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beatrice_apetrei's review against another edition
3.0
I hated this book. Better said, I hated the main character of this book. I literally could not stand him, nor could I understand his poor, troubled soul. *bad me*
This is my first Pamuk novel ever and I received it as a gift from someone dear to me, so I decided to stick to it and try to finish it even though I had many attempts of putting it aside.
Overall, it was not a bad book, but I disliked a lot of the characteristics it came with - genre, characters, etc. This would not be the kind of book I would pick up in a bookshop, at all.
The writing is, truth be told, quite impressive. I could, at times, emphasize with Kemal or understand him. It let me travel inside his mind and get the motifs behind his actions.
The problem was with the plot itself and the character's decisions. As the hopeless romantic I am, I hated what he did to Sibel and how he played both of the girls for his own pleasure. And again, how did he fall in love with Fusun? He would sleep with her and help her study, that's their time together summed up. I am not even exaggerating. He became obsessed with the image of Fusun, as he thought of her, rather than her actual self.
But he stays obsessed for years?! And he goes and has dinner with her and her husband? How...? I could go on and on about some unrealistic, or better said, impossible to understand acts of his, but it would not fit the available field.
And the ending was extremely predictable, especially for me. I saw it coming instantly. It couldn't have been in any other way. It's the only thing that saved the book for me.
Do I recommend this book? I'm not sure. Maybe if you are into self-centered narcissists.
Try it at your own risk.
This is my first Pamuk novel ever and I received it as a gift from someone dear to me, so I decided to stick to it and try to finish it even though I had many attempts of putting it aside.
Overall, it was not a bad book, but I disliked a lot of the characteristics it came with - genre, characters, etc. This would not be the kind of book I would pick up in a bookshop, at all.
The writing is, truth be told, quite impressive. I could, at times, emphasize with Kemal or understand him. It let me travel inside his mind and get the motifs behind his actions.
The problem was with the plot itself and the character's decisions. As the hopeless romantic I am, I hated what he did to Sibel and how he played both of the girls for his own pleasure. And again, how did he fall in love with Fusun? He would sleep with her and help her study, that's their time together summed up. I am not even exaggerating. He became obsessed with the image of Fusun, as he thought of her, rather than her actual self.
But he stays obsessed for years?! And he goes and has dinner with her and her husband? How...? I could go on and on about some unrealistic, or better said, impossible to understand acts of his, but it would not fit the available field.
And the ending was extremely predictable, especially for me. I saw it coming instantly. It couldn't have been in any other way. It's the only thing that saved the book for me.
Do I recommend this book? I'm not sure. Maybe if you are into self-centered narcissists.
Try it at your own risk.
tmathews0330's review against another edition
4.0
In the beginning and middle, it seemed to go too slow, and I almost gave up. But I kept feeling like there was something missing and I needed to know what it was. Then I got invested in the characters. And ultimately, I'm glad I finished. But I do still wish the middle could have been cut down.
skconaghan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tara_pikachu's review against another edition
3.0
if you, by any chance, can relate to the kind of love that is so overbearingly obsessive that you somehow collect over 4,000 stubs of your loved one's cigarettes over a period of eight years, then by all means pick up this book and partake in the eccentricity it evokes. the author even had a small museum (real) set up in istanbul to make things even weirder!
soph2962's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lananhngvu's review against another edition
1.0
Cuốn này theme thì hay đấy nhưng không phải là điều mình quan tâm. Hai theme chính là sự giao thoa văn hoá châu Á và châu Âu, cái còn lại là thân phận và vị trí người phụ nữ trong xã hội. Rốt cuộc thì lại là một cuốn sách mà trong đó phụ nữ là nạn nhân của tình yêu. Đọc mệt.
Ai đang thất tình đọc cuốn này chắc sẽ thích. Cả chục trang nói về cảm xúc đớn đau khi mất người yêu và sự ơ hờ với xã hội khi thất tình. Và cả sự làm khổ người yêu mình khi thất tình nữa chứ. Bực dọc!!!
Văn dài lê thê, như kiểu đọc Humbert Humbert lí sự, nhưng không mĩ miều văn hoa như Humbert, và đương nhiên không hay bằng, nên là một lần nữa, đọc mệt. Khô không khốc...
Mình định drop từ trang 100 nhưng cố kiết đọc đến trang 200 để xem anh nhân vật chính thất tình thế nào. Đến đó nữa thì cũng nản hẳn, kết hợp đọc plot trên wiki và skim đến đoạn cuối ; - ; nói chung là một cuốn sách kì quặc và không giao tiếp được với mình, y như bạn mà recommend sách này cho mình vậy.
Ai đang thất tình đọc cuốn này chắc sẽ thích. Cả chục trang nói về cảm xúc đớn đau khi mất người yêu và sự ơ hờ với xã hội khi thất tình. Và cả sự làm khổ người yêu mình khi thất tình nữa chứ. Bực dọc!!!
Văn dài lê thê, như kiểu đọc Humbert Humbert lí sự, nhưng không mĩ miều văn hoa như Humbert, và đương nhiên không hay bằng, nên là một lần nữa, đọc mệt. Khô không khốc...
Mình định drop từ trang 100 nhưng cố kiết đọc đến trang 200 để xem anh nhân vật chính thất tình thế nào. Đến đó nữa thì cũng nản hẳn, kết hợp đọc plot trên wiki và skim đến đoạn cuối ; - ; nói chung là một cuốn sách kì quặc và không giao tiếp được với mình, y như bạn mà recommend sách này cho mình vậy.
simplestyle's review against another edition
3.0
I came close to giving up on this book. Midway through, Kemal's laborious despair became unbelievable to me and I resorted to skimming through large sections of his obsessions over Fusün. Similarly, the extensive descriptions of minutiae in upper-class Turkish life were skipped.
Without those sections, the book became manageable and important. Fusün's story is one of captivity. She is kept from her dreams by tradition and jealous men who take ownership of women. Kemal is both the love of her life and her captor.
Whatever ounce of freedom she enjoys is at the discretion of either her parents, her husband, or Kemal. In the end, the only thing she secures on her own is her own premature death.
She dies in Kemal's car, ironically the same car he used to pursue her, driving over for dinner for eight years, teaching Fusun how to drive, and finally setting off for Europe. In the end, Kemal has so little respect for Fusun's wish that they not have sex until marriage that he takes advantage of her on the way to Paris, barely outside Istanbul.
As protagonist and narrator, it is difficult to sympathize with Kemal. He is obsessive, selfish, and repeatedly hurtful to women who care for him, first to Sibel, and then repeatedly to Fusun. As a man in Turkish society, his desires come first and foremost, and a woman's wants are agreeable only when they fit into his own. Fusun's dreams to become an actress are forced to lie in wait because of Kemal's jealousy. Most chapters of Fusun's life get dictated by Kemal and his interminable desire for her.
In the end, the book is an interesting, albeit rambling, look at Turkish upper-class culture during the 70s and 80s, and a powerful cautionary tale about gender power, desire, love, and obsession.
Without those sections, the book became manageable and important. Fusün's story is one of captivity. She is kept from her dreams by tradition and jealous men who take ownership of women. Kemal is both the love of her life and her captor.
Whatever ounce of freedom she enjoys is at the discretion of either her parents, her husband, or Kemal. In the end, the only thing she secures on her own is her own premature death.
She dies in Kemal's car, ironically the same car he used to pursue her, driving over for dinner for eight years, teaching Fusun how to drive, and finally setting off for Europe. In the end, Kemal has so little respect for Fusun's wish that they not have sex until marriage that he takes advantage of her on the way to Paris, barely outside Istanbul.
As protagonist and narrator, it is difficult to sympathize with Kemal. He is obsessive, selfish, and repeatedly hurtful to women who care for him, first to Sibel, and then repeatedly to Fusun. As a man in Turkish society, his desires come first and foremost, and a woman's wants are agreeable only when they fit into his own. Fusun's dreams to become an actress are forced to lie in wait because of Kemal's jealousy. Most chapters of Fusun's life get dictated by Kemal and his interminable desire for her.
In the end, the book is an interesting, albeit rambling, look at Turkish upper-class culture during the 70s and 80s, and a powerful cautionary tale about gender power, desire, love, and obsession.
ninakeller's review against another edition
5.0
I hated every minute of reading this book, but then could not stop thinking about it for weeks. The main character is a mysogonistic narcissist, and I despised him throughout his entire telling of his story. I hate him all over again just thinking about this book. Pamuk’s prose is stunning, the character development is extremely effective, and the themes throughout are enduring.
I had the pleasure of visiting the museum that resulted from this book (what a concept!) in Istanbul, and I especially enjoyed the diagram of anatomy with corresponding feelings, and that the butterfly earrings are for sale. The attention to detail is impressive.
I had the pleasure of visiting the museum that resulted from this book (what a concept!) in Istanbul, and I especially enjoyed the diagram of anatomy with corresponding feelings, and that the butterfly earrings are for sale. The attention to detail is impressive.