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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.
jo961blue's review
5.0
What an enormous book! Physically and emotionally. It took me a while to get into but once I had I was gripped. Not only by the murder-mystery but the details of the lives of the miniaturists, calligraphers, gilders and illustrators and the conditions they worked under. The stories of the ill treatment of apprentices;the valuing of blindness as a ultimate achievement of long years of detailed work; the intrigues between families; the absolutely live and devotion to an art and craft. Just fascinating. Now want to read more of this authors work.
sirius_420's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
susanbrooks's review
2.0
This book made me feel like I just finished a game of Blind Man's Bluff
(defined below by Wikipedia).
Blind man's bluff is a children's game played in a spacious area, such as outdoors or in a large room, in which one player, designated as "It," is blindfolded and gropes around attempting to touch the other players without being able to see them, while the other players scatter and try to avoid the person who is "it", hiding in plain sight and sometimes teasing them to make them change direction.
This book was about Turkish miniature painting artists, and which one committed a murder. Told, sometimes cleverly, sometimes blind man's bluffingly, from multiple perspectives - it got me all turned around and confused. And worst of all, I ceased caring about the characters the more turned around I got and the more characters and back stories were introduced.
(defined below by Wikipedia).
Blind man's bluff is a children's game played in a spacious area, such as outdoors or in a large room, in which one player, designated as "It," is blindfolded and gropes around attempting to touch the other players without being able to see them, while the other players scatter and try to avoid the person who is "it", hiding in plain sight and sometimes teasing them to make them change direction.
This book was about Turkish miniature painting artists, and which one committed a murder. Told, sometimes cleverly, sometimes blind man's bluffingly, from multiple perspectives - it got me all turned around and confused. And worst of all, I ceased caring about the characters the more turned around I got and the more characters and back stories were introduced.
dely_dd's review against another edition
Ero al buio con gli occhi chiusi e avvertii in maniera precisa il suo coso enorme, tanto che la testa prese a girarmi. Chissà com'è il coso di Nero. [...]
Se Nero ce l'ha più grande di lui, se era veramente il suo quella cosa enorme che si intravedeva sotto la fascia [...] forse non entrerebbe dentro di me o mi farebbe molto male, il solo pensiero mi fa paura.
E quando lo tirò fuori, girai la testa dall'altra parte, ma non riuscii a distogliere lo sguardo e, di fronte alle dimensioni del suo coso, sgranai gli occhi.
Non ho proprio voglia di perdere tempo a leggere le avventure di un Rocco Siffredi turco della metà del XVI secolo. Quanta volgarità.
Non si capisce che libro dovrebbe essere, c'è di tutto un po': un po' di storia, un po' di storia dell'arte, c'è un morto quindi potrebbe essere un giallo, c'è l'amore...un minestrone, purtroppo insipido.
In sole 150 pagine (quelle che sono riuscita a leggere) Pamuk mi ha fatto due palle così con l'arte della miniatura e la storia di Cosroe e Shirin.
Per non parlare di Sekure (la protagonista) e della sua instabilità mentale: prima si coccola i figli dando baci e abbracci e di colpo tira sberle e li manipola a suo piacimento. Ma che razza di madre è?! Il suo comportamento m'innervosiva.
Non ho nemmeno apprezzato la narrazione multipla, troppo confusionaria e non mi permetteva di mantere l'attenzione su ciò che leggevo.
I haven't finished this book. I had enough after 150 pages:
- haven't liked the multiple narration, too confusing for me so I was not able to hold the attention on the reading;
- I couldn't stand anymore the art of miniatures and all the details about it and had enough of Shirin and Cosroe;
- couldn't stand Shekure's behaviour with her sons: first she is kind and kisses them always and suddenly she slaps them and manipulates them at her will. Terrible mother!
- I don't like vulgarities and don't like to read about vulgar sex so I was not at all curious to know the dimensions of Black's penis!
I think Pamuk wanted to put in this book a lot of genres: love, mistery/thriller, history, art...but at the end it is only a confusing and insipid pot-pourri.
Se Nero ce l'ha più grande di lui, se era veramente il suo quella cosa enorme che si intravedeva sotto la fascia [...] forse non entrerebbe dentro di me o mi farebbe molto male, il solo pensiero mi fa paura.
E quando lo tirò fuori, girai la testa dall'altra parte, ma non riuscii a distogliere lo sguardo e, di fronte alle dimensioni del suo coso, sgranai gli occhi.
Non ho proprio voglia di perdere tempo a leggere le avventure di un Rocco Siffredi turco della metà del XVI secolo. Quanta volgarità.
Non si capisce che libro dovrebbe essere, c'è di tutto un po': un po' di storia, un po' di storia dell'arte, c'è un morto quindi potrebbe essere un giallo, c'è l'amore...un minestrone, purtroppo insipido.
In sole 150 pagine (quelle che sono riuscita a leggere) Pamuk mi ha fatto due palle così con l'arte della miniatura e la storia di Cosroe e Shirin.
Per non parlare di Sekure (la protagonista) e della sua instabilità mentale: prima si coccola i figli dando baci e abbracci e di colpo tira sberle e li manipola a suo piacimento. Ma che razza di madre è?! Il suo comportamento m'innervosiva.
Non ho nemmeno apprezzato la narrazione multipla, troppo confusionaria e non mi permetteva di mantere l'attenzione su ciò che leggevo.
I haven't finished this book. I had enough after 150 pages:
- haven't liked the multiple narration, too confusing for me so I was not able to hold the attention on the reading;
- I couldn't stand anymore the art of miniatures and all the details about it and had enough of Shirin and Cosroe;
- couldn't stand Shekure's behaviour with her sons: first she is kind and kisses them always and suddenly she slaps them and manipulates them at her will. Terrible mother!
- I don't like vulgarities and don't like to read about vulgar sex so I was not at all curious to know the dimensions of Black's penis!
I think Pamuk wanted to put in this book a lot of genres: love, mistery/thriller, history, art...but at the end it is only a confusing and insipid pot-pourri.
michaelontheplanet's review against another edition
3.0
Pamuk buying: a canny trader in the soukh, Orhan sets out his stall, and it’s groaning with the finest produce - glistening guavas, moist melons, plump pomegranates, tempting tamarinds. There’s even an ugli fruit or two, and you know I’m a bit partial. Sure, he puts the best stuff front and centre, and some of the merchandise further back or underneath isn’t quite as fresh (dig a bit further and there’s a definite whiff of overripe banana, not to mention a few specimens that, were this Waitrose, would have a yellow label on them for quick sale). But it’s the merchant’s way, this self-styled “honey-tongued master storyteller” who gives his characters voice.
For all the opulence, it’s a simple tale really illustrating that “envy is the prime emotion in life” but also that religion can be a blunt instrument in the hands of morons, and the impact this has on art: prompted by a supposed epiphany, one might follow the example of one of the miniaturists who “swore off wine, handsome boys and painting”...”he quit drinking coffee and naturally his brain stopped working”. A lesson to us all. It takes considerable cleverness to understand a simple truth, regardless of belief - a disquisition on the Koran’s statement that “the blind and the seeing are not equal” gives this proof.
For all the opulence, it’s a simple tale really illustrating that “envy is the prime emotion in life” but also that religion can be a blunt instrument in the hands of morons, and the impact this has on art: prompted by a supposed epiphany, one might follow the example of one of the miniaturists who “swore off wine, handsome boys and painting”...”he quit drinking coffee and naturally his brain stopped working”. A lesson to us all. It takes considerable cleverness to understand a simple truth, regardless of belief - a disquisition on the Koran’s statement that “the blind and the seeing are not equal” gives this proof.
janeta12's review
3.0
Overall I enjoyed it, very interesting the format of each chapter from a different character, including from the perspective of a picture of a dog from the storyteller!
In the beginning (first 75-85 pages) it was hard to figure out what was going on, who was who, etc, partly because the names are hard to remember, I knew nothing about Istanbul in the 16th century, partly because of the changing perspectives. After that, it picks up. There were still points where it got slogged down in more detail than I cared about, and I would blast over those parts. But overall, the evolving story and uncovering the mystery were cool, and how things starting coming together towards the end.
The book makes you think, and provoked the most discussion we've ever had in our book club, even though only 3 of us had read (most) of it!
There were some pretty horrifying aspects as well, the nature of those times in that region.
In the beginning (first 75-85 pages) it was hard to figure out what was going on, who was who, etc, partly because the names are hard to remember, I knew nothing about Istanbul in the 16th century, partly because of the changing perspectives. After that, it picks up. There were still points where it got slogged down in more detail than I cared about, and I would blast over those parts. But overall, the evolving story and uncovering the mystery were cool, and how things starting coming together towards the end.
The book makes you think, and provoked the most discussion we've ever had in our book club, even though only 3 of us had read (most) of it!
There were some pretty horrifying aspects as well, the nature of those times in that region.
ayahefnawy5's review
3.0
3.5
Loved the idea, the unconventional narrators and the ending. What i didnt like mainly was that it could have been shorter.
Loved the idea, the unconventional narrators and the ending. What i didnt like mainly was that it could have been shorter.