A review by pascalthehoff
Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk

informative reflective relaxing slow-paced

3.0

The problem here is clearly me, because I started reading this without checking the description. I've heard about this book that it's one of the best about what life in Istanbul feels like. 

 

Little did I know that about 50% of the book is completely autobiographical, with little or no connection to the city of Istanbul and its culture. That in itself wouldn't be too much of a drawback. However, the kind of anecdotes the author indulges in are often so generic that they're only really interesting if you want to learn specifically about the life of Orhan Pamuk. (Which, I suppose, is valid; he is, after all, a great author and a Nobel laureate). 

 

In the moments when he writes about the city in a more overt way, Pamuk has more of an aesthetic approach. I really like this, because living in a city is often more about how it feels to be there than about cold facts. However, this approach takes up a lot of space to say very little, which further diminishes what you actually take away from it. 

 

Long story short, there are probably better sources for learning about Istanbul. I don't blame the book for that, though.