Long, long ( )

A disappointing book and very difficult to slog through. Pamuk's later books (which I have not read) must be far better for him to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

What I liked in the beginning - rich detail in descriptions and painting pictures in these details - quickly became overwrought with meaningless detail on polictical intrigues, a meandering "plot" that never really went anywhere, and absurd passages, such as the seemingly endless and bizarre repetition of "letters in faces". It was frustrating to have Pamuk never "get on with it"; the action here is often limited to things like dusting off yearbooks, aimless wandering, and getting bewildering clues and implied meanings in random objects. Frankly, Pamuk seems pretentious in hinting at all these deeper meaning and in trying to contain stories with stories. Believe me I don't need it all tidied up into a neat Hollywood-type bundle, but to never have it come together at all just ends up tedious in a long book.

What I liked: the love Galip had for Ruya was expressed quite poetically in Ch. 31 (unfortunately this occurs on p. 367, long after the "God let this book end" point), and the insight into Turkey losing it's culture to the West ("The result? As you can see for yourself, we're still crawling, still cowering in the shameful shadow of Europe") culminating in the story of the Crown Prince (Ch. 35), and some of Celal's columns ("When the Bosphorus Dries Up", "Alaaddin's Shop"). The description of Rumi's relationship with Shams of Tabriz was also interesting.

If only there had been a better plot built around the concept of Turkey searching for its national identity and 200-300 pages had been edited out of this thing! ( )

Couldn't finish it. Didn't like the way the author kept straying from the main plot. Very hard to follow I thought.

Exquisite writing, and translation. 2006 Nobel prize in literature awarded to this writer. Wonderful observation of meaning of life, the inner side..

Fascinating look into modern-day Turkish culture. But much more than that, a quirky novel filled with quirky characters. Everything in this book is interesting: the plot, the settings, the characters, the themes, the structure--everything. ( )