If we are Turkish citizens, the understanding of the hidden details in Pamuk's philosophical or political and social words and allusions in this book, and consequently the pleasure that comes from immersing in the fluidity of sentences (which the respected translator has indeed well created this feeling for us), will be stronger and more remarkable for us. However, not being a Turkish citizen does not prevent us from being in the thrilling and sometimes powerful current of this immersion and enjoying it. In this book, Pamuk, by paying attention to the seemingly insignificant social and moral details of society, has shown how intelligent, perceptive, and he views the fundamental change of society as depending on the change of the people in that society. In fact, until the intellectual contents of the people in a society do not change, any new trend by the self-igniting forces of that society is nipped in the bud, and even a father does not spare his son in this process.

This work of Pamuk offers a profound exploration of the Turkish society and its inner workings. It delves into the complex web of relationships, values, and beliefs that shape the lives of its people. Through his细腻的描写 and incisive analysis, Pamuk揭示了 the hidden aspects of society that often go unnoticed. Whether it is the political intrigues, the social hierarchies, or the moral dilemmas faced by individuals, Pamuk presents a comprehensive and thought-provoking picture.

The book not only provides insights into the Turkish context but also has broader implications for understanding human nature and society in general. It challenges our preconceived notions and makes us question the status quo. Pamuk's writing style, with its fluidity and elegance, adds to the overall appeal of the book, making it a captivating read for both Turkish and non-Turkish readers alike.

Undoubtedly, Orhan Pamuk is a brilliant writer, as evidenced by the Nobel Prize he has received.

It is difficult for me to express my opinion about the novel, so I will write my opinion about the novel frankly and sincerely.

At the beginning, when I read that the novel is about a book that changes the life of everyone who reads it, I expected to discover what the book is after delving into reading the novel.

But what was the result?

I finished the novel and did not know exactly what the idea was that the author wanted to convey to us.

The main idea of the novel is the search for a new life, but where?

In the parties, yes in the parties. Everyone who reads the book begins to move from one party to another and from one region to another without a specific destination and for no reason other than the desire to see the angels and win the new life.

I don't know exactly what the wisdom is in the readers of this obscure book wandering around the parties across all of Turkey, waiting for something to happen that will take them to the promised life.

The novel also sheds light on globalization and the Western economic invasion of the simple traditional life of the Turks.

I felt bored many times and the desire to leave the novel came to me more than once.

DNF after 75 pages of ridiculous profligacy.

Sadly, what 'the book' was for our protagonist, The New Life couldn't become that for me, though I had hoped it would be so, and thus I was all the more disappointed.

Pamuk can be extremely self-indulgent. The Museum of Innocence, the other book by him that I'm currently reading, also reveals this to me. And Snow was also very gratifying. Nevertheless, a sense of hedonism in the prose made it difficult for me to put his book down, even when the plot stumbled. However, this one is extravagantly pseudo-intellectual and also very superficial. I can't be a judge for the entire book, but for all the meandering in the first 60 pages or so, we can hardly empathize with our protagonist's obsession.

If only I could have understood why he feels what he feels, or even how he feels what he feels, I would have persisted.

I walked in this book with the woman who stuffed her disheveled curls under her hat, when I started my university days, spending those mornings on countless bus rides, with my head leaning on the foggy window, thinking about how much more beautiful it could be than the click of my chin or just being on the journey.

Taking hitchhikes from town to catch the 12.25 Muradiye train, those days of going on my own entertaining explorations in the bit market, getting lost in the chaos and crowd, those hours that I sometimes lost count of, and collecting and repairing the oldest ones, I also packed them beautifully. I learned from this book that they were Dr. Narin's jealous and meticulous agents.

During the time I spent on buses, I remembered all my trips, the thousands of scenarios I wrote in my head about the passengers, the calculations I made to find myself in a tight situation, and perhaps even forgot the arm I leaned my head on, and I regretted not writing them down. Because for 2 years, bus stations have meant great sorrows, great joys and meetings, necessities, the road meeting the sea, misfortunes, and the pain in my hands from my huge suitcase.

This book was sent to me by my seagull-luck-fly for my birthday, with its experiences, magical life energy and curiosity, and its incredible moments one after another, which inspired me not to be the current me, so it will remain among my favorite books.

Like a hero, I also thought that a book was written for me, it was my first Orhan Pamuk book, and I was extremely afraid of it being overrated. The metaphors he created by mixing his poeticism and emotions, the symbols he used, I liked them, but I would have liked the climax of the book to be a little earlier. I can't say it was easy to read, but I didn't like that it tested the reader's consciousness so much with small clues. If the saying is appropriate, I felt like I would get lost in a labyrinth, but this feeling itself was something I liked. Although it didn't open a gap in my life and become the beginning of a "new life" for me, it was a beautiful tool for many things. In some places, I dozed off because of the slowness of the events or felt that the poeticism had fallen into a bit of repetition and got bored, but these were nothing compared to its positive aspects. The first favorite of my 21st year, I promised to read it again 10 years later.

I burned through this in just two days. But I have to admit, partly it was because I was afraid that if I got distracted, I'd never finish it. At times, it was highly engaging. However, for me, it didn't always maintain that level of "gotta get back to it" that Murakami's "Kafka On The Shore" is currently luring me away from this hurried review with.

Pamuk is held in very high regard and has won a Nobel Prize, among other accolades. So, he is definitely worth spending some of your time on.

"The New Life" tells the story of a young man whose life is drastically transformed by a book. The title and content of this book are not revealed until much later in the story. When it is finally disclosed, in one of several Borgesian tropes, it turns out to be the story of his own life and is called "The New Life". The story begins with his quest alongside a young woman (who later disappears) on rattletrap buses through a Turkish landscape that is torn between traditional ways (more in the realm of material culture than religion) and Westernization. They encounter a mysteriously murderous father figure that is reminiscent of the one in Angela Carter's "Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman". As his "quest" becomes almost entirely internal and extends into somewhat forlorn years, I was reminded of Dino Buzzati's "The Tartar Steppe". Then there is the secondary character whose reaction to the life-changing book is to rewrite it word for word, echoing "Pierre Menard", with a few nods to Nabokov and so on.

Perhaps the centrality of books of any kind in shaping people's lives, or the powerful fear of their potential, makes the whole thing more of a metaphor for the complex relationship of Turkey to Islam than I understood. In any case, it is strange and fairly memorable.

Love is a complex and multi-faceted concept.

It is often described as surrender, as the reason for loving, as understanding, as music, and as a pure heart.

Love can be a sad poem, a heart-wrenching gaze into the mirror, a passage of time.

It means never regretting. Love is a gamble, an excitement, the sharing of a chocolate.

Sometimes, love is completely unknown, just an empty word.

It can be reaching out to God, a pain, or a meeting with an angel.

Love is the tears in the eyes, sitting and waiting for a phone call.

It is the whole world, holding hands in the cinema.

Love can be intoxication, a hooliganism, a madness.

It is listening to the voice of the heart, a holy silence, the theme of songs.

And yes, love is good for the skin too...!

In conclusion, love is a mystery that we continue to explore and experience throughout our lives.

I got really into this one.

It was one of those books that you just pick up in the bookstore on a whim. And it's quite funny because that's exactly what happens to the narrator.

One day, he randomly picks up a book (its contents are fully disclosed to the reader, of course). And, just like in a Kafka story, his life is never the same again.

Everything in the world around him now seems like a pale reflection or a crashing bore when compared to what the book reveals to him. Naturally, he is then called upon to make sense of his newfound situation. He has to search for the lost damsel of the book - only those who have had this experience are there to help. And he goes through all kinds of menacing and rather bleak set pieces until the final confrontation.

It's truly exhilarating to read something that draws you into its concept so quickly. Pamuk writes beautifully. It's like surrealism but not vague, and it's like magical realism but a bit grittier.

The book was a huge hit in Turkey, the author's native land, shooting straight to the top of the charts. However, it was also, of course, banned by the culture.

What detracts from its star quality, at least for me as someone not very good with plots, is that the plot got clotted and congested towards the late middle. I fear that's the nature of postmodern writing. The multilayered narrative style is great and all, but I prefer more clear demarcations to help me orient myself as I engage with the story.

Otherwise, it's spellbinding and subversive. It's poetic and adventuresome. Truly great stuff.

The story has a very general idea (the search for the meaning of life) in a complex framework that makes it sometimes confusing.

The idea of the story is clear, but the convoluted way in which the ideas are presented makes the reader doubt his understanding and believe that things are bigger and deeper than they seem until he realizes in the end that it is that idea that he grasped from the beginning and that has been repeating to him in more than one way, which is the core of the story.

Osman, a university student, his eyes fall on a beautiful girl who is browsing a book. As a means of approaching her, he searches for the book and buys it. But the book is just a link in a long series of stories, events, and worlds that he lives in and finds in it a reflection of himself and his life. He tries to find the secret of this book and follows the complex story of its author and its readers, all of whom are connected by a link that he discovers slowly with the progress of the events that mix the hero's memories with his reality, his past with his present, in a strange touch sometimes and a dramatic one at other times.

The essence of the story is an attempt to find the meaning of your life, to create your own existence and find your goal for which everything you measure becomes possible.. And within the hero's journey to search for himself, he discusses with passion issues related to literature, creativity, reality, time, love, and the issue of the Turkish identity that is threatened with losing its features in the face of the invasion of Western culture.

The story had a beautiful atmosphere and very deep ideas, but they were scattered within the very wide framework of the story, especially its focus on repeating the hero Osman's ideas.

I walked on a fine line between reality and imagination. I looked at the agenda of a certain period of Turkey with an alternative perspective. "Don't worry, my reader, there is a fantastic explanation for everything," it said.

The rich description of symbols, metaphors, and details amazed me. In Orhan Pamuk's eyes, there is artificial intelligence, and he was adding details meticulously to the lines.

It was as if he had made silent observations for years to write the book and accessed an infinite amount of data.

Just as he sometimes made me feel that it was the same universe as in the Black Book, as often as that, I became so immersed in the feeling that the narrator was the author himself; I felt as if I had accompanied his own journey more than Osman's inner journey.

Books that need to be read over and over again in different time intervals entered my category.

#destiny #memory #coincidence #love #journey #truth #meaning #searches #time #angel

I don't know if it would get four stars or not. As a big fan of Orhan Pamuk's writings, my stars should be biased. I think it was weaker than his other works.

Orhan Pamuk is a renowned author, and his works are highly regarded in the literary world. However, in this particular piece, I felt that it didn't quite reach the same level of excellence as his previous ones.

Maybe it was the storyline that didn't grip me as much, or perhaps the characters didn't come across as vividly. Nevertheless, it's important to note that everyone's perception of a book can vary.

Some might find this work to be a masterpiece, while others might share my opinion. In the end, it all comes down to personal taste and preference.

Whaaaat whaaaaat whaaaat??

The beginning of the novel was deep and wonderful, and the author's descriptions in the first and second chapters amazed me. I expected that the novel would be excellent given such a beginning.

However, contrary to what I had expected, the rest of the novel turned out to be completely incomprehensible or the events were not connected, and I couldn't understand what the author wanted to convey to the reader.

It cannot be compared in any way to the rest of his novels like "My Name is Red" and "Snow".

I am disappointed in it.