MY NAME IS RED
ORHAN PAMUK
The first Pamuk book I read was Snow. Read halfway, and then, sheepishly gave up, is a more accurate description.
You know the feeling, when you put down a book to answer the phone, and find yourself fixing a cup of cocoa, or turning on the telly. Basically, anything besides returning to it immediately. In my mind, it's like falling out of love. Happens to all of us, but practising with books makes it a little easier to accept.
Not that it wasn't beautiful, or intriguing, or lush with sensory detail. Nor that it wasn't a distinctly unique voice. (Aside: This is what I love about blogging. In a post about one of the best writers of our time, I can still use a double negative and get away with it. Absolute power does corrupt absolutely.) It just got to a point where I tired of all the lush, evocative description, and wondered what the heck would actually happen to the protagonist.
From the very first word, I knew this one would be different. And it is. Hypnotic, and lyrical, of course. But also less self-indulgent, I think. For starters, it's something of a murder mystery, rather than a somewhat self-absorbed personal journey. Second, it's told fascinatingly. I loathe literary devices that take precedence over narrative, and I'm pleased to say that isn't the case with this novel. It's clever, yes, but rather effortlessly so. Its characters belong to a time and place far, far removed from this one: the Istanbul of the world's most skilled miniaturists.
And I can't wait to get back to it.
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2 comments:
i came across this blog when i was looking for fellow bloggers who had read Jeanette Winterson (well i actually came across the post on random wisdom: jeanette winterson and that brought me here) i like your attempt to trace your life through the books you read. after all, you are what you read. nice to meet a fellow reader and a fellow indian.
Thanks for dropping by, Sky. I've always associated different phases of my life with the books I've been reading at the time. I read Winterson's Sexing the Cherry when I just got out of college, and fell in love with her inventiveness. Read Written on the Body shortly after, and quickly added her to my list of Must Reads. Hope to see you around more often!
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