The Museum of Innocence is the latest novel written by Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, published on August, 2008.
Pamuk has been working on the novel for many years and it has been hinted by himself in many interviews during this period. “The story, which takes place in Istanbul between 1975 and today, is about obsessive passion and the great question: What is love, really?” says the writer, in a Spiegel interview back in 2007.
Orhan Pamuk is also trying to establish an actual museum based on the novel, in Cukurcuma - Istanbul, to exhibit several objects mentioned in The Museum of Innocence.
Can no one tell the emperor he has no clothes? I have contemplated writing my own tragic tale of romantic suffering but I decided that there was no way of conveying to the reader to my tedious and painful experience without actually making them feel the tedium and pain in the reading.
Continues... 26 Jan 2010, Diana
Please select a rating for the novel, from a scale of one to ten (greater means better).
Average Rating: 7.6
Total Votes: 411
I could hardly read the last pages of the novel because I was crying so hard. I just could not keep myself from crying, it is difficult to explain why. It touched me... Pamuk's work always does, his craftsmanship, how he brings together, the million pieces that he collects and then sews together into a beautiful whole.
Continues... 15 Jan 2009, Berna
The Museum of Innocence will surely be remembered as one of the masterpieces of this century. This is a book that radiates with love for everything put into it, and a book that restores faith in the power of great literature.
Continues... 29 Jun 2009, Zulfikar Filandra
Well I think the book is fascinating. I read the original version.
Apart from its very detailed reflection of the years the story was told, the people, their values and their approach to life in depth very well analysed and brought out. That was exactly how we were then. (at a given time at a given location)
Continues... 12 Sep 2008, belya N.
One needs loads of patience to read this, but if got the patience then it's an awesome book to read, as the pages of the books brings in the culture of Istanbul along with Kemal and Fusun...
Link 03 Feb 2010, Manju
I believe this is (sadly) the biggest book I've ever read, and not once did I regret it! Can't wait to read more by the author!
Link 02 Feb 2010, Jacqueline M Stefan
This is a masterpiece undoubtedly! Some of the last chapters are not very easy to be read; but still, a very nice book.
Link 30 Jan 2010, Deepak Shenoy
You may start with the Wikipedia article about Orhan Pamuk to get more information on the writer of this book.
Orhan Pamuk was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. You may read his Nobel Lecture: My Father's Suitcase
The official site of the writer is located at www.orhanpamuk.net
The official site of “The Museum of Innocence” is located at www.masumiyetmuzesi.com (in Turkish).
Pamuk describes the relation between the novel and the museum as “The museum is not an illustration of the novel and the novel is not an explanation of the museum. They are two representations of one single story perhaps.” in an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Pamuk is writing a series of articles, discussing the literary, philosophical and personal backgrounds of the novel and his thoughts on other great novels about love. These articles will also be linked here.
This section will be updated as more resources are available about the book.
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