Jan 9, 2018

My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk: First Chapter



"At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red (2002) is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of sixteenth-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers. 

The Sultan has commissioned a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land to create a great book celebrating the glories of his realm. 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. 

Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle, My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey to the intersection of art, religion, love, sex and power."(publisher)

First chapter:
I Am a Corpse

I am nothing but a corpse now, a body at the bottom of a well. Though I drew my last breath long ago and my heart has stopped beating, no one, apart from that vile murderer, knows what's happened to me.  As for that wretch, he felt for my pulse and listened for my breath to be sure I was dead, then he kicked me in the midriff, carried me to the edge of the well, raised me up and dropped me below....

for nearly four days I've been missing. My wife and children must be searching for me: my daughter, spent from crying, must be staring fretfully at the courtyard gate. Yes, I know they are all at the window, hoping for my return. 

I am listening to this as an audiobook, which has a pretty good narrator. 

MEME: Every Tuesday Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two, from a book you are reading or will be reading soon.

6 comments:

  1. I heard good things about this one. I hope you do enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Am listening to the audio. Quite interesting.

      Delete
  2. What an opening! I'm glad you're enjoying this, Harvee, as an audio book. I like audio books because it's wonderful to listen to a story read aloud.

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your comments and thoughts...

Three Novels: Japanese Mystery; Family Drama; Ecuadorian

  Books in the mail The Night of Baba Yaga  by Akira Otani (translated from the Japanese). July 2, 2024, Soho Crime This is an unusual novel...