Pamuk, Orhan. My Name is Red. Erdag M Goknar (Trans. from Turkish). New York: Vintage International, 2001.
This is set in medieval Istanbul. The sultan has commissioned the illustration of a book. The novel is from the differing points of view of many characters and revolves around a murder. The setting is 16th century Ottomon empire in Turkey. Most of the characters are the minaturists of the Sultan. Using the minature art as a sign of art and representation, the novel speaks about the problems of the impossibility of authorship.
In the novel, a corpse speaks to the reader first. He describes the competition among the illustrators that led to his murder. Then Black, the traveller speaks. He is exiled from Istanbul by his uncle, an illustrater, for his forbidden passion for Shekure, the uncle's daughter. He is coming back after 12 years and is aware of Shekure's presence behind the walls. Then the dog of the murderer, who is also a thief, speaks. Then comes the murderer himself. Like this the story unfolds in the character of minature art itself, with extreme care to depict details, but no deapth.
The contest between human beings only reflect a more serious contest between two world veiws - the western and the islamic. the islamic world view, represented in its pristine form by the followers of Hoja, a wandering mystic, believes in the impossibility of realism. whereas, the Frankish masters who paint portraits in Venice, and whom the master illustrater, Enishte Effendi (Black's uncle) had seen, portrays each of their subjects realistically as well as giving separate individual characterestics for each portrait. This style is completely different from the Islamic style where individualism is forbidden. The first minuatarist, Elegant Effendi was murdered precisely because he wanted to betray the group to Hoja's followers. But,when the murderer confessed his doings to Enishte Effendi, he did not get any sympathy. So, he murders him as well.
Parallaly woven is the story of Shekure and Black. While Black seems to be idealizing Shekure and in love with her idealized image, Shekure herself is a scheming woman trying to exist within the constraints posed to her by a tough patriarchy. For her, both Hasan, her brother-in-law as well as Black are equally usable, though she feels a kind of attraction towards Black.
Following the style of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, the novel weaves through the different possiblities of who the murderer could be focussing on the three master minaturists - Stork, Olive and Butterfly. Finally, when the mystery is solved, we understand that the murderer has committed the crime to prevent the demise of Islamic art, but is seduced by the possibilities of individualism himself. He steals the final portrait of the Sultan and and has painted his own portrait there instead.
Read another review here.
This is set in medieval Istanbul. The sultan has commissioned the illustration of a book. The novel is from the differing points of view of many characters and revolves around a murder. The setting is 16th century Ottomon empire in Turkey. Most of the characters are the minaturists of the Sultan. Using the minature art as a sign of art and representation, the novel speaks about the problems of the impossibility of authorship.
In the novel, a corpse speaks to the reader first. He describes the competition among the illustrators that led to his murder. Then Black, the traveller speaks. He is exiled from Istanbul by his uncle, an illustrater, for his forbidden passion for Shekure, the uncle's daughter. He is coming back after 12 years and is aware of Shekure's presence behind the walls. Then the dog of the murderer, who is also a thief, speaks. Then comes the murderer himself. Like this the story unfolds in the character of minature art itself, with extreme care to depict details, but no deapth.
The contest between human beings only reflect a more serious contest between two world veiws - the western and the islamic. the islamic world view, represented in its pristine form by the followers of Hoja, a wandering mystic, believes in the impossibility of realism. whereas, the Frankish masters who paint portraits in Venice, and whom the master illustrater, Enishte Effendi (Black's uncle) had seen, portrays each of their subjects realistically as well as giving separate individual characterestics for each portrait. This style is completely different from the Islamic style where individualism is forbidden. The first minuatarist, Elegant Effendi was murdered precisely because he wanted to betray the group to Hoja's followers. But,when the murderer confessed his doings to Enishte Effendi, he did not get any sympathy. So, he murders him as well.
Parallaly woven is the story of Shekure and Black. While Black seems to be idealizing Shekure and in love with her idealized image, Shekure herself is a scheming woman trying to exist within the constraints posed to her by a tough patriarchy. For her, both Hasan, her brother-in-law as well as Black are equally usable, though she feels a kind of attraction towards Black.
Following the style of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, the novel weaves through the different possiblities of who the murderer could be focussing on the three master minaturists - Stork, Olive and Butterfly. Finally, when the mystery is solved, we understand that the murderer has committed the crime to prevent the demise of Islamic art, but is seduced by the possibilities of individualism himself. He steals the final portrait of the Sultan and and has painted his own portrait there instead.
Read another review here.
1 comment:
also loved the book :) great entertainment!
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