Reviews

My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk

bluemoosetom's review

3.0

This book was dense and was a long and difficult read for me! Characters talked in parables and fables about the nature of art, style, verisimilitude and idealization in drawing, sight, blindness, and memory. This is all in a book that at its heart is a murder mystery of a master miniaturist whose work on a book for the Ottoman sultan may be too transgressive in style and earned him enemies.

The book has a lot of different narrators, and it is interesting to try to decipher all of their motives and when they may or may not be reliable. This book also explores the life in 16th Century. Due to the narrative structure, this made me think of [a:Ryūnosuke Akutagawa|5775185|Ryūnosuke Akutagawa|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1357781951p2/5775185.jpg]'s "In A Grove," the source material for the film Rashomon. The artistic discourses made me think of parts of [b:The Name of the Rose|119073|The Name of the Rose|Umberto Eco|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415375471s/119073.jpg|3138328] talking about the nature of humor.

Read for the Cincinnati Art Museum "See the Story" program meeting on January 19, 2019. Not sure how many really enjoyed the book but it made for very interesting conversation.

tuesdaybrunch's review

4.0

A potentially not so exciting mystery becomes awesome through the narrative structure of the novel. Really great read.

viva88's review

3.0

všeč mi je pripovedovalski slog, ki bralcu spodbuja detektivsko žilico, zgodba kot taka pa se me ni pretirano dotaknila.

ceceveegee's review

4.0

Four stars, a compromise. Five stars for My Name Is Red as a literary work; 3.5 for my enjoyment as a reader. No doubt, this is a masterpiece. A large cast of distinct, believable characters whose complex layers sluff off slowly to reveal depth and nuance. An arsenal of techniques deployed effectively, not for show. Rich use of history, language and metaphor. Engaging philosophically. The faults were with the reader: an insufficient grounding in Ottoman history, culture and literature; inadequate patience for the deliberate pace required for a work of this complexity. An effort to read, but with moments of real pleasure. The return was well worth the investment.

grieveandy's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a love story to art. I learned a lot about Turkey and Islamic art through this story that on its surface is a story of betrayal between people but at its depth is a story about tradition, loyalty to craft and the inexorable march of time. Beautiful in its tragedy

maddiemsutliff's review against another edition

Wanted to finish but hold ran out and just didn’t have any desire to read it 

anbar's review

1.0

Kinda laborious read, more of a treatise on old Middle Eastern artistic traditions with an incidental murder-mystery and not-exactly-love story thrown in. Arts-buffs might enjoy the analysis of artistic style (or lack of style), sociology & psych majors might enjoy analysing the little social paradoxes encountered. Myself, reading this as someone in pursuit of story, I walked away thinking:
a) all these characters are selfish connivers, right down to the little kids
b) it seems all of the male characters in this artistic community are a little too interested in pretty little boys (again, sociology & psych majors will love taking apart this aspect of a very gender-segregated society), and
c) this 'love story' seems kinda devoid of actual love (which was probably on purpose).

I'm glad we didn't have to read this in high school, and I'm sure that somewhere, some poor schmucks are being made to read it and over-analyse it right now.

matilda_m's review against another edition

informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was mainly impressed by the visual elements in the book and the detailed insights into the world of miniaturists. It is masterfully written, but I was unable to lose myself in the characters or the story. 

mrsbond's review

3.0

When I purchased the book the reviews were nothing but stellar -- I couldn't wait to dig in. The author's attention to detail is exquisite; he often creates a beautiful picture of what is happening. Other times the amount of detail is simply too much. At around page 250 I found myself skimming the longer passages, and there were many of them. By the end I was only reading to see if I guessed right on ""who did it,"" with little care for the rich detail or wrapping up lose ends in the character's lives. Perhaps because of this my rating for the first half is a solid 5 stars, second half would be 2 1/2. Perhaps reading 2 other books alongside this was too much of a distraction.

acshacker's review against another edition

Not feeling it right now