A Strangeness in My Mind

A novel

By: Orhan Pamuk, Ekin Oklap - translator

Narrated by: 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 twelve 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 the family they have, 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 charismatic 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 fifty years. Here is a mesmerizing story of human longing, sure to take its place among Pamuk’s finest achievements.

Amazing Real Characters...

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

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.

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.