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My Name Is Red (1998)

by Orhan Pamuk

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
7,0121711,305 (3.75)1 / 563
Classic Literature. Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of sixteenth-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers.
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. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed. The ruling elite therefore mustnt know the full scope or nature of the project, and panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears. The only clue to the mysteryor crime? lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle, My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey to the intersection of art, religion, love, sex and power.
Translated from the Turkish by Erda M Gknar.
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» See also 563 mentions

English (141)  French (8)  Italian (7)  Spanish (5)  German (3)  Dutch (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Hebrew (1)  Finnish (1)  Indonesian (1)  All languages (170)
Showing 1-5 of 141 (next | show all)
A book club pick ;)

Do I have any luck with Pamuk, really? I really liked his memoir of Istanbul, I don’t remember a thing about The White Castle, while The Black Book and Museum of Innocence were meh in various ways.

I do appreciate that I was inspired to look at Persian and Ottoman miniatures (beautiful), but this was probably the only thing that was inspiring about this book. The discussions about art and how it tells stories; the different philosophies of art; artistic freedom, political pressure, and religious fanaticism; the “dangerous” influence of European art were all interesting. I like thinking about portraits as a power of uniqueness, the power of unique individuals who are proud to be themselves.

“Their likenesses had imbued them with such magic, had so distinguished them, that for a moment among the paintings I felt flawed and impotent. Had I been depicted in this fashion, it seemed, I’d better understand why I existed in the world.”

The suffocation of an oppressive and violent society (with the threat of violence and sexual violence always present), where everyone is traumatized from birth and for this reason reacts weirdly, fiercely to everything – that was shown very well. It is a claustrophobic book.

But, oh, how very tedious it all was. Long-winded. Self-indulgent. Rambling. There are so many words out there, let’s use them all! Before every chapter, I took a deep breath and checked how many pages there were. Yes, I can do it! I can plow through this chapter as well! It will only take fifteen minutes (or so my kindle told me)! I must be strong, because I am an idiot who never DNFs books! Yay!

“Nevertheless, let me tell you three parables that comprise a recital on this topic.” Me: Do you have to???

I did like the chapters that described how the three miniaturists drew a horse. But, “Were you able to determine who I am from the way I sketched a horse?” No, and I don’t want to, because I couldn’t care less about the so-called murder mystery, I couldn’t care less which one of you is the murderer, I couldn’t care less about any of you…

I am very grumpy, and sad about the time I spent reading this. There are so many other books in the world, better books!

2.7 grumpy stars! ( )
  Alexandra_book_life | Dec 17, 2023 |
Wonderfully written tale of miniaturists, calligraphers and gilders in the court of the Ottoman empire at the end of the 16th century. A tale of jealousy, intrigue, love and murder all wrapped in a philosophical treatise of a clash of cultures between east and west. Intensely written. Absorbing. ( )
  Steve38 | Nov 4, 2023 |
This book is a murder mystery with a side of romance. What was most interesting to me about this book was the way art was created in 16th century Istanbul. Apparently they drew the same pictures over and over, in exactly the same way; to deviate or experiment was dangerous and potentially blasphemy. The structure of the book made it difficult to follow the thread of the story, although this definitely kept me guessing to the end of the story. ( )
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
A circular plot that requires paying attention. Manages to portray the era and the characters very well. ( )
  charlie68 | Jun 30, 2023 |
Orhan Pamuk ovoga puta vaskrsava cudesni svet Orijenta s njegovim bojama, njegovom umetnošcu, estetikom, njegovim tajanstvenim duhom. Zovem se Crveno je pripovest o umetnosti, ljubavi, sreci, životu, smrti, na trenutke rasprava o suštini islamske umetnosti i poimanja sveta, ispricana kroz sudbine slikara minijatura i kaligrafa u Carigradu s kraja 16. veka. Bogatstvo jezika, obilje slika, asocijacija, poniranje u bit islamske civilizacije i njene dodire s renesansnim duhom, jedinstvena kompozicija i struktura dela potvrduju da je Orhan Pamuk jedan od najvecih pisaca dvadeset prvog veka
  vanjus | Jun 13, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 141 (next | show all)
The new one, ''My Name Is Red,'' is by far the grandest and most astonishing contest in Pamuk's internal East-West war. Translated with fluid grace by Erdag M. Goknor, the novel is set in the late 16th century, during the reign of Sultan Murat III, a patron of the miniaturists whose art had come over from Persia in the course of the previous hundred years. It was a time when the Ottomans' confidence in unstoppable empire had begun to be shaken by the power of the West -- their defeat at Lepanto had taken place only a few years earlier -- as well as by its cultural vitality and seductiveness.
 

» Add other authors (18 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Orhan Pamukprimary authorall editionscalculated
Bertolini, MartaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Campin, RobertCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dorleijn, MargreetTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Göknar, ErdağTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gezgin, ŞemsaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Heijden, Hanneke van derTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Iren, IngridTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kojo, TuulaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Shen, ZhixingTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wondergem, MijkeCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Самуилова, РозияTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
You slew a man then fell out with another concerning him. (Koran, "The Cow," 72)

The blind and the seeing are not equal. (Koran, "The Creator," 19)

To God belongs the East and the West. (Koran, "The Cow," 115)
Dedication
For Rüya
First words
I am nothing but a corpse now, a body at the bottom of a well.
Quotations
Over long years, as we gaze at book after book and illustration after illustration, we come to learn the following: A great painter does not content himself by affecting us with his masterpieces; ultimately, he succeeds in changing the landscape of our minds. Once a miniaturist's artistry enters our souls this way, it becomes the criterion for the beauty of our world.
Books, which we mistake for consolation, only add depth to our sorrow.
Painting is the silence of thought and the music of sight.
Colour is the touch of the eye, music to the deaf, a word out of the darkness.
An artist's skill depends on carefully attending to the beauty of the present moment, taking everything down to the minutest detail seriously while, at the same time, stepping back from the world, which takes itself too seriously, and as if looking into a mirror, allowing for the distance and eloquence of a jest.
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Classic Literature. Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of sixteenth-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers.
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. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed. The ruling elite therefore mustnt know the full scope or nature of the project, and panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears. The only clue to the mysteryor crime? lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle, My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey to the intersection of art, religion, love, sex and power.
Translated from the Turkish by Erda M Gknar.

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