Pamuk recently won a Nobel Prize in Literature, and this book is probably his most well-known. He creates through the nominal device of a mystery story some unforgettable characters and scenes, as he presents the collision of Asian philosophy (as represented by Turkish artistic rules) and Western European philosophy (as represented by the Venetian art of perspective and realism) in the 16th century.

As fascinating as the history and social strictures are, I found this book at times unbearably slow. Members of my book club disagreed quite a lot about it, which made for a lively discussion. I hesitate to rate it, for it is not average, but I would not recommend it to everyone. ( )

Un libro che parla di libri.
Un libro bellissimo, poetico e crepuscolare, triste. Un libro da leggere con calma, da centellinare come un bicchiere di vino da meditazione.
Il ritmo lento della prosa rende perfettamente l’atmosfera quasi rarefatta di un’Istambul cinquecentesca ricoperta di neve, di un mondo storicamente e culturalmente lontanissimo da noi, ma forse proprio per questo estremamente affascinante.
Gli omicidi e la ricerca del colpevole, come pure l'amore, triste, di Nero per Şeküre, pur essendo al centro della storia, sono solo pretesti per addentrarsi in un mondo dove i tempi dilatati rendono le emozioni e i sentimenti dei personaggi più forti e violenti, ma dove è ancora possibile godere della “bellezza”.
Un mondo chiuso in se stesso ed inevitabilmente destinato a scomparire. ( )

I heard Orhan Pamuk speak at Stanford University. He mentioned his fascination with colors, having decided to be a painter before he turned to writing. His interest in the novel is that you can create a world where the action takes place, basically, in your head, rather than on a movie screen, say. So the novel allows a writer to create anything, and the reader to picture the action reflective of the reader's own experience. In this sense the novel is a simple but powerful means of creating a world, and thus conveying ideas that might otherwise be hard to express. The basic idea of this novel is, Is there really a difference in the way East and West perceives colors, and painting, and the details of illustration? Spun around this premise are the details and colors and painted tapestry of a murder in Istanbul. In thinking about "who done it" we are led to think about the nature of painting and the motivations and personalities of the painters.

The book is not written for the mass market. That is part of the appeal, at least to me, but unfontunately, it means that most people will not be inclined to finish it. One could wish it were 50 pages shorter, but once you understand a little about Mr. Pamuk and his themes, you will want to read it all the way through, and pick up some of his other novels as well.

I think we need especially to acknowledge the translator of this book. Mr. Pamuk speaks English, but not very fluently. The book was written in Turkish and translated by the very gifted Dr. Erdag Goknar of Duke University. Dr. Goknar was born in the USA, but he has an outstanding knowledge of Turkish and Turkish literature, and is a good friend of Mr. Pamuk. His translation reads like an original work. ( )

It was certainly an interesting read, but I didn't like most of the characters, in particular Shekure. The plot stagnated at points, but it all came together very quickly (perhaps too quickly) in the end. All in all, I'm looking forward to reading more Pamuk, particularly books set in the contemporary period. ( )

In process. Enjoying so far.

Now, about 60% through, this has all the marks of a good book that I won't finish. ( )