A wonderful book and yet I am a bit reserved to recommend to my friends.
The book “Istanbul – Memories and the City”, by Orhan Pamuk, is a sophisticated story of the author and the city of Istanbul with deeply weaved content of how the author seeks his own identity. Blending reminiscence with history; personal story with portraits of poets and pashas (rulers), parallel self journey with the melancholy of the city in its poverty, ruins & the ever gone glory of the Ottoman Empire; it takes effort to read and appreciate the masterful unfolding of the reminiscence.
The book presents a unique portrait of the city Istanbul, and yet it is not for tourists looking for pleasing sceneries. It starts with the author’s memory of his childhood in a communal apartment building, the subtle relationship of the families in a rapidly fading bourgeois family in Istanbul and the failing relationship of his parents. Central to the theme are the ruins and the melancholy of the city, since its fall from glory, from the Ottoman Empire era. It persistently describes hüzün (melancholy) in the many Istanbul residents’ character.
The chapters on the Turkish poets and writers are hard and drilling; it parallels the author’s own struggle in all his school years, the inferiority to his brother’s success; and how painting has been his source of success; and his loss of identify when the passion of painting deserts him. The breakdown of his family: death of elders, separation of the parents with his long journey in finding his way parallels the ever decline of the city, the city’s melancholy.
The chapters on the author’s childhood, the relationship with his brother, the relationship with his father and the fight with his mother are meticulously constructed with depth and touching detail; revealing the breadth and depth of the storytelling talent of the author.
I particularly enjoy the finishing touch of the book in the last sentence with a confirmation in finding his own way. It drives home the memories and the melancholy with a high note of positivity; and leaves an interesting temptation for a re-read of the book.
oliviatamccue 
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