May '22

What a beginning, what a finale! Oh my God! ❤️‍

I think Pamuk wants to say something important in this book but doesn't know how! Another book I read by Pamuk was "Istanbul", which I think is a kind of prerequisite for this book. The problem of the Ottomans and their relations with other nations is hidden behind the story of the Turkish "teacher" and the Italian "student". The Turkish teacher, who represents the Ottomans, still doesn't have the confidence to be present in front of the Byzantine civilization and always thinks that the "Italian" is smarter and more knowledgeable. That's why he always wants to get information from him and go to the sultan and record that knowledge for himself. Several times he remembers that in his position of power, he starts to be arrogant in front of his "student" and wants to make him understand that he is nothing in front of him. On the other hand, there is the "student" who sees himself as equal or even better than the "teacher" inside himself, but the mysterious and unknown nature of the Ottoman Islamic civilization is eroded in such a way that he no longer wants to return to his homeland. In the book "Istanbul", Pamuk talks about many Europeans who traveled to Istanbul at the height of Ottoman power and left many travelogues of themselves. This book is a travelogue that shows the interaction of two different cultures without paying attention to the details of the lives of the Turks.

Now that I have written this review for it, I have changed it from 2 stars to 3 stars!!

Well, this was truly unexpected.

To be honest, I had no legitimate reason to anticipate what I expected, yet still... Somehow, I had this notion that this would be a plot-driven story or a novella centered around a particular, specific event. Maybe the beginning just faintly reminded me of “Devil’s Yard” (I. Andrić).

In the 17th century, following a pirate raid, a young Venetian intellectual is brought to Istanbul as a prisoner and soon begins residing in a Hoca’s home. However, the nature of his captivity is not to be a servant or slave, but rather a scientific and scholarly exchange between the Hoca and the foreigner from the West. Apart from two or three breakpoints, that is pretty much all there is to the palpable events. Nevertheless, the novel is extremely dense and rich in substance, to the extent that it reads somewhat slowly and laboriously, demanding a high degree of focus and attention.

The Hoca, believing himself to be surrounded by ignoramuses and idiots, desires to learn about Western discoveries and achievements. He is vain and has a short temper. The Venetian, the narrator of this story, is arrogant, sanctimonious, and pretentious. And that is quite a feat. Both of the protagonists are highly irritating and unlikable, thereby preventing an emotional connection or an alliance between the reader and the character. The emphasis lies on their interaction, their differences, the distance between them, their link as Doppelgänger, and their merging into each other. The motif of the identical twin represents their relationship quite poignantly: How valuable and how safe is one’s own identity? What exactly is identity? What makes you who you are and what would cause you to give that up? How is it possible for you to steadily flow into someone else? And when you realize a change occurring within you, do you hold onto what was previously there or do you allow yourself to glide with the new condition, trade places, and become your own alter ego? And what if you can no longer distinguish yourself from your twin, but someone else still can? And perhaps the most crucial dilemma in this novel: For how long will you be able to determine with certainty that your own self is still yours and what your self was in the first place?

This is not the first time that Pamuk has addressed the question of identity. The issue of originality and canon in art in “My Name is Red” ultimately also pertains to identity. And the relationship between the East and the West, the Orient and the Occident, is not a new concept either. But this time, there is hardly a broader context; the social, political, and historical basis is merely a setting. If I were to envision “The White Castle,” I could easily reduce it to a single scene of two people sitting in a dark, candle-lit room with the door and window-shutters closed. This exploration of the definition, loss, trade, and gain of identity is as personal as it can get. And, interestingly enough, it is equally unemotional and detached.

At last, I saw the castle which was on top of a high mountain and its towers were covered with flags that turned red in the sunset but were white; a single white and beautiful. I didn't know why I thought that no one could touch such a thing and beautiful one could only see it in a dream.

In that dream, you are walking along a winding road in a dark forest and trying to reach the top of the mountain and that magnificent building. As if there is a celebration with sorrow there and you intend to participate in it or it is a happiness that you will not let it go. But despite every moment of waiting to reach the end of the path, that road never had an end.

It was a strange and enchanting dream, full of mystery and longing. The castle on the mountain seemed to hold a secret that I was desperate to uncover. The flags fluttering in the wind added to the allure, their colors changing with the light.

The journey through the dark forest was both thrilling and intimidating. Every turn of the path led to new discoveries and challenges. I was determined to reach my destination, no matter how long it took.

As I continued my journey, I couldn't help but wonder what awaited me at the top of the mountain. Would I find the answers I was seeking? Or would I be met with more questions? Only time would tell.

Orhan Pamuk's is a moderately sweet novel.

The 17th-century Ottoman life is partly conveyed through a Venetian. A Venetian captured by Turkish pirates is sold as a slave to a teacher. The teacher is curious about knowledge. The slave also claims to be good in fields such as astrology and medicine, and an agreement is made between them, which is also somewhat necessary for the slave. They will complement each other until their paths part. The Venetian is successfully reflected as a character. His world of thought, past, and surroundings are conveyed in a fluent language. The book is easy to read, but it seems that we didn't get to know the characters other than the slave very well. Neither the child sultan nor the teacher nor the other characters were well-developed. Nevertheless, despite everything, it is an enjoyable book that can be read in a short time. I didn't get bored while reading it. Technically speaking, of course, it would be ridiculous to compare it with books like The Black Book, The Museum of Innocence, and A New Life. Orhan Pamuk's readings continue...

I'll be honest. I was truly pretty bored and extremely disappointed. The situation seemed to be lacking any excitement or interest. It felt as if there was nothing new or engaging happening. I had expected more, but unfortunately, it just didn't meet my expectations. The lack of stimulation made me feel rather down. I found myself constantly looking for something to do to pass the time, but nothing seemed to catch my attention. It was a rather dull and unfulfilling experience. I hope that in the future, things will change and I'll be able to have more enjoyable and satisfying moments.

In my year of delving into Turkish literature, I was well aware that I needed to explore more of Pamuk's works. While reading Pamuk, several questions constantly萦绕 in my mind. Firstly, am I truly grasping the subtleties of the language as he originally wrote it in Turkish, or is something inevitably lost in the translation process? Secondly, is this really the same Pamuk that I have come to know?

So far, each Pamuk novel I have read has been distinct in terms of style, setting, and tone. This particular one is set in the 17th century, where an Italian noble is captured by Turkish pirates (or rather, Ottoman pirates) and forced into the service of the sultan as a slave. Eventually, he becomes the property of an astronomer/astrologer and imparts a great deal of knowledge from his highly educated background. Interestingly, they are also in some way doubles, and the boundary between them blurs and shifts. I must admit that I'm not entirely sure I understood the ending.

To be honest, much of this story felt rather distant, almost like a narrative told at arm's length. It lacked that certain immediacy and emotional connection that I had hoped for. However, I still appreciate Pamuk's unique writing style and his ability to transport readers to different times and cultures.

Orhan Pamuk has won the Nobel Prize for literature and is widely regarded as the premier man of letters in contemporary Turkey.

However, I noticed that more than one person on my friends' list on Goodreads was less than enthusiastic about his books.

So, instead of reading his more famous works like My Name is Red or Snow, I deliberately chose the slimmest volume on the shelf for my introduction - The White Castle, which is only 161 pages.

But this couldn't hold my interest even for that short distance.

Set in seventeenth-century Turkey, it's a first-person account of a Venetian who is captured and enslaved by the Turks. He comes to be owned by a master who is his physical double and demands that he teach him all he knows.

Basically, what lost me was the style. And it wasn't because it was difficult or abstruse.

Despite quotes comparing Pamuk to writers like DeLillo, Borges, Nabokov, and Proust, the prose in this novel is very simple, even simplistic.

I never felt drawn into the story or the characters. The picture painted by the prose felt sketchy.

There's very little dialogue, and none of it is offset. It's not so much a back-and-forth but rather a lot is reported or summarized.

A lot of the events were also summarized rather than shown.

Nothing made me feel a sense of time, place, or characters in a vivid enough way to feel worth my time, so I stopped.

And I think that's enough of Pamuk for me.

Not for me

This simple phrase holds a world of meaning. It can express a sense of exclusion, a feeling of not belonging, or a decision to opt out. It might be used when declining an invitation, turning down an opportunity, or simply stating that something doesn't resonate with us.

Sometimes, saying "not for me" can be a difficult choice. It requires us to be true to ourselves and our values, even if it means going against the grain or disappointing others. But it's important to remember that we have the right to make our own decisions and pursue what makes us happy.

"Not for me" can also be a liberating statement. It allows us to free ourselves from the expectations and pressures of others and focus on what truly matters to us. It gives us the courage to explore new paths, take risks, and discover our own unique identities.

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with choices and opportunities, it's essential to be able to say "not for me" when something doesn't feel right. By doing so, we can create space in our lives for the things that truly bring us joy and fulfillment.

Osmanlı donanması tarafından Akdenizde gemilerden esir alınan bir Venedikli İstanbul'da getirilir. Hocası onu satın alarak evine yerleştirir. Hoca, Venedikli kölesinden bir şey öğrenmek istemektedir.

Hem öğrendikleri hemde beraber yaptıkları ile bir süre sonra Osmanlı padişahının karşısına çıkarlar. Hoca, bilinmezi öğrenmek için sonuna kadar gitmekte kararlıdır. Bu sürede, Venedikli aldığı Astronomi, tıp ve matematik eğitimlerinde öğrendiklerini hocayla paylaşır. Tüm geçmişini ona anlatır ve yavaş yavaş aynı şeyi beraberce düşünmeye başlarlar.

Bu zaman zarfında İstanbul'da veba salgını boy gösterir. Dönemin Sultanı çareyi Hocada arayacaktır. Ancak, Hocanın aslında tüm bilgisi Venedikli ile beraber yaptıkları çalışmalardan ve ondan öğrendiklerinden oluşur.

Vebadan sonra Avrupa'ya sefere çıkan Sultanın ekibine katılırlar. Icat ettikleri silahı denemek istemektedirler. Uzun bir yolculuk sonunda Beyaz kaleye sonunda ulaşırlar. Ancak, Beyaz Kaleyi almanın kolay olmadığını anlayacaklardır. Ve sonrasında bir dönüşüm yaşanır.

"Belki de yıkım, ötekilerinin üstünlüğü görerek onlara benzemeye çalışmak demektir."

A strange and wonderful story as if it were from the tales of fantasy! It takes place in the sixteenth century in Istanbul when a smart, thoughtful, and inventive Venetian man is captured and taken as a slave and then given to a teacher as a slave! From here, the story begins.

First, the teacher and the slave look alike, and the only difference between them is the beard. Second, the teacher learns everything from the slave! Even when the plague occurred, he learned from him how to deal with the disease by staying away from people, reducing going out, and closing the city (and this is what we did when the COVID-19 virus came to us). The little sultan was related to the teacher and asked him for very strange things: interpreting dreams, making explosives, and others, and the teacher and the slave would consult and decide what to do! Then the teacher made a weapon that looked like a firearm but it didn't work well. In the end, we don't know who disappeared? Was it the teacher who knew even the Italian language and went to Venice? Or was it the slave? Who is the author?

The book is very similar to the tales of One Thousand and One Nights.

But it is also a philosophical book about self-knowledge. Who are we? Why are we here? What is our role in life! Other questions about identity.

Quotes:

There is no life that is pre-planned, and all stories are a series of consecutive coincidences.

If death is written on us, then we will go there too.

Can a person write a story that has no outcome or meaning other than enjoying reading and savoring it only?

Life is not waiting but something to enjoy its taste.

Do we know ourselves? It is up to a person to know himself well.

Fortăreața albă is a historical novel that I have grappled with during both the first and second readings. Well-written, with vivid images, it presents an Istanbul that is more phantasmagoric than real. It is difficult to understand and interpret. It seems, rather, a game lacking an obvious stake. Below are the main moments from an ambiguous novel, on the theme of the double, the couple, and perhaps the theft of identity. The narrator refers to the stories of Edgar Allan Poe (“William Wilson”) and Dostoevsky (“The Double”). The text of Jorge Luis Borges, “The Other” should also be added...

1. The English reviewers immediately associated the title The White Castle with Kafka, but this rather confused them. I see no affinity between Pamuk's novel and Kafka's Castle. There is no basis for such a comparison.

2. Surely it is also “a philosophical fable” about personal identity, without many speculations and abstract digressions. The action of the novel takes place sometime in the 17th century (around 1640 - 1675, let's say), the century of Descartes, with his “ego cogito”, the century of the question “Who am I?”.

3. A first-person narrative (the narrator is Italian) about a young Italian scholar; on the way between Venice and Naples, he is kidnapped by Turkish pirates and then imprisoned in Istanbul. He convinces his abductors that he is a skilled doctor, with serious studies at Italian universities. He successfully treats his fellow prisoners and is admired by Paşa Sadîk. The latter introduces him to a friend, Hogea (= learned, master), an eccentric and exalted man of science.

4. The young Italian is intrigued by their physical resemblance: “The one who entered the room resembled me strangely. It was as if I were actually in his place! That's what I thought at first glance. It was as if someone who wanted to play a trick on me had made me enter the door again” (p. 26). They get to know each other.

5. Hogea is an enthusiastic and agitated student, he wants to learn everything that the narrator has assimilated in the schools of the West. After the Italian prince instructs and teaches him everything, he will be freed from slavery.

6. Both embark on studies and readings: “So we began to toil, like two diligent students, like two good brothers who study their lessons with rivalry” (p. 39); “After six months, we were no longer two men who studied and progressed together. He thought, while I did nothing but remind him of some details or help him to review what he already knew” (p. 40).

7. Hogea is obsessed with a question: who is he really? What distinguishes him from other individuals? At Hogea's urging, they both record their biographies: “Thus, in the course of two months, I learned about his life as much as I had not been able to learn in eleven years” (p. 78). Then the narrator adds: “I encouraged him to continue, perhaps because I felt, even then, that I would later appropriate his way of being and the story of his life” (p. 79).

8. They experience an episode of bubonic plague in Istanbul: “The plague had appeared in the city” (p. 88). The Italian explains to Hogea the measures taken in Europe when a pestilence breaks out: respect for hygiene, separation and quarantine: “I wanted to rid him of the useless bravado of fearlessness: I revealed all my medical knowledge” (p. 90).

9. Gradually, they realize that they are starting to confuse each other, the resemblance becomes identity. Dressed alike, they both look in the mirror. They seem exactly the same: “He had to be like me. We were both one!” (p. 103). Hogea declares to him: “Now I know how I scared you. I have become you” (p. 105). “He did not stop repeating to me that I was him and that he was me” (p. 107). At the end of the epidemic, 15 years have passed since the Venetian was captured / enslaved by the Turks.

10. Hogea is appointed by the Sultan as the Grand Astrologer, “imperial astrologer”. His dream, however, is to build “a huge weapon that will drive them all away” (p. 133). The Sultan asks Hogea to build this “incredible weapon” (p. 138). He works on it for six years. When, after a long period, a war breaks out with the Land of the Franks, Hogea is called to bring his weapon to the camp at Edirne. The huge machine terrifies the soldiers.

11. They go to court together. The Sultan observes the astonishing resemblance between them and begins to wonder “how much of Hogea was Hogea and how much was me, just as he wondered how much of me was me and how much was Hogea” (p. 143). The narrator thinks in amazement: “I was inclined to believe that, without realizing it, my personality had detached itself from me and merged with that of Hogea, and the personality of Hogea had merged with mine” (p. 144).

12. They travel along the Danube. They arrive in front of the white fortress. The sight of it astonishes them all: “We saw the fortress after the sun had set... It was located on a rather high cliff; the setting sun cast its indistinct red glow on the towers where flags were fluttering, but it was white - white as snow and beautiful. I don't know why, but I thought that only in dreams can you see such wonderful, untouched things” (p. 177). They all feel that the fortress is impregnable, inviolable. Hogea's weapon is of no use.

13. They decide to exchange their clothes and part ways: “We exchanged our clothes without being overcome by anxiety and without saying a word. I gave him my ring and the medallion that I had managed to keep hidden from him for years. Inside it was the portrait of my grandmother on my mother's side and a lock of hair from my fiancée, who had died. I think he liked it, because he also hung it around his neck. Then he left the tent and went away. I watched him disappear, little by little, in the silent fog...” (pp. 179 - 180).

14. Hogea (or his double) settles in Venice: “I had a story that might have pleased them, about two men who had taken each other's place” (p. 190). Well, they have exchanged their identities. And what can we deduce from this? For now, I haven't found an answer. (provisional notes, 7.09.24, s).