My Name Is Red

Hardcover, 417 pages

English language

Published March 13, 2001 by Alfred A. Knopf.

ISBN:
978-0-375-40695-9
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OCLC Number:
939064575

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4 stars (31 reviews)

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 …

47 editions

Review of 'My Name Is Red' on 'Import'

5 stars

My name is black. I am Red. I, Shekure. All things appear equal in the eyes of Allah.

A beautiful painting in a book. A medium transcribed, with the visions of the story from all angles portrayed through the individual perspectives of each chapter/painting. A subtle and intelligent murder mystery, a romantic tale, a classic, told through the eyes of portraits in a way that contorts the reader and makes them re-think everything they could know about art and perspective. Absolutely spectacular.

Review of 'My Name Is Red' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Susan found the book a plod. Stephanie loved it. Jenna didn't finish it, because the library had passed out all 15 copies (and where are these people?) and she had to request a hold to get one. The structure was interesting. As a murder mystery it was a dud, partly because you didn't care much about the suspects. (Hell, you could barely tell them apart.) But the plot was merely the skeleton of the book, upon which Pamuk hung stories, fables, discussions of the nature of art, and pros and cons of individual style and ego.

Review of 'My Name Is Red' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

"My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk is a brilliant, well-written book. The author, a recent Nobel Laureate in Literature, is one of my favorites and his "Istanbul: Memories of a City" is one of my favorite books. His strength lies in the ability to articulate the odd position of Istanbul, as a city forever straddling West and East. These complicated questions of identity are combined with a sort of "mischievousness" or playfulness with the world (I cannot think of a better way to describe it) which permeates his writing and makes it so enjoyable.

The book is craftily constructed- each chapter is a first-person narrative of a different part of the story by a different person (sometimes drawings or paintings themselves). But "My Name is Red," which is one of Pamuk's more popular novels, seems to exist uneasily in two different genres. The first is a mystery: a group …