A review by stephanie_roberts
The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk

3.0

I adore Orhan Pamuk, and this is his third novel that I have read this year. I am a little disappointed with this book. The story is far-fetched. Early on in the novel boy meets girl, things don't work out and boy pines faithfully for girl for many years. Her behaviour in this drama is mystifying. I don't mind the absurdity of this fairy-tale-telling at all. Pamuk is an unabashed romantic of the highest order, and I love that about him. I want to believe this story and in these dark and cynical times–I need to. The problem is how dramatically the pace and interest of the story fizzles in the end. I hate to say it because I get so much pleasure from his books, but you could probably lose the last thirty pages of this book without really effecting the read. He inserts himself as the narrator picking up the pieces in the end (a plot device also used in Snow) and it makes me sad. It doesn't strengthen the story, it detracts. If you are a hardcore romantic, and do not mind reading indepth about other cultures, as Turkey is very much a central character of his books, it is definitely worth the read in spite of the weak ending.