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. It was not worth doing unless there was a very meaningful and potent reason for doing so, which there wasn't so I feel a little disappointed that a Nobel laureate couldn't figure this out.
What I could glean from the novel was an appreciation for how a Turkish man could be so insightful in his portrayal of typically Turkish male attitudes and behaviour toward women, but then Ted Bundy was similarly insightful. Another nugget for me. I found it ironic that he writes a character who rightfully distains the relentless melodrama and tragedy found in Turkish films of the era while in the very act of purpetrating the same abuse on his own readers.
I suppose the point of his book was that men like this don't ever love women, they love their own self-gratifying fantasies of women and in the end it is not important what happens to a woman as long as he can cherish those fantasies as a true narcissist ought. The translation was masterfully done by the way.
26 Jan 2010, Diana
When I finished the pivotal chapter, The Engagement Party, I flung the book down in disgust and vowed to return it to the library immediately.
Then, to my horror and shame, I realized that not reading the book was causing me even more pain than reading the book. My "manly immorality" had dissolved into a mysterious numbness.
Continues... 20 Feb 2010, Kevin Burke
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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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