The Red-Haired Woman

A novel

By: Orhan Pamuk

Narrated by: John Lee, Katharine Lee McEwan

From the Nobel Prize winner and best-selling author of Snow and My Name Is Red, a fable of fathers and sons and the desires that come between them.

On the outskirts of a town thirty miles from Istanbul, a master well digger and his young apprentice are hired to find water on a barren plain. As they struggle in the summer heat, excavating without luck meter by meter, the two will develop a filial bond neither has known before--not the poor middle-aged bachelor nor the middle-class boy whose father disappeared after being arrested for politically subversive activities. The pair will come to depend on each other and exchange stories reflecting disparate views of the world. But in the nearby town, where they buy provisions and take their evening break, the boy will find an irresistible diversion. The Red-Haired Woman, an alluring member of a travelling theatre company, catches his eye and seems as fascinated by him as he is by her. The young man's wildest dream will be realized, but, when in his distraction a horrible accident befalls the well digger, the boy will flee, returning to Istanbul. Only years later will he discover whether he was in fact responsible for his master's death and who the redheaded enchantress was.

A beguiling mystery tale of family and romance, of east and west, tradition and modernity, by one of the great storytellers of our time.

Translated from the Turkish by Ekin Oklap.

Drags On

Not my first time to start a book and have to force myself to stick with it; give it a chance to develop - there’s surely a story somewhere unfolding. But with this book I finally gave up and started jumping chapters. For one thing it took so long for the encounter with the red haired woman to take place! After it did take place I jumped a head a few chapters and didn’t feel like I could’ve missed anything necessary to the story in those unread pages. Finally, when the end was near the story made sense - the bad news is this was disappointing because it was nothing new or different. Very much an “it’s been done” plot twist - and I use the term lightly. This is the first Audible book I kept falling asleep listening to. That was ok.

a masterpiece

outstanding story plot driven from both Easter & western mythology . modern tragedy written as amazing facets

Great intro to Pamuk!

Orhan Pamuk is one of those writers that every book lover has on their list but it can be a little bit daunting to single out one book to start with! I recommend this story as a wonderful jumping off point. The story is told from both male and female narrators and the production cast both the voices brilliantly! 5/5 😃

Interesting and well read story

Enjoyed this well thought out and written tale that speaks to ancient stories that have gone before it.
At some point I felt how it would end and sadness hung over me although it ended in a way that was fitting to the story. Would definitely recommend as Pamuk is a master storyteller!

Immaturely-developed plot and dialogue

Don’t waste your time. I can’t believe this was written by a Noble Laureate. Poorly written