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

4.0

This book is an ode to Istanbul, but it doesn't seek to obscure what Istanbul really is for the average person living there. Istanbul is a city caught between times - a relic of a vast empire now in ruins and a city rising fast with the times. I feel like Pamuk has captured an intimate view of Istanbul which will soon also be another relic of another lost time. Just as he uses the writings of others who first came across Istanbul in their travels from Europe during the time of empire, his writing will be used to chronicle Istanbul's rapid changes.