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    My Name Is Red
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    My Name Is Red
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    My Name Is Red
    Audiobook20 hours

    My Name Is Red

    Written by Orhan Pamuk

    Narrated by John Lee

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From one of the most important and acclaimed writers at work today, a thrilling new novel-part murder mystery, part love story-set amid the perils of religious repression in sixteenth-century Istanbul.

    When the Sultan commissions a great book to celebrate his royal self and his extensive dominion, he directs Enishte Effendi to assemble a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed, and no one in the elite circle can know the full scope or nature of the project.

    Panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears, and the Sultan demands answers within three days. The only clue to the mystery-or crime?-lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Has an avenging angel discovered the blasphemous work? Or is a jealous contender for the hand of Enishte's ravishing daughter, the incomparable Shekure, somehow to blame?


    From the Compact Disc edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 2, 2008
    ISBN9780739369258
    Unavailable
    My Name Is Red
    Author

    Orhan Pamuk

    Orhan Pamuk is the author of such novels as The New Life, The Black Book, My Name Is Red and The White Castle. He has won numerous international awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. He lives with his wife and daughter in Istanbul.

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    Reviews for My Name Is Red

    4/5

    1,328 ratings66 reviews

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    • 2/5
      The setting is 16th century Istanbul and a miniaturist is murdered. The story is told from the perspectives of the other miniaturists (and suspects) and clues are dropped along the way. The premise sounded like a really good one, but (for me, anyway), the book dragged on and I lost interest in the story and its characters. A let down particularly as I enjoyed Snow by Pamuk. I wanted to enjoy it, but sadly did not.
    • 2/5
      The mystery itself was interesting. The descriptions of historic Istanbul were beautiful. I had to get used to the writing style. Each chapter was told in "first person", but sometimes the narrator wasn't a person. I hated the female lead, because she was extremely one-dimensional. She lied and cried and did all the stereotypical "female" traits to get what she wanted and to walk away from situations without blame. The author, however, wasn't any nicer to the male characters, so I'm not sure misogyny was involved.
    • 5/5
      At first I found the manner of writing hard to get into. The flow was different from what I'm used to, but after awhile I was totally into the story. Understanding that each chapter was from the viewpoint of different characters helped. The author has woven together a wonderful story of murder, mystery, art and love.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed much of the book, which to me was a new look at a culture/religion I'm not very familiar with, but page after page describing the details of illustrations was wearing thin.
    • 4/5
      los personajes no son particularmente agradables. tiene algunos temas y recursos parecidos a 'snow'. los fundamentalistas, el personaje que regresa buscando un amor de infancia, etc. etc. no soy muy bueno para los libros de crimenes. escuche el final dos veces y todavia no entiendo bien las motivaciones del asesino. averiguar quien fue el asesino no me parece lo central es solo un recurso narrativo. el final es bueno. por alguna razon tengo una racha de libros que pierden el aliento al final. lo que me fascino fueron las discusiones sobre arte de oriente y arte de occidente. las discusiones sobre lo que significa tener estilo. lo visible y lo invisible como material para el arte. me fascina tambien la perspectiva de los artistas orientales reaccionando a un nuevo lenguaje pictorico. tiene resonancia en terminos de paises tercermundistas. nunca podras tener estilo propio por que solo vas a estar imitando. la ultima seccion pone toda la trama en un contexto de una vida vivida y luego de la historia. eso siempre me impresiona. se me ocurre que la experiencia de un imperio perdido no es muy diferente a la de los mejicanos.
    • 4/5
      It's one of those books whose contents are much thicker than the book themselves. For average readers, it provides stories, a love story and a murder story. However, its true goal is to drag you into this splendid miniature world. If you're really interested, that's a whole new world waiting for you to explore. Maybe there are many others also comparing this book to Umberto Eco's The Name of The Rose. Just like that book, the story here is just for revealing a history or a culture. Both Orhan and Umberto embedded their huge amount of researches underline a story which, coincidentally, involved murders. Personally, I prefer Eco's book only because I'm more interested in that piece of history. I wish Orhan could have inserted some of those miniature works in the book, even though they were described in details from different characters in the story. Of course, there is always something called Google to help you to satisfy your thirst. Another cute thing in this book is, based on Orhan's own interview, that he wrote these three characters in this book, Shekure and her sons (Shevket and Orhan), based on his own family. They took his mother, elder brother and his own real names. And it's very interesting to see Orhan in the book was kind of cute and bright but Shevket was a little evil and silly ;)
    • 5/5
      An extremely complex book with some very subtle cultural themes. Also a ribald and humorous whodunit. Also very different from the other Pamuk book I read (and raved about). This is a Great and Important Book, hardly easy to get through, with its spiraling points of view and long set pieces on art, dervishes and miniaturist illustrations. Slowly, concepts from another and very different world seep in. The Western reader is left with many paradoxes to contemplate, such as the corrosive evil of representational art and the superior sight of the blind artist. My only quibble is that, for reasons I do understand, the ensemble of workshop artists have the same stylized flatness of the art that they produce, which makes it hard, at first, to differentiate between them. Definitely worth it to persevere with this one.
    • 3/5
      I tried very hard to really like this book. But, I suppose it's impossible to succeed in everything.

      My Name Is Red is both historical fiction and a murder mystery. It takes place in 1591 (according to the timeline at the end of the book). The over-arching motion of the plot centers around the death of a master miniturist in the Sultan's court. The death is revealed in the first chapter, though the reasons surrounding the his death are much slower in being revealed. What is known, almost at the outset, is that his death is related to a book that the Sultan has commission that is to be illustrated in the European style, with respect to perspective and a view of the world as an actual person sees it (as opposed to how Allah would see it). Enishte Effendi, the person in charge of the manuscript, calls his childhood apprentice Black Effendi back from Persia to Istanbul to help investigate the murder and help him finish the Sultan's book. Within this overarching plot is the plight of Enishte's daughter Shekure, whose husband went to war four years prior and never came back. Black has been pining away for her during his twelve year absence from Istanbul, though he is not the only man who is interested in becoming her new husband. Amongst the plot and subplot, there are multiple discussions of style and individualism and what it means to be a father/father-figure, among other topics.

      The story is told in a sort of Faulkner-esque fashion, with each chapter being told in the perspective of different characters in the story. These characters are sometimes alive, and sometimes dead (as in the first chapter entitled "I am a corpse"). Also, sometimes the chapters are told in the sort-of perspective of the drawing from Enishte's book - I say sort of, because they're really told from the perspective of a coffee house storyteller who is pretending to be what is depicted in Enishte's book. Are you confused yet?

      The was my first issue with this book: at the beginning, it's very confusing. Not knowing a lot about the muslim faith, it took many chapters before I figured out what exactly was wrong with the way Enishte wanted to illustrate his manuscript. My second problem with this book was all of the exposition. There is too much time spent on the exposition on topics like love and style that are obliquely connected with the plot. Certainly these expositions add greater depth to the different characters, but after a while it started to get a little tedious. Thirdly, Pamuk does not inhabit his different narrators in the way that David Mitchell (Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas) manages to. As a result, the book feels a little bit flat. Fourthly, the ssubplot with Shekure adds very little to the book. I found her to be an incredibly unappealing character, and I found myself wishing that the murderer would murder her next.

      All of that being said, the book does have a certain flair to the writing. Some of the exposition is really though-provoking. I also thought that the stories told from the perspective of drawings and corpses and even colors were interesting additions to the plot. In sum, I'm not sorry I read it, but I was expecting more out of it.
    • 5/5
      "I am nothing but a corpse now, a body at the bottom of a well." In the very first line of My Name is Red Pamuk relates the death and troubled soul of one of the Sultan's most skilled miniaturists, Elegant Effendi And so, begins the reader's journey into the secretive and often abusive world of miniaturist artists working in Istanbul in the 16th century. It is at a time in history when the long sought after city is at a crossroads. Geographically as well as artistically, Turkey is on the edge of Asia and Europe. A country trying to hold on to its Mongol influenced artistry while the introduction of Frank and Venetian styles are beginning to influence some of the artists. Master miniaturist, Osman relates the difference, "Meaning precedes form in the world of art. As we begin to paint in imitation of the Frankish and Venetian masters...the domain of meaning ends and the domain of form begins." Oh, for the introduction of perspective, shadows and the horizon line! Until this time figures were drawn with no relation to space, nor time. How this will change art that has always been depicted as seen through the eyes of Allah, from above, and not from a human's street level perspective, to do so is considered blasphemy. Yet, how enticing to see portraiture where none had existed before. Influences so difficult for some to resist and one is trying to halt. The world of Elegant's fellow miniaturists is especially at risk and from this select lot one of them will kill to retain the past. Just as if the reader were Istanbul, Pamuk keeps the reader on the edge till the very end and takes him through the city's dark and deserted streets to places one may not have known existed. It is a journey of murder, incredible artistry, mystery and love. Each chapter is written as if spoken directly to the reader. You are a part of the scene, you are an observer who knows what is in the hearts of each character. A touch of magical realism comes forth as artists renderings talk to you and relate their story. My Name is Red is truly an incredible piece of historical fiction that proved to be informative as well as entertaining. It's pages contained everything I look for in a great novel.
    • 4/5
      I know that a lot of my friends who are reading this book for a book club don't like it, but I enjoyed it very much. Pamuk uses a rotating cast of narrators to good effect, managing to convincingly postpone the solution to his murder mystery despite telling parts of the story from the perspective of the murderer and his victims.

      One thing that I really liked was the book's focus on the idea of blindness, because blindness is part and parcel of being a reader. We never see anything described by the author and are forced to rely solely on our imagination and experience to transform his descriptions into images. That's especially true with this book, where so much of what happens is intricately connected to subtle visual clues in a series of paintings we never get to see.

      Pamuk did tend to get a little long-winded at points, which proved to be a little frustrating at times. The problem with trying to be especially verbose in a mystery novel is that it slows down the action, and there were times in this book when the pace got positively glacial. But this is more than made up for by the depth of characterization and the insight provided into a culture about which I know little.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favourite novels. The detail about how the miniaturist painters etc worked in the Sultan's court is fascinating, as is the impact of new ideas coming in from Europe. In particular, the idea that images of people could be portraits, not idealised renderings, and the problems this caused for traditionalists. There is so much to savour in this book. I have read it twice, and will no doubt read it again.
    • 4/5
      This book is an elaborate murder mystery centering around a group of miniaturists working at the end of the 16th century in the Ottoman Empire. Pamuk explores the personalities of the characters in the book as well as the sensibilities of the time through this art form which later lost its popularity. Each chapter is narrated by a different character, some that are left unknown to the reader. The narration is playful and even a bit "naughty" at times, and there was one point where descriptions seemed to be drawn out. The method of shifting back and forth between the story tellers kept me entertained and I enjoyed the interplay of perspectives. The book is never gory or violent, but often dark and mysterious, and some of the incidents made me squeamish (readers will know which ones I am talking about!) despite their subtlety. I was particularly interested in the book's setting and the relationship between, the Turks, Persians and the Venetians in both an artistic and historical sense. Also, Pamuk's work weaves a number of interesting themes - religion, art, personal relationships, love and human nature which makes it a complex and interesting tale. My Name is Red is considered a classic in Turkey and is said to have aided in Pamuk get the Nobel Prize for Literature.
    • 5/5
      This book is a masterpiece, and Pamuk's best. It's a 16th century murder mystery set in Istanbul. But there are several layers of other stories too: the influences of West on East, relationship of religion to art, and the effect of art on psychology and culture. To top it off, the story is told by a series of first person narrators, including inanimate objects. This first person perspective is a major source of contention in the book so the structure adds a lot. The first person narrations of death are very good as well. There were a few tedious bits-- overly long descriptions of artwork (pages) and such. For a reader not familiar with art history or not interested in art, there would be more tedium. Otherwise this would be one of my few 5 star novels. I'm giving it 4.75.
    • 5/5
      Some books change the way you think about the world. This one changed the way I thought about art--close enough.
    • 5/5
      It is seldom that one picks up a book that bypasses any and all genres, and comes alive in your hands and speaks to you. Such is the kind of book Orhan Pamuk has written. Part love story, part murder plot, part commentary on all things spiritual - it is a beautifully written book with a great many multi-faceted characters.Pamuk uses various different characters to narrate his book - some of the chapters even narrated by unusual characters such as the murdered corpse of Elegant Effendi, "Ink", a "Coin", Satan, two dervishes and the color "Red". It is especially the voices of these characters that become emblazoned upon your soul.The plot lies in the murder of Elegant Effendi, the reason for which is stated to be his working on an illustrated book commissioned by the Sultan. 'Black', who is in love with late Elegant's daughter Shekure, is striving hard to uncover the murderer and win widowed Shekure's hand in marriage. Also, we hear from his fellow artists/miniaturists "Butterfly", "Stork" and "Olive", with their views on the West influencing Eastern arts. Thus, Orhan Pamuk is able to masterfully entwine a mystery, a romance, and allegory to the clash of Eastern and Western culture all in one wonderful book.In his book, Pamuk writes "An artist should never succumb to hubris of any kind, he should simply paint the way he sees fit rather than troubling over East or West." - and that is precisely how Pamuk offers his progressive perspective, richly Eastern in nature, but pleasantly influenced by Western ideologies as well. He creates an amalgamation of both cultures, in which the values of each one are preserved and respected, and does it quite successfully. Olive, one of the miniaturists, offers his perspective on art as, "Through our colors, paints, art and love, we remember that Allah had commanded us to "See"!" - and that is what Orhan Pamuk so craftily presents in this book, a chance for the reader to see beyond cultures and races, similarities and differences and be completely enchanted by the mystical, lyrical and awe-inspiring realm that "My Name is Red" is, as a novel.
    • 4/5
      A story about storytelling and illustrations, told by miniaturists and miniatures. I greatly liked the mechanism according to which every chapter was told, in first person, by a different character. Placed in middle-age Istanbul, based on real characters the story aims to a completely higher level of meaning.
    • 4/5
      This book delivered more than I expected. There was intrigue and murder and art and a story very well told with multiple narratives. Not an easy read, but well worth it.
    • 5/5
      I love this book so much. so so so so so much. I have given it as a gift at least 5 times. People tell me they like it too. (Are they just being nice?) It is a murder mystery where you are hearing from the murderer without knowing who he or she is. And there is so much going on. And it is poetic, and takes place in a time and place about which I know nothing. And... apparently this book makes me lose the inability to speak coherently.
    • 5/5
      This is the first novel by Pamuk that I have read, and I shall certainly continue to his explore his works. My Name Is Red is set in the 16th -century Ottoman Empire amidst the politics and connivings of the Emperor's foremost miniature illustrators. The plot is a murder mystery -- at the beginning of the book, one of the miniaturists is murdered by another -- we know who is murdered, but obviously, not who murdered him. The motivations for the murder are wrapped up in the practices and beliefs about illustration in the Muslim world. I found the discussions about Islamic art fascinating and enlightening. Pamuk also explores both the influence of European Renaissance theories of perspective and artistic individuality and the changes brought about by the Mongol conquest and subsequent Chinese influence on traditional Islamic art. As the consequences of inter-cultural contacts is one of my semi-obsessive interests, Pamuk's novel was highly satisfying.
    • 5/5
      Historical fiction, murder mystery set in 16th century Istanbul, in the world of court illustrators who are struggling with the influence of Western painting styles into their aesthetic. The chapters are all narrated by different characters (and a few by characters who are illustrations themselves), so part of the challenge is sorting out what is factual and what is more subjective. As always, I was fairly confused about the mystery plot right up until the very end. It's a very dense, contemplative book that ruminates on the relationships between the artists and their work, with Islam, with the politics of the Ottoman empire, and with each other. To complement the theme of illuminated manuscript, the writing itself is very lush and layered.Grade: A-Recommended: I liked this book a LOT, but it's also the kind of book that feels like grad school.
    • 5/5
      As with all Orhan Pamuk books get ready to have to read very carefully and intently, this books paints such a clear picture of Istambul, the artists and the theory of Islamic artists in general. It becomes repetitive at times which is a little annoying but then the Author writes a line which is so comprehensive but holds so much weight that all you can do is hold your breath and let it sink in.
    • 4/5
      At about 100-150 pages in I was ready to put this one down but I am so thankful that I did not.The book is written in many short chapters; all in the first person by one of the characters and there are quite a few characters. It took me a while to figure out what the book was actually about and it turns out to be an Ottoman era whodunit. The characters are all clearly drawn out and Orhan Pamuk gives the reader time to get to know them, but do we "really" know them? He lays out what drives them, but do we "really" know them? We know them well enough to understand why they do what they do and why they react the way they do, but do we really "know" them? The story is set in Istanbul and is about the world of the master miniaturists & calligraphers who work on books for the Sultan, who then locks them away from the world in a treasury. It is about jealousy, greed, religion, love and murder. "My Name is Red" took me a few days to read and I did read some other works before I picked it up again. Things made a lot more sense at that point. I guess I just needed a cooling off period.I highly recommend "My Name is Red" but for some of you.......give yourself time to "get into it". I needed to. Enjoy.(I think I need to re-read "The Name of the Rose")
    • 3/5
      I bought this due to rave reviews and I really wanted to like it. I love multiple narrators. And historical settings. And mysteries with a handy educational fine arts angle. But it was just a slog. The art discussions seemed very repetitive. None of the characters were particularly likable or interesting. I couldn't tell whether the female lead's motivations made no sense because she was confused or because I was confused. And the ending was way too out of left field.
    • 4/5
      I heard Orhan Pamuk speak at Stanford University. He mentioned his fascination with colors, having decided to be a painter before he turned to writing. His interest in the novel is that you can create a world where the action takes place, basically, in your head, rather than on a movie screen, say. So the novel allows a writer to create anything, and the reader to picture the action reflective of the reader's own experience. In this sense the novel is a simple but powerful means of creating a world, and thus conveying ideas that might otherwise be hard to express. The basic idea of this novel is, Is there really a difference in the way East and West perceives colors, and painting, and the details of illustration? Spun around this premise are the details and colors and painted tapestry of a murder in Istanbul. In thinking about "who done it" we are led to think about the nature of painting and the motivations and personalities of the painters.The book is not written for the mass market. That is part of the appeal, at least to me, but unfontunately, it means that most people will not be inclined to finish it. One could wish it were 50 pages shorter, but once you understand a little about Mr. Pamuk and his themes, you will want to read it all the way through, and pick up some of his other novels as well.I think we need especially to acknowledge the translator of this book. Mr. Pamuk speaks English, but not very fluently. The book was written in Turkish and translated by the very gifted Dr. Erdag Goknar of Duke University. Dr. Goknar was born in the USA, but he has an outstanding knowledge of Turkish and Turkish literature, and is a good friend of Mr. Pamuk. His translation reads like an original work.
    • 4/5
      I was completely enthralled by this book from the beginning.I did not know very much about Turkish culture and history (besides having a Turkish professor in graduate school). I loved the way the author wrote the book; each chapter is from the perspective of a different character. The book is a mystery but also a commentary on life in the interpretation of beauty. I loved it from start to finish and highly recommend it!
    • 2/5
      I found this book to be too much into deception and lies to be worth my time. It wasn't like reading a good murder mystery, more like reading an autobiography of an ENRON executive.Didn't bother to finish it.
    • 4/5
      Difficult at the beginning to enter into the story. Every chapter of the book is written from the prospective of a different person. The book tells the story of a group of miniaturists working on a secret book for the Sultan. The main topic is the the different view about drawings, paintings, and art in general between muslims and europeans.It is interesting also the love story between the characters, and the relationships between the maestro and his disceples.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books I read last year. Completely engaging and interesting.
    • 4/5
      In the 1590's the Sultan of Istanbul commissions a book to celebrate his empire. However he wants the pictures created by the miniaturists are to be done in the Euopean style. A style which causes consternation among the miniaturists and leads to them being killed one by one.At the same time Black arrives back home to Istanbul as per the request of his old master and hoping at the same time to re-kindle the love he had for the masters daughter. However she is married and her husband is missing which causes her to be more the property of her family in-law than to follow any new love.All of which ties in at the end with Hasan (the brother in law) trying to take away Blacks love of his life. This is as well as the conclusion of the muderer being named leads to all the assumptions you make during the book changing on an continous basis. Chapter by chapter a new possibility occurs and this along with such great writing makes the book so much fun to read.Snow was given as a present to me to try. My Name is Red was choosen as I enjoyed Snow so much. Rest assured I will be buying more of this guys books!
    • 4/5
      Clever who-dunnit through the eyes of various participants - including the murderer (but we don't know their name!) Interesting exploration of the way the sacred arts of the East met the secular artistic tradition of the West. The denouement is guaranteed to make your toes curl.