The Black Book
by 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.
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