Book Reviews, blog, suspense, thrillers, memoirs, novels, mystery novels, women's fiction, historical fiction, literary fiction. multicultural interest, Asian literature
Apr 21, 2010
More Turkish Mystery and Romance Novels
The Black Bookby Orhan Pamuk (2006) is a detective novel and also a work of philosophy about Turkish identity, according to Sinan, the son of Inspector Cetin Ikmen, the main character in Barbara Nadel's mystery novel, Arabesk: Inspector Ikmen #3, the third in the mystery series that's set in Istanbul.
Another Turkish mystery novel: The Turkish Gambit: A Novel (Erast Fandorin Mysteries) (2005)was written by a Russian, Boris Akunin, and set in the 19th century during the conflict between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It's described as more of a war novel and romance than crime fiction.
On romance, there is Turkish Wedding: Once There Was, Once There Wasn't (2008) by Judith Reynolds, a book about a woman and her Turkish fiance who visit Turkey but tell his family they are already married.
The family dynamics and the resulting conflicts remind me of the romantic film, A Walk in the Clouds with Keanu Reeves, who pretends to be the husband of a Mexican farmer's daughter.
I'm reading Arabesk and hope to get to The Black Book as well as Turkish Wedding. After two crime novels, a romance would be a nice break.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Voices of the Old and the New: Corky Lee and Julia Alvarez
NEW RELEASES Corky Lee's Asian America Fifty Years of Photographic Justice by Corky Lee Publication April 9, 2024; Clarkson Potter/Te...
-
Claws of the Cat (Shinobi Mystery #1) by a uthor Susan Spann is being re-released by Seventh Street Books; Reprint edition (April 23...
-
Suspense novels were on my mind this past week The Hike by Lucy Clarke Published April 27, 2023; HarperCollins Setting: mountains in Norway...
-
After last week's Sunday post, I've been rereading the three books I featured there by Michel Bussi, French thriller writer, and ha...
I love A walk in the clouds. I was like my fav movie ever..and the sounds of the storyline is quite intriguing <3
ReplyDeleteThanks much for the word on the Pamuk book. I have that one on my ever-impossible tbr pile.
ReplyDeleteTurkish Gambit was probably the one I've liked least of all of Akunin's books, but it's still fun. That whole series is so good I import them from the UK when they first come out.
If I remember correctly, you reviewed Snow by Orhan Pamuk before, didn't you? And then recently you were reading his latest novel Museum of Innocence right?
ReplyDeleteHow do you liking Pamuk's writing? I still haven't read any of his books yet but I'm eager to try :)
David: Haven't read Snow and got bogged down in the middle of the long book, Museum of Innocence. A good writer, but I think I don't know enough about Turkish culture to really appreciate his books.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try The Black Book, which is a mystery and HAS to be read to the end!
Oh sorry I keep making this mistake! But anyway, that's a good point about mystery novels, you really have no choice but to read to the end, hehe. I know that Pamuk has a nonfiction book about Turkey, but I forgot the title. If I enjoy fiction, perhaps I'll consider reading that one too.
ReplyDelete