My Name is Red

“Time doesn’t flow if you don’t dream.”

The first thing that built my relationship with this book was the titles of its chapters. Before I even read a page of it, I knew this was something which would be enchanting. Now how many times do you see chapters like “I am a Corpse”, “I am a Dog”, "I am Red" and “I am a Gold Coin”!

I had never read Pamuk before this but had read a lot about him which had intrigued me. For starters, he writes on Istanbul, a country I have always been fascinated with (where I would go for my honeymoon, if I ever decide to get married :p)

“If you stare long enough your mind enters the time of the painting. All time had now become this time.”

The book revolves around the lives of miniaturists in ancient Istanbul. It is a fantasy fiction fable which has intricate layers of a murder mystery and a love story. I loved the entire journey throughout the book. The book is interspersed with a lot of mythic legends like Shirin and Khusrev which is truly delightful.

“For if a lover’s face survives emblazoned on your heart, the world is still your home.”

Each chapter is a point of view of a character, living and sometimes “non-living”.
By the time I had reached the climax I did not really care to find out who the murderer was because I was so bloody immersed in the world of the artists and their fables and notions about art. And I absolutely loved the way the book ends. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the last line of the book.

“For the sake of a delightful and convincing story, there isn’t a lie Orhan wouldn’t deign to tell.”

Par excellence.