Istanbul

Memories and the City

By: Orhan Pamuk

Narrated by: John Lee

From the Nobel Prize winner and acclaimed author of My Name is Red comes a portrait of Istanbul by its foremost writer, revealing the melancholy that comes of living amid the ruins of a lost empire.

"Delightful, profound, marvelously origina.... Pamuk tells the story of the city through the eyes of memory." —The Washington Post Book World

A shimmering evocation, by turns intimate and panoramic, of one of the world’s great cities, by its foremost writer. Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul and still lives in the family apartment building where his mother first held him in her arms. His portrait of his city is thus also a self-portrait, refracted by memory and the melancholy—or hüzün—that all Istanbullus share.

With cinematic fluidity, Pamuk moves from his glamorous, unhappy parents to the gorgeous, decrepit mansions overlooking the Bosphorus; from the dawning of his self-consciousness to the writers and painters—both Turkish and foreign—who would shape his consciousness of his city. Like Joyce’s Dublin and Borges’ Buenos Aires, Pamuk’s Istanbul is a triumphant encounter of place and sensibility, beautifully written and immensely moving.

Critic reviews

"Delightful, profound, marvelously original.... Pamuk tells the story of the city through the eyes of memory." —The Washington Post Book World

"Far from a conventional appreciation of the city's natural and architectural splendors, Istanbul tells of an invisible melancholy and the way it acts on an imaginative young man, aggrieving him but pricking his creativity." —The New York Times

"Brilliant.... Pamuk insistently discribes a]dizzingly gorgeous, historically vibrant metropolis." —Newsday

“A fascinating read for anyone who has even the slightest acquaintance with this fabled bridge between east and west.” —The Economist

Flaneur in Istanbul

It is an excellent flaneur-novel vibrating from mixed emotions towards the city of Istanbul. A Bildungsroman, in which the young Orhan and the old city are reflecting each other's face. The impersonated city and the objectified self live in an organic symbiosis as their histories become intertwined.
I enjoyed the audiobook a lot, although the vast and detailed historical set of references the book provides sometimes makes the reading hard to follow.

unengaging

I love Istanbul but this book does not capture it particularly well. The narration is rather boring.

Got eyes through which I could see Istanbul no as normal tourist.

Thanks to this thoughtful book I enjoyed visiting Istanbul differently, could use different eyes. It sparked curiosity and sharpened focus while in Istanbul.

Streets of Istanbul

Interesting insight to the son of a rich man and how impacted his life as a boy, artist and writer. The history of Istanbul emerging from an Ottoman Empire into a Turkish city that become an international stopping place from all over the world. Sitting on the peninsula that joins Asia with Europe. The Muslim religion is evident in all the historic Mosques and buildings that are a staple of the vistas seen in the city. All these factors influenced this writer and budding artist.

Only for those with interest in art history

The book is grammatically well written and well read. I found it overwhelmingly boring with little or no character development, reader attachment or a significant plot. It was full of musings of the author. Just not my cup of tea.