Sad melancholy. It is a feeling that weighs heavy on the heart, like a dark cloud that refuses to pass.

Nostalgic melancholy. It is a longing for the past, for those moments that can never be recaptured, for the people and places that are now only memories.

Angry melancholy. It is a simmering rage that lies just beneath the surface, a frustration with the world and its injustices, a sense of powerlessness in the face of it all.

Evil melancholy. It is a darker, more sinister emotion, a hint of malevolence that lurks within, a desire to cause harm or destruction.

Delicious melancholy. It is a strange and paradoxical feeling, a pleasure in the pain, a bittersweetness that is both alluring and addictive.

Artistic melancholy. It is the inspiration for great works of art, the fuel that drives the creative process, a source of beauty and inspiration.

The melancholy of the tantalizing mirage of a great city. It is the sense of longing and desire that is awakened by the bright lights and繁华 of the urban landscape, a feeling of being both drawn in and repelled by its allure.

By the end, you would have experienced every shade of melancholy, which would engulf you and consume you, with a painful feeling of being so destined to lose in life and in love, a poetic confusion, a nothingness.

This is a duel memoir. On one hand, it is about the author's first twenty years of life. On the other hand, it is about Istanbul during the same period. Pamuk has a poet's voice. What I mean by that is not that he uses flowery or metaphoric language. Instead, he has the remarkable ability to bring the abstract into palpable form. He can vividly describe the atmosphere of a neighborhood, the complex bonds within a family, and the mood of a people.

Surprisingly, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this book despite its lack of any traditional plot or narrative tension. It seems that I was in just the right frame of mind to appreciate the beauty and depth of Pamuk's writing. His words paint a vivid picture of his life and the city he loves, allowing the reader to experience it all as if they were there.

This memoir is not just a story; it is a work of art that invites the reader to explore the inner world of the author and the unique charm of Istanbul. It is a testament to the power of words and the ability of a writer to transport us to another time and place.

Orhan Pamuk, in this book, while describing Istanbul, has also told about his childhood, youth, and dreams. When he describes Istanbul during his childhood years, even without seeing the pictures, based on what is described, I could vividly imagine it. While reading the book, I got lost in the streets of Istanbul as if accompanied by a master photographer. Moreover, Orhan Pamuk's self-reflections, his states of mind, and his sincere thoughts about his family, which he describes in such a fluent manner, make the book enjoyable to read. It has become a wonderful book for those who are curious about Istanbul and Orhan Pamuk's experiences from the 1960s to the 2000s.

This book offers a unique perspective on Istanbul, not just as a city but as a place intertwined with the author's personal history and emotions.

Pamuk's detailed descriptions bring the city to life, allowing readers to experience its charm and complexity.

His exploration of his own inner world adds an extra layer of depth to the narrative, making it a truly engaging read.

Whether you are interested in Istanbul's history, culture, or simply in a good story, this book is definitely worth picking up.

Pamuk enriches Istanbul's well-known description as "the bridge between east and west" by revealing how major Istanbul modernists like poet Yahya Kemal and novelist A.H. Tanpinar, new names to the author who has to explore further, derived a poetics of post-imperial ennui and urban decay from the melancholic image of their city as recorded or dreamed by traveling French writers in the 19th century. He writes that the roots of their "hüzün" (urban melancholy) are European, first explored, expressed, and poeticized in French. The 19th-century French, dealing with their own post-Napoleonic, post-imperial fatigue and a "Mal du siècle," had a "Late" Romanticism that was dark, sexually anguished, and often syphilitic, more perverse and pessimistic than the English variety. The author loves this "nervous crew" with their flamboyant despair and macabre brilliance. For Istanbul visitors like Gautier, Nerval, and Flaubert, melancholy was salutary and decadence authentic. When the Istanbul modernists made their pilgrimages to the French wellsprings, they found their city already a literary image of melancholy, which was timely as Istanbul was now a fallen empire's defunct capital, poor, isolated, and facing demolition by Westernizing republicans.

The author's favorite sections of the book are those about Istanbul writers. Kemal and Tanpinar had interesting associates like Abdülhak Şinasi Hisar and Reşat Ekrem Koçu. Pamuk is one of these writers, and his latest novel, "The Museum of Innocence," was preceded by two decades of collecting objects for the characters. He even opened a real museum. The inspiration for the museum came to Pamuk in 1982 while having dinner with the last prince of the Ottoman dynasty. Ten years later, he had the idea of writing a novel as a museum catalogue while building the museum. The plot involves an unhappy lover stealing objects from his unattainable beloved and turning her family's house into a museum. Pamuk's first step was to contact a real-estate agent to buy a house for his heroine. For the next ten years, writing and shopping were in a dialectical relationship. Pamuk published the novel in 2008, and it resembles a 600-page audio guide. He was worried about being like Edouard Dujardin and wanted to be like Joyce, so he hired a team to make the museum a thing of beauty.

Panorámicas de una ciudad y de una persona.

This is an essay that offers a unique blend of the author's youthful autobiography and vivid snapshots of the city of Istanbul. It delves into the different environments and realities of the city, varying by zones and times. The book provides a fascinating exploration of both the individual's journey and the rich tapestry of Istanbul's urban life.

For those who wish to know more about this captivating work without spoilers, they can visit the following link: http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/... Here, readers can discover additional details and gain a deeper understanding of the book's contents.

Whether you are interested in personal memoirs or the history and culture of Istanbul, this book is sure to offer something of value.

It invites you to embark on a journey through the author's memories and the vibrant streets of the city, uncovering the hidden stories and experiences that lie within.

So, don't miss out on this opportunity to explore the world of "Panorámicas de una ciudad y de una persona" and discover the beauty and complexity of Istanbul and the author's life.

This is a collection of articles revolving around the author's childhood and his memories in the family home and the city of Istanbul. The engaging style and the extremely clear narration make it a captivating read. However, the translation was not successful. There are language errors on every page, and in some pages, there is a strong Syrian dialect!

The first book I completed for Bamouk inspired me to read anew.

For me, a good day is precisely a day like any other, but with the added satisfaction of having written one page well.

Except for the precious hours dedicated to writing, life often appears to me as being flawed, deficient, and lacking in true sense.

Those who know me intimately understand just how reliant I am on the act of writing, on the tables that hold my work, the pens that glide across the paper, and the pristine white sheets themselves. Yet, they still persistently urge me to "take a bit of time off, do some travelling, and enjoy life!"

However, those who know me even better, they truly fathom that my greatest source of happiness lies in the act of writing. And thus, they tell me that nothing which distances me from the written word, from paper, and from ink will ever bring me any real good.

I consider myself one of those rare and fortunate creatures who have been blessed with the ability to do precisely what they most desired in life. I have been able to wholeheartedly devote myself to this task, to the exclusion of all else, and find profound joy and fulfillment in it.

City Sirah Life Story... Memories, Tales, Imagination, and Longings

City Sirah has a rich and vibrant life story that is filled with countless memories. These memories are like precious gems, shining brightly in the hearts of its residents. The tales that are passed down from generation to generation add to the charm and allure of this wonderful city.

Imagination runs wild in City Sirah, as people dream of new possibilities and envision a better future. The city's unique character and atmosphere inspire creativity and innovation.

And then there are the longings, the desires for something more. The people of City Sirah long for love, for success, for a sense of belonging. These longings drive them forward and give them the motivation to pursue their dreams.

Overall, the life story of City Sirah is a beautiful tapestry of memories, tales, imagination, and longings. It is a story that continues to unfold, and one that will be cherished for years to come.

In general, I don't like autobiographical literature. It's not for a specific reason, but I just don't consider myself among the lovers of this type of literature, despite my admiration for many of the autobiographies I've read.

However, sometimes you encounter a unique case of this kind that puts you in a pleasant mental and spiritual state.

It's unjust to say that it's just the autobiography of a certain writer. Rather, it's a wonderful history of an entire nation, and the city described is a history that has been charmed throughout its history.

The author of the autobiography is the greatest Ottoman writer in their modern era (Orhan Pamuk), and his city is their greatest capital (Istanbul).

Istanbul (and it wouldn't be unjust to say Turkey as a whole) in the last 50 years has been presented to you by the author in all its comprehensiveness through his personal history.

The book is divided into 37 chapters. Through them, the author depicts his entire life and the life of his city up to the moment of writing.

Each chapter is a solid and independent building that contributes to the construction of the greater whole, which is the book itself.

The fifth and thirtieth chapter, which the author entitles "First Love," is one of the most delightful things I've read in my life. It's a chapter where the author manages to summarize what happens to all people but they can't express it, yet he was the best expresser and the most beautiful describer.

The delight lies in the simplicity with which the author presents his life, a simplicity that makes you engage with the details of that wonderful life.

The author manages to present the life of a people in its entirety and the life of a city with its detailed social history, including customs, traditions, and details that you rarely encounter in ordinary history books.

The author takes his life as a wide door through which to enter the Turkish life with all ease and ability.

The author's style, to say the least, is a magical style, the style of a high-level writer. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Nobel Prize deserves to bear his name as a winner, not the other way around. It's a style that verifies the saying of Al-Mustafa: There is magic in expression.

In general, it's a wonderful, delightful, useful, and very smooth book. You will finish reading it quickly, and it will leave an impact on you.

It's worth mentioning that Orhan Pamuk visited Egypt as a guest of the Cairo Book Fair in 2007. On the evening he won the award, our great (Mahfouz) passed away. He said: Meeting Naguib Mahfouz was one of my personal dreams because of the rare literary value he represents, but fate didn't allow it.

If you are looking for a detailed and reliable history of Istanbul, you won't find it here. And if you thought, being a lover of reading the memoirs of greats, that you would find an autobiography, you will not succeed either. Instead, it is a collection of thoughts, a search into some aspects of the history of Istanbul, following what was written and drawn about Istanbul by two Europeans and Turkish writers, childhood memories: school, family home, drawing, friends, scenes of the burning of the Bosphorus, first love, his pursuits with his brother, the daily routine disputes between his parents.

There is a density of melancholy and nostalgia that envelopes the book. If we had a detailed index, we would see how many times (nostalgia) and its derivatives, and melancholy and its equivalents, are repeated. Is the childhood life full of family disputes the reason? His contemporaneity with the departure of the relics of a former empire and the change of the situation after that?

The book is a long 450 pages, yet the novelist Orhan, as much as he is a novelist, is also a painter and he keeps a vivid photographic record, filled with many of the book's topics in the seconds of his conversations.

The book pleased me and it deserves four stars.

My first encounter with Orhan Pamuk's work was not to my taste at all.

It seems to be a strange concoction that combines elements of autobiography, history, and literature, all while being marred by what feels like endless self-pity.

The narrative meanders through various topics and time periods, making it difficult to follow and engage with.

The author's self-reflection comes across as rather indulgent, overshadowing the more interesting aspects of the story.

Perhaps I am not the right audience for this particular work, but I found it to be a rather disappointing read.

Maybe future works by Pamuk will offer a more engaging and satisfying experience, but for now, this first impression has left me with a somewhat negative view.

There are quite a number of not very good reviews about this book. Before starting to read this book, I highly recommend reading it very carefully to understand which Istanbul Pamuk is writing about.

I have not read Orhan Pamuk before as I mainly deal with another literature, but I supported the release of the book because I wanted to. I also have a "complicated" relationship with Istanbul as it is not my country and my soul does not belong to it. I have never been to Turkey and don't want to (I prefer a colder climate). But maybe this book can change me and my attitude towards the capital of Turkey? Why not? Maybe Pamuk can present his memories so interestingly that I will fall in love with Istanbul?

But almost at the very beginning, Pamuk writes that often we form our attitudes towards something through the thoughts of other people. You can be born and live in Istanbul, but it is always interesting to listen to other people's attitudes towards the city to discover something that has always been inside you but you didn't know about. Therefore, in the book, Pamuk writes not only about the city where he lives but also about what people who came to live in Istanbul - writers, artists, tourists - said about it.

And this, of course, is another Istanbul, Pamuk's Istanbul. If you are interested in learning about the city, it is better to get some tourist guide or textbook on the history of the country. If you are asked about your city, you will have your own history. And in the past, there was one in the store. And there will also be a history of a woman who works in the local history museum. Each person perceives the city where he lives in his own way. And maybe your history will be completely not very interesting. A tourist will ask you something, you will start to say something, and he will not know where to go to get bored. That's the same history as Pamuk's. His own. About how he was born in a city where the new replaced the old. Where the Ottoman Empire died and Turkey was born. There are old buildings (lots and lots of photographs in the book), there is an old bridge, and there are gloomy people walking along the streets. Pamuk tells us about the gloomy Istanbul, where the gloom is not a "bug" but a "feature". Pamuk gets pleasure from this gloom. Even the gloom inspires him to paint and then write something.

The author was born into a wealthy family, so he lived differently from all Istanbulites. He writes a lot about his family. How it got poorer, how his father quarreled with his mother, how he as a child fought with his brother, how he didn't want to study but wanted to play and paint. And between these stories, Pamuk writes about people who did a lot for Istanbul in a creative sense. Some published books, some painted, some tried to write history.

I agree that the memories of Istanbul could be more interesting, but in Pamuk they are just like that, there are no others. I liked that there are a lot of photographs in the book, but it's a pity that they are not captioned.

I also really liked the beautiful cover of the book.

Pamuk's Istanbul is dirty, gloomy, often rains, but what can you do? 8/10.