The Museum of Innocence

By: Orhan Pamuk, Maureen Freely (translator)

Narrated by: John Lee

"It was the happiest moment of my life, though I didn't know it."

So begins the new novel, his first since winning the Nobel Prize, from the universally acclaimed author of Snow and My Name Is Red.

It is 1975, a perfect spring in Istanbul. Kemal, scion of one of the city's wealthiest families, is about to become engaged to Sibel, daughter of another prominent family, when he encounters Füsun, a beautiful shopgirl and a distant relation. Once the long-lost cousins violate the code of virginity, a rift begins to open between Kemal and the world of the Westernized Istanbul bourgeoisie - a world, as he lovingly describes it, with opulent parties and clubs, society gossip, restaurant rituals, picnics, and mansions on the Bosphorus, infused with the melancholy of decay - until finally he breaks off his engagement to Sibel. But his resolve comes too late.

For eight years Kemal will find excuses to visit another Istanbul, that of the impoverished backstreets where Füsun, her heart now hardened, lives with her parents, and where Kemal discovers the consolations of middle-class life. His obsessive love will also take him to the demimonde of Istanbul film circles, a scene of seedy bars, run-down hotels, and small men with big dreams doomed to failure.

In his feckless pursuit, Kemal becomes a compulsive collector of objects that chronicle his lovelorn progress and his afflicted heart's reactions: anger and impatience, remorse and humiliation, and daydreams that transform Istanbul into a cityscape of signs and specters of his beloved, from whom he can now extract only meaningful glances and stolen kisses in cars, movie houses, and shadowy corners of parks. A last change to realize his dream will come to an awful end before Kemal discovers that all he finally can possess, certainly and eternally, is the museum he has created of his collection, this map of a society's manners and mores, and of one man's broken heart.

©2009 Orhan Pamuk (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

"[An] enchanting new novel of first love painfully sustained over a lifetime....Freely’s translation captures the novelist’s playful performance as well as his serious collusion with Kemal. Her melding of tones follows Pamuk’s agility, to redirect our vision to the gravity of his tale" (Maureen Howard, New York Times Book Review)

"A Startling original. Every turn in the story seems fresh, disquieting, utterly unexpected...spellbindingly told....The genius of Pamuk’s novel is that although it can be read as a simpel romance, it is a richly complicated work with subtle and intricate layers." (Marie Arana, The Washington Post)

"a soaring, detailed...mausoleum of love....a masterful work." ( Publisher’s Weekly)

Great story, Turkish pronunciations not great

Obviously Pamuk is an excellent story teller and John Lee has a great narrative voice too, but he consistently pronounced the Turkish names and places incorrectly.

The most amazing listen ever

Would you listen to The Museum of Innocence again? Why?

I cannot believe how beautiful this book is. Some of the reviewers thought the narrator is pathetic or whiny. I could not disagree more. They were not listening closely enough. There is so much packed into the interstitial pockets between narrative...exacting detail, philosophical pondering and a depth of understanding. Today, having heard the end of the book, which crescendos into a brilliant meditation on museums, collecting, the east's way of defining itself in relation to the west, I feel a profound sense of loss that it is over, as I did when My Name is Red was over. I miss it already.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kemal and Orhan. I particularly love their relationship.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I have not. He was divine.

Who was the most memorable character of The Museum of Innocence and why?

Cetin Efendi, the chauffeur, pilot of a 1956 Chevrolet, and patient man.

Any additional comments?

This book is so thoroughly thought-provoking, I will not be able to read or listen to anything for a time, as I fully absorb all it provoked in me.

only inspiration follows this reading

This is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion. Love emerges as a deep, pure and irresistible force made of desire, sexual passion and idealization. In pursuit of happiness, the protagoinist finds it in a struggle with guilt. The guilt of being an outsider and the guilt of his blinding love

The Museum of Innocence; a love story.

Orhan Pamuk managed to take me away in his wonderful story about Kemal and Füsun. Initially I found them both irritating; she seemed like a lovestruck teenager while he came across as nothing more than a male chauvinist.
In spite of the story being very long Orhan Pamuk managed to keep me interested. Where Füsun seemed to have gotten on with her life, Kemal became more and more obsessed with her. It got to the point where I - as a reader - almost lost respect for his character.
The turning point came when the book was about 75 % through. The way the story developed from that moment onward, I found extremely gratifying. This is a love story with enormous depth.
I was left behind with the question if Kemal had lead a happy life. In the book, his friends were pitying him. They were unable to see what the reader could see: a man who had made the love of his life into a life project by creating The Museum of Innocence. By then, my initial irritation had turned into awe.

A remark about the narrator: in spite of John Lee doing a very good job I couldn't give him 5 stars. Though it was clear to me had made an effort to pronounce all the Turkish names and words correctly this was not a succes. To give one example: throughout the book I heard him pronounce the name of the female main character in 4 different ways..

Very engaging

I couldn’t stop I wanted to listen more and more ! So much of the culture, tradition and love in a country like Turkey very impressive.