Orhan Pamuk

[Mugwump101]

I'm trying to get into Orhan Pamuk and I was wondering which book would you recommend of his as the first book I should read or rather, which book is a must read?

Thanks.

[Paulclem]

I've read Snow and My Name is red and I enjoyed them both.

Snow is about a poet who returns to his old hometown in Turkey from Europe and is cut off from the rest of the country by a snowstorm. He falls in love and also becomes involved in an attempted coup by Kurdish terrorists. There is also the issue of headscarves discussed and examined in the novel which has been a contentious anti-republican/ religious issue in Turkey.

My Name is Red is a murder mystery set in Istanbul amongst the illuminators of a book commissioned by the Sultan. The narrative structure is interesting as the story is told solely from the perspective of the characters, illuminated pictures and even colours. As well as being a murder mystery, it examines the tensions that existed in illumination as an art against the verisimilitudinal art of the western masters and their different aims.

It's a great book and one of the very few that I will re-read, as I will with Snow.

[The Rainmaker]

Such indifference for a great writer...

I was advised not to jump directly into his heavier books (Snow and Black Book) -- so I began with The White Castle which is a short but powerful doppelganger story I believe inspired by an idea of Flaubert. I would definitely suggest it as a simple introduction before moving on to the more complex books, of which My Name Is Red is certainly one. I have also read his memoir-commentary Istanbul which is just fascinating. He talks about the city, old and new, and his place in it.

For what its worth, after reading Istanbul, I purchased Black Book, My Name Is Red, Other Colours, and Snow with a promise to read them as time permits. Also intrigued by Museum of Innocence but haven't laid my hands on it yet.

[Mugwump101]

Thanks for the recommendations!!

Also, I heard his writing is similar to Borges. Which book would you recommend to a Borges fan? :P I'm going to pick up a book today (it might be signed), he's coming to a local college.

If you want to ask him any questions, let me know.

[My name is red]

My all time favourite is 'The house of silence'(the silent house) but of course it depends on your taste

[Mugwump101]

Has anyone read museum of innocence? Seems like a good book.

[Nazish]

I'm surprised to see not a single post dedicated to this brilliant mind's works ! I just finished reading Other Colors which is a compilation of random notes written by Orhan while he was writing other books and left those notes unattended. I loved this compliation of essays to bits, partly because it was excellently narrated and partly I felt like identifying myself with the text written.

If any of you read it, I would like to hear your views on it. :)