A Strangeness in My Mind

A Novel

De: Orhan Pamuk, Ekin Oklap - translator

Narrado por: John Lee

From the Nobel Prize winner and best-selling author of Snow and My Name Is Red: a soaring, panoramic new novel - his first since The Museum of Innocence - telling the unforgettable tale of an Istanbul street vendor and the love of his life.

Since his boyhood in a poor village in Central Anatolia, Mevlut Karataş has fantasized about what his life would become. Not getting as far in school as he'd hoped, at the age of 12 he comes to Istanbul - "the center of the world" - and is immediately enthralled by both the old city that is disappearing and the new one that is fast being built. He follows his father's trade, selling boza (a traditional, mildly alcoholic Turkish drink) on the street and hoping to become rich like other villagers who have settled the desolate hills outside the booming metropolis.

But luck never seems to be on Mevlut's side. As he watches his relations settle down and make their fortunes, he spends three years writing love letters to a girl he saw just once at a wedding, only to elope by mistake with her sister. And though he grows to cherish his wife and family, he stumbles toward middle age in a series of jobs leading nowhere. His sense of missing something leads him sometimes to the politics of his friends and intermittently to the teachings of a religious guide. But every evening, without fail, Mevlut still wanders the streets of Istanbul, selling boza and wondering at the "strangeness" in his mind, the sensation that makes him feel different from everyone else, until fortune conspires once more to let him understand at last what it is he has always yearned for.

Told from different perspectives by a host of beguiling characters, A Strangeness in My Mind is a modern epic of coming of age in a great city, a brilliant tableau of life among the newcomers who have changed the face of Istanbul over the past 50 years. Here is a mesmerizing story of human longing, sure to take its place among Pamuk's finest achievements.

©2015 Orhan Pamuk (P)2015 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Magnificent...[a] sprawling story that Pamuk tells, and Ekin Oklap translates, with panache...At the same time as posing philosophical questions about the importance of intentions over outcomes, Pamuk celebrates marriage, parenthood and even quarrelsome extended family...[He] is becoming that rare author who writes his best books after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature.” (Max Liu, The Independent, UK)

“Mesmerizing...A sweeping epic...The fable-like story’s chief protagonist is the ruminative Mevlut Karatas...His walkabouts and skirmishes with his family are engrossing, but what really stands out is Pamuk’s treatment of Istanbul’s evolution into a noisy, corrupt, and modernized city...This is a thoroughly immersive journey through the arteries of Pamuk’s culturally rich yet politically volatile and class- and gender-divided homeland.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review, Review of the Day, Pick of the Week)

“Rich, complex, and pulsing with urban life: one of this gifted writer's best...As Pamuk follows his believably flawed protagonist and a teeming cast of supporting players across five decades, Turkey's turbulent politics provide a thrumming undercurrent of unease...Pamuk celebrates the city's vibrant traditional culture - and mourns its passing - in wonderfully atmospheric passages ... [and] recalls the great Victorian novelists as he ranges confidently from near-documentary passages on real estate machinations and the privatization of electrical service to pensive meditations on the gap between people's public posturing and private beliefs.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

5 stars for the book - 2 stars for bad narration

What a shame that John Lee narrates this audiobook. He doesn’t do justice to the story or the characters. Each time he tries to take on Melvut’s voice and tries to cry out “bozaaa” it reminded me how much better reading the book was.

Amazing Real Characters...

Meet Istanbul from the perspective of a street vendor over 3 generations. Heartwarming and universal.

unbearably irritating annoying narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator's barking voice reminds me of a German Shepherd I had, and picturing
Brandy as the reader utterly ruins the audio experience. Mr. Lee is capable of a gentler more legato delivery, a relief, that alas, is rarely experienced. I gave up listening after a couple of chapters and borrowed the book from the library. Yes, Mr. Lee's narration is that annoying.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Pamuk is in love with his city -- and his affection shines through the novel. But the main character is a loser.

Would you be willing to try another one of John Lee’s performances?

No, a thousand times no.

Do you think A Strangeness in My Mind needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No -- the novel is a complete recreation of a vanished place and time.

Any additional comments?

wish I could have my money back.

Street vendor witnesses 5 decades of Istanbul

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It's less philosophical or postmodern than Orhan Pamuk's other novels, and more of a family saga. Therefore, it is an accessible entry into his work, and well narrated by John Lee.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Abdul Effendi, for his rather sneering tone conveyed nimbly by Lee. This man looks over the concretization of Istanbul, and schemes for the relentless growth of this mega-city.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Such characters as Abdul and the narrator Mehvet's foil of sorts Suleiman gain vivacity and energy when Lee enters their mindsets. His attention to Turkish pronunciation won me over with Louis De Bernieres' "Birds Without Wings" and sustains this very long novel once again.

Who was the most memorable character of A Strangeness in My Mind and why?

Pamuk does not create a lot of drama with his characters, frankly. Nothing extraordinary happens in this saga, told from an everyday immigrant's perspective, from when he came to the city from a village in 1969 at the age of 12 until early in this present decade. I suppose it must be Mehvet, but I wanted more of the Holy Guide who remained rather too mysterious.

Any additional comments?

Hearing Orhan Pamuk's sometimes diffuse and meandering works may be the best way for Westerners to handle them. John Lee knows how to render Turkish terms as well as a lilt in his witty and avuncular tone to convey the listener along. I like his tone and his delivery.

Another Fantastic Journey

Another rich weave of characters, culture, and circumstance. The protagonist is a simple, honest, and hardworking man. Pamuk chronicles the details of his life, and the interactions with his family with the evolution of modern Istanbul as the backdrop. The story is dignified, and intimate. His writing is melodic, and the characters are fully realized. I've never been disappointed by this author.

Ah, Pamuk

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It's just wonderful -- no wonder Pamuk got the Nobel for literature. And if you love Istanbul it's a must -- the city over decades is a virtual character in the story.

What other book might you compare A Strangeness in My Mind to and why?

Other Pamuk novels, they all are great.

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favorite?

The protagonist, Mevlut.

If you could take any character from A Strangeness in My Mind out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Mevlut, to a local kebab restaurant in Beyoglu, with a glass of his boza on the side.

Any additional comments?

Lee is perfect for Pamuk.

A bit of a soap opera.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I was originally pulled into Pamuk's writing because of the mystical way he wrote about Turkey, especially in "Black Book". This seems to be missing in this novel, and although it is still an engaging read, it reads more like a soap opera than something deep and magical. It also seems the political subplots were added almost as an afterthought; they could have been removed and the main plot wouldn't have suffered or the big picture wouldn't have become much fainter.

Would you recommend A Strangeness in My Mind to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, because Pamuk is a very good novelist. Although I'd only recommend this particular novel if you're already familiar with Pamuk's body of work.

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

I loved his Lynley novels. He is a bit of a slow reader, but speed the audio up to 1,5x and it listens wonderfully.

Was A Strangeness in My Mind worth the listening time?

Yes.

The Strangeness in my Heart....

I spent the past couple of weeks roaming the streets of Istanbul at night, selling boza.
I sat with him at his kitchen table and visited friends and family with him. Mevlut the boza seller of Istanbul left me with a strange melancholy in my heart.
I read Orhan’s books because they bring me pleasure and take me to Istanbul, the city of my heart.

Español

Personajes altamente humanos y entrañables que se enredan en una historia amorosa y entrañable de la condición humana . Será un clásico de la literatura universal del siglo XXI .

Deserves theNobel Prize

Deeply philosophical, yet still plot driven about the relationship between fate(kismet) luck and intention.yet a real page turner showing the individual in history, it is the story of s yoghurt seller on the streets iof IStanbul i@1958.
Is love at first sight real