW." So I set off on a mission to "finish" this slow book. I definitely agree with her that the start of the book meanders and is slow to pick up in pace. Each chapter is written by a different person (or object or animal), so you get very different perspectives of the story from every which way. The strange thing is that each new person in the story knows that you're reading the story and that you thus already know X, Y, and Z. But once you get into the actual story it's very rich and interesting. The story describes lost love, art, Islam, religion, duty, and drawing (among other things), but is also a mystery story (the "who done it" of 16th century Islamic art if you will). Once I got into the story (about halfway through the book) I truly did want to know what happened to the characters and how the story would turn out, so I'm glad that I didn't put the book away when I was originally feeling frustrated.Book Review: Artistic concoction of ideas, musings, and pieces of minds
Summary: 4 Stars
My Name is Red is both a historical and literary fiction. Set in 16th century Turkey, the tale takes place in the Ottoman Empire and encompasses the mysterious murder of a miniaturist named Elegant Effendi though it is not a murder mystery. The Sultan has commissioned a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land to create a great book celebrating the glories of his realm. The miniaturist has been working on the illumination of this book in an European style. The figurative art of the illumination clashes with the inveterate religious belief in Turkey for art could be an affront to the Islam. Attempting such a dangerous task, the ruling elites ascertain the complete confidentiality of the project. Panic erupts throughtout the Ottoman Empire as Elegant Effendi disappears. He is murdered and thrown down the well. It is an extremely dense and arduous reading experience as author Orhan Pamuk deftly uses eccentric and non-living narrators, namely a corpse, a tree, a dog and other animals to unveil the truth of the murder, who indeed involves a clandestine manuscript which Effendi worked on.
The book affords a cast of numerous characters and all of whom are etched and carefully portrayed. What makes the book not a mystery is the fact that murderer of the miniaturist narrates part of the story. Purged by his own conscience he fears of being caught. At the intersection of narratives from different characters and non-living objects one finds a very convoluted plot of the truth. Maybe such is the beauty of a tale of which the author does not spell out the answer to all of the questions in mind but leave the truth of my imagination.
My Name is Red is an artistic concoction of ideas, pieces of mind, apercu, and emotion. While the cast of characters and narrators unveil their perspectives of the murder, woven throughout the novel are relevant subplots that hint at and distantly contribute to the resolving of the murder. Dialogues, monologues and musings on the philosophy of God, death, purge, love, and punishment fill the prose that is comparable to Kant and Joyce. My Name is Red is an obscure reading experience, filled with more philosophical meditation than the actual events and happenings that precede the murder. It is meant to be savored and its pages not meant to be turned quickly.
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Book Review: Beautifully woven mystery
Summary: 5 Stars
The story was beautiful from the very first page. However, it did take a few chapters for me to become captivated by the plot - but once there, I was completely involved in the beautiful drama. Several stories become intertwined to great effect.