This an incredible history of the painters when the drawing were assumed to be a big sin in Islamic world of Istanbul. These paintings and painters disappeared years and years ago but the writer insist on to take the readers to their times and places under a cover of a criminal story.
A different taste of forgetten and unknown painters and their two dimensional lifes.

"Benim adim kirmizi" is Pamuk's masterpiece. The book is a tasty amalgamation of intrigue, mystery, suspense, art and history. One can basically enter from the door Pamuk opens and walk till the end without losing pace. On the other hand there are some similarities between Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" and this book. Dedicated readers will notice the parallel storylines and style. In any case "Benim adim kirmizi" is a must for everyone who likes a complex story woven into history with striking details.

This book is about the ancient eastern miniature and its unique philosophy.The Ottoman Sultan orders a group of miniaturists pictures that has western style.In 16th century such a thing is considered to be against Islam and eastern art philosophy.The artists find theirselves in contradiction and under the threat of fundemantalists.Then one of them is killed and the story takes a turn. The story which is rahter holmes style is brilliant.But what makes this novel a masterpiece is the sufi art philosophy and western art clash.Beautifully designed.Everyone should read it.You can't yet find it in english but I predict that it will soon be translated.

I tried reading this book when I first moved to Istanbul nearly two years ago but found it so overwhelming that I couldn't cope with its density and countless diversions. I put it down but sent a copy to my sister-in-law who told me she read it in five sittings and enjoyed it tremendously. Finally over the culture shock I had experienced coming here, I picked it up again. Several times I threw it aside, but finally I could not give up on Galip/Jelal and read through to the end. Pamuk weaves a masterful tale and the stories and obsevations are totally enthralling. Knowing Istanbul makes the book even more interesting. Pamuk's descriptions of the streets, the vendors, the buildings and people are lucid and evocative. The juxtaposition of the plot chapters and newspaper columns is a brilliant construction. However, I give it only three stars for the same reason I would give only three stars to his novel The White Castle: he is repetitive. He reiterates over and over again his theme and his dilemmas. His prose is wonderfully engrossing when he allows it to flow, but he does not give his readers enough credit. I wanted more of a chance to use my own perception, even if not so highly refined as the author's.

Nobody could say THE BLACK BOOK is a thriller, but it is thrilling writing. An Istanbul lawyer's wife disappears. A related columnist also disappears. The lawyer looks for them. That's about it. But the search and the thinking is the thing. Pamuk's style blends Proust with Borges. If you find that intriguing, read the book. Pamuk manages to combine intimate details of life in the modern city of Istanbul with tales of Sufi masters, long ago executioners, Ottoman pashas, and underground fantasies with a great deal of soul-searching on the nature of human identity. "I want to be somebody else, therefore I am" is his theme again, following on from his previous work, "The White Castle". Dreams, intertwining identities, the connection between writing and life, even cryptograms. This is fascinating stuff. Though sometimes the book lags, it always picks up again with another strange twist. Pamuk is certainly one of the most interesting writers working today.

First of all I apologize for my typos, I tend to type fast and.. you know the rest.

Orhan Pamuk is one of the biggest authors of Turkey. He definitely has his own style and if you like his his style then you will love his books. All of them. I have read all of his books, all of them in Turkish and some of them (the ones that are translated) both in Turkish and in English. Everytime I read one of his works, it is just magical, hard to explain. Maybe I am biased because I was born and raised and lived 18 years in Istanbul.. Who knows?

Anyway.. Black Book is a great work of fiction, literature.. He writes about historical fiction, combines it beautifully with mystery, love, passion, sadness.. Everything you can think of as a human being..
I realize that it may be hard for "Red Dress Ink" reader to read this book.. But that is the idea not every book is the same and this book is definitely different. This is a book, that I have read a few times, underlined and went back several times to read one part or another. I highly recommend it. Enjoy.

This is not a traditional murder mystery, but the mystery is good enough to hold the plot together while Pamuk brilliantly weaves his ideas on art, culture, religion and history into the narrative.

The mystery is centered around who killed a gifted minaturist and his patron who were engaged in preparing a special book for the Ottoman sultan. The special book may or may not be an affront to Islam and Pamuk deftly weaves thought-provoking ideas on the role of religion in art and everyday life. Set at a time when the Ottoman Empire was fading to the pressure of European (Western) powers and cultures, "My Name is Red" perfectly captures the details of this era.

While the book does unwind slowly and Pamuk's unusual narrative style of having all of the characters including inanimate objects tell parts of the story, it is ultimately an enjoyable read. There is even a satisfying love-story running throughout. A runaway best-seller in Turkey, "My Name is Red" is a fun mystery and also a timely read on the differences between East and West.

Orhan Pamuk's "My Name is Red" is a novel of many layers rolled into one -- it is a murder mystery, a love story, and most of all, a thesis of ideas. In this whodunit about the murder of a miniaturist engaged in a secret project commissioned by the Ottoman Sultan and the subsequent race to find the killer, Pamuk's book is special as the tale is told in first person narration from the point of view of the key characters. Through their reflections, alot is revealed on their personal values in relation to art and money, the comparison on artistic techniques of East and West, history, honour, religion, respect and preserving the old vs. admitting the new. Pamuk's historical novel successfully recreates the society in Ottoman times and the relationships between the key characters slowly unravel to reveal the world of miniaturists engaged by the Sultan in the royal workshop, the intrigues, jealousies and the love for art which binds them together. The gradual disappearance of Persian artistic traditions and the invasion of Western artistic form and style is a poignant reminder of the things society give up in the name of progress and how one culture gets obliterated and substituted by another through time. This suspenseful, engaging and thrilling book is a winner as it can be read on many levels which run independent of one another but overlap as well. The dilemmas on identity, the tensions between East and West, the sacrifice for progress and religion are still prevalent and significant to the Turkey of today. A must read for anyone interested in Turkey culture, or just anxious for a suspenseful read.

Orhan Pamuk's "My Name is Red" is a novel of many layers rolled into one -- it is a murder mystery, a love story, and most of all, a thesis of ideas. In this whodunit about the murder of a miniaturist engaged in a secret project commissioned by the Ottoman Sultan and the subsequent race to find the killer, Pamuk's book is special as the tale is told in first person narration from the point of view of the key characters. Through their reflections, alot is revealed on their at times competing values in relation to art and money, the comparison on artistic techniques of East and West, history, honour, religion, respect and preserving the old vs. admitting the new. Pamuk's historical novel successfully recreates the society in Ottoman times and the relationships between the key characters slowly unravel to reveal the world of miniaturists engaged by the Sultan in the royal workshop, the intrigues, jealousies and the love for art which bind them together. The gradual disappearance of Persian artistic traditions and the invasion of Western artistic form and style is a poignant reminder of the things society give up in the name of progress and how one culture gets obliterated and substituted by another through time. This suspenseful, engaging and thrilling book is a winner as it can be read on many levels which run independent of one another but overlap as well. The dilemmas on identity, the tensions between East and West, the sacrifice for progress and religion are still prevalent and significant to the Turkey of today. Pamuk's spiralling dissertation is a continuation of the themes discussed in "The White Castle" and is a must-read for anyone interested in Turkey culture, anxious for food for thought or a suspenseful read.

orhan pamuk is one of my favorite writers and of the few brilliant turkish writers of novels. novel, as he comments once, is a western invention in contrast with poetry. and perhaps only in this century writers from the east are employing this genre in an admirable fashion. nevertheless I have to say, compared with his magnificent works like Black Book, and the New Life, White Castle is rather mediocre. the book definitely has intriguing themes: collusion of cultures, the structure and fragility of identity, ironic exhibition of cultural preconceptions... the book does not display a "native orientalism" but rather makes fun of it and this is easy to miss in the first reading. yet these themes are prominent in all of Pamuk's work and many times they are expressed more dramatically and creatively. for anyone interested in the development of Pamuk's thought and his writing skills, the book is of use. but if you want to see Pamuk at his best read the New life or Black Book.

I was taken by surprise when I finished the book. For me it was one of the few assigned readings I had ever enjoyed! Whether a student of Middle-Eastern sociopolitical history or of psychology Orhan Pamuk has much to offer to his readers in "The White Castle." In one short piece he has managed to tell the story of the fall of one of the greatest empires in the annals of history. Moreover he tags a personal message into the plot without disturbing the whole portrait painted in the narratives (i.e. Hoja's "weapon" that fails the Turks in the end may signify his own political views on 20th century Turkish society and government). Pamuk's modern style of writing upon an age-old topic of "Western Christendom" vs. the "Islamic World" immediately drew me into the book, momentarily making me forget I had a paper to write afterwards. I had not seen such an original (to me) take of cultural history since Josephine Tey's "The Daughter of Time." Although the scarcity of dialogue may conjure up images of the scholarly treatises by Edward Said the novel does not seem to need it at all. Pamuk perfectly portrays the thoughts, emotions, and struggles of the characters through a first-person narration which he uses throughout the book (his description of the plague was particularly memorable). The issue of identity is a much tougher subject due to its more subjective nature, but it does seem that Pamuk greatly stress the importance of personal accomplishment, appropriate knowledge, and cultural mindset in forming one's character. However, the answer to such a deep question is best left to the individual reader. I hope that many others will pick up this book of their own volition as I probably will not have found it if it wasn't a part of my college course.

So, the story is untold for centuries until the time comes when an old bookstore owner reveals the hidden meaning of "the idea of East" from the dusty shelves of the past. Story begins on the sea when a young scholar from Venice was captured by the Turks. He was brought to Istanbul, the city facing the unrational lives of sultans and more sophisticated truths of "the East". "Can we exchange our lives?", he implicitly asked to a Turkish philosopher. Another story begins within another and another within another. The two men change their future and their past as Borges once suggested. The White Castle is a futuristic novel that amazes the reader as the reader becomes the scholar from Venice and the Turkish philosopher. It is an interactive journey in the sense that the reader feels like he or she can change the order of the stories and take part in them. The mystic atmosphere created by the intelligent writing style of Pamuk dazzles the reader with the question: "Am I reading a book or am I dreamin about reading a book?". I. Menguc TANRISEVEN

As a voracious reader of literature myself, I could initially identify with the idea that reading a book could change your life. But the main character in this book just seemed so overwhelmingly lost and in general, the book felt like the author was on pot or something when he wrote it. I held out, however, (it was a birthday gift from my little sister after all) and I finished the book so I have to say that after pages and pages of dull narrative the ending was relatively interesting and almost cool. But still, I wouldn't have missed anything if I hadn't read this book and I don't know if I want to give this author another chance. I'm all for searching for the things that will give one's life a deeper and truer meaning, but this book is just boring, even if it is set in one of my most favourite countries in the world.

As a quote from Joseph Cambell says: "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." The concept of Pamuk's book is indeed refreshing, and he has quite a talent of making people feel uncomfortable. Makes one come up with alot of What-ifs, alot of questions about Life, and readers will find it hard not to identify to some extent with the protagonist and question our own reactions to his situation, and THE BOOK that changes his life. This novel takes alot of re-reading and thinking (but not too much) to get at the truth -- but perhaps truth is what we make of it, truth is what directly speaks to each individual. Pamuk's writing style is rather reminiscent of Yashar Kemal at some parts and he is definitely a writer who contributes significantly to Turkish literature, dealing with the dilemmas and issues that a Turk has to face in a modern nation trying to find its place, but also trying to seek answers for humanity in general. Perplexing at parts when the many spheres of fantasy and reality merge, but the effort is worth it.

I never heard of the author before I bought this book, I was browsing through the shelves of a bookstore in the literature section one day when I saw this book. I opened it and read the first sentence
"I read a book one day and my whole life was changed"

I found myself drawn to it and read quickly through the first pages, I knew then that I must buy this book, and I wasn't disappointed one bit. The fact that it was written by a contemporary Turkish writer encouraged me even more since I never read literature written by Turkish writers.

The story is so powerful, intriguing, and mysterious. It takes you into a journey seeking the truth, a journey looking for the meaning of life passing through the streets and cities of turkey. A truth that you might never find.

The ending is so powerful, as powerful as the beginning, it has compensated for some moments of disappointment that I had reading through the story, disappointment of only wanting to know the truth sooner. It eventually turned out to be a book about a book.

When reading this novel I felt the same feelings I had when I read "Gabriel Garcia Marquez". I cannot explain it in words, but very few books have effected me the same way this book has.