Punatukkainen nainen (2016)

Excellent at Times

This is the first novel by Orhan Pamuk that I have read. It is a mixed bag, but I will be looking for other books by Pamuk in the future.

The book is written in three parts, all of which I found to be non-contiguous, not because they were unrelated but because the styles were so different. The first part, about 100 hundred pages long, was a fast, fascinating movie about a young man coming of age in 1980's Turkey. The second part, about 200 pages long, was slower and somewhat tedious. It focused on the young man as an adult, building a business empire with his wife, who is never given any exposition as a character. The third part is only 30 or so pages. It switches to the perspective of the young man's first love and reads somewhat haphazardly, perhaps because the love interest is herself quite a haphazard character.

The first part of the book was so engrossing that it kept the book interesting. I remained curious about unresolved events in the young man's coming of age story. Unfortunately, the novel dragged after the first part and I read from obligation.

Nevertheless, because I enjoyed that first part so much, I will look for more from Pamuk in the future. ( )

Nagyszerű nézőpont, végig fenntartott feszültség – modern és ősi történetek szövevénye. Sodró lendület, bár nem mindig a fizikai cselekmény által. Szövevényes családregény, mitikus szerelmi történet és fájdalmas szülő-gyermek viszony egyben – zseniális egésszé gyúrva. ( )

İlk defa bir Orhan Pamuk kitabını bitirmiş bulunmaktayım.Kendisi uzun bir süre okumak istediğim yazarlar arasında değildi ama son çıkan, yani bu kitabı uygun etiket fiyatından satışa çıkınca okumaya karar verdim.Kitap ilk başta yavaş ilerlediği ve tünelin sonunda ışık göremediğim için kitabı bırakmaya karar vermiştim ama kitap kısa diye bırakmadım, bir an önce bitirmek istedim bir yandan da sonunda ne olabilir diye merak etmeye başladım.Kitapta konunun bağlanıp sonuca ulaşılan son 30 sayfa kitabın geri kalanından daha başarılı buldum.Bunda son sayfalar da reklam ibarelerinin yer almaması,bazan kelimesine daha az yer verilmesi ve siyasi göndermelerin olmamasının etkisi yadsınamaz.Siyasi göndermeleri yazarın mesaj verme kaygısından dolayı bira abartılı bulsamda güzel tespitler vardı ama kitaptaki reklamlar ve ısrarcı bazan kullanımı hiç hoşuma gitmedi.
Kitabı genel olarak beğendim ama kitap kısa olduğu için yazar hakkında kafamda bir fikir oluşmadı, birkaç kitabını daha okumadan bir görüş belirtmem doğru da olmaz zaten. ( )

Yet another excellent novel by Orhan Pamuk, one of my all-time favorite authors. This is a tale of fathers and sons, fatherless sons, the influence of myth & history on life choices & destiny. This is a tragic replay of a famous myth. It is a story of a well digger, a writer, an engineer, an actress, and above all.....two fathers and their sons. It was a wonderful read, and only fell short of five stars because it just felt too carefully constructed. ( )

Set in Turkey over a period of 30 years or so starting around 1986. In order to make a little money, Cem, the main character, a teenager close to finishing high school, serves as an apprentice to a well-digger, Master Mahmut, in a small town near Istanbul. The Master sometimes tells old myths and tales when their work for the day is finished. In the nearby small town, the boy meets a red-haired woman. She turns out to be an actress in a traveling troupe of players who re-enact comic skits and versions of classic tales. Cem is infatuated with her and has a one-night stand with her. After an accident to his boss which Cem causes, Cem thinks he has killed him and flees the town. Years pass and Cem marries but he and his wife are unable to have children. They are obsessed with the stories of Oedipus [a patricide] and of Rustam and Sohrab [a filicide from a Persian epic] and travel all over the world to see manuscripts and paintings of these stories. Cem, now a geological engineer, founds a construction company, Sohrab [it becomes his "son", so to speak], and becomes very wealthy. Decades later Cem visits the area where he had apprenticed years before. It has changed remarkably. Where is the well? Did he really kill Master Mahmut? Who is the young man, Enver, and is there any connection to Cem if any?

Very readable, good translation, and the mystery aspect gripped me all through. I was disappointed in Pamuk's last few books, but this one made up for them. The novel emphasized the differing relations between fathers and son: filial and paternal love or lack thereof. ( )