I read a book on a day that changed my entire life. Oh, don't say, me... Have you read the book "The Secret" by Mrs. Rowanda Byrne! (Surely this is a silly joke) Anyway; the book represented life in one way or another... Well, like this, "Othman" read a book and his life changed! Why? Because he found the book in the hand of a girl who pleased him, or because ignorance is like the blind spot of a deer, when you come out of it - suddenly - the light of perception covers - suddenly - your eyes... Maybe you were hit by a shock and you lose things in your life inside you... You lose faith as a result... Yes, a little knowledge begets heresy... and a lot of it begets faith.

And so "Othman" begins his journey in search of meaning (the meaning of life), because he read one book... and he decided that through one book he knows what he wants! What he wants to be... But what is that goal - the meaning; of his life... What is it? Of course he doesn't know.

"In fact, the scary thing in my mind was not the drastic changes in these scenarios, I was afraid of the leap, I was afraid of the things that a fool like me could end up with by doing them."

I was reading the novel and with the rapid events that - in fact - do not point to any - real events - meaning. I was saying to myself, see what is the hidden meaning behind the meaningless that the author is aiming at.

I also remembered; during the reading that after finishing the reading, I must write a review - unique - with a special character.. a style, Hussain and Ronqa, imitating - the author's style. I must surpass him. So - with a bit of beautiful naivety - I said to myself!..

Then I remembered being drawn into the world (inside the events of the novel) empty of all meaning, the book, the light, the gardens, the angels, the shaving soap "or bey", and finally Dr. "Fain". Everything was equal to everything; everything that happens is the meaningless.. nonsense.. The heart rate was in a rapid decline, the blood flow in the veins and arteries was in a very sharp decline.. Life was leaking from inside me.. drop.. drop.. So my imprisoned soul was described - inside the boundaries of the body - and fading. I picked up my lead pen - the Rotring - looked at it; I contemplated the very fine nib, did I jot down something from what I read? I don't remember. Then I remembered that he is reading. So I continued...

The pages on which the events of the novel were written seemed - as is very clear - that they were papers, yes, papers, yellow papers. The author mentioned something on the same line and said:

"The trees on whose leaves there were raindrops seemed clearly to be trees..."

Turning from page to page I read; while the hero of the story was moving from place to place; where all the events happened by chance... He read a book, he loved a girl, he traveled, he met the girl - by chance - they traveled, he killed a person - by chance - he traveled after that, his mother died, he got married, he had children, and finally he traveled...

"The chance that I loved and accepted with joy, believing that it was life itself, it turned out that it was just an illusion built by someone else. Isn't life full of cheats and unexpected events?"

Said the deceived hero, having made a decision to leave the room to see - to check the weapons depot..! (Decided on revenge)

Oh, this is it, yes... Life is full of cheats, and also of hypocrisy..! Said Shuqi and left.

"Sometimes you suddenly remember a distant memory that seems forgotten for a long time, and you ask why among all the times you remember it now and your mind becomes completely confused (entangled); this is how I felt, but it was a feeling of peace more than confusion!."

In fact, now I remember that I am writing a review about that novel whose hero - Othman - is searching for the meaning - the meaning of life.. He says: What is life? A period of time. What is time? An event.. What is an event? Life.. A new life... And so Othman continued to search for that new life! (But where will that new life be? How is the way to it? Is it here? Here and now!, or is it there.. above.. beyond, behind the white snowy clouds) So did he find it? He was searching, and that's good.

He didn't rest and didn't calm down.. Why? Because the human heart can only find the way to peace if it finds meaning and a goal in this life that it strives to achieve.

But where, where?.

"I knew that it would be the end of my life.. But I just wanted to go home, I had no desire to die at all, nor to pass into the new life."

Now, now he knows..

Yes, it's true, for death, as it is said "is the rest of the traveler and the end of all toil."

A wonderful author.. A good novel.. It starts with the meaningless and continues like this; as is life, until it finds the meaning - and knows what the new life is!.

I am writing this short review in an airport, having just completed a three-week trip around Turkey.

As I get back into the routine of thinking about literature critically, the parallels of The New Life and my trip remain powerfully disconcerting.

The novel focuses on a mysterious book Osman reads one night and becomes obsessed with. The book's power to change lives is the catalyst for Osman's philosophical road-trip.

Dissatisfied with his family and studies, Osman leaves for the nearest otogar and travels from Istanbul to the wild Anatolian steppes.

The novel evolves through various literary structures: part detective, part existential, part thriller.

Perhaps I felt more attuned to this book as a student reading about a student. I too have travelled around Turkey, experiencing its diverse landscapes and transportation.

I understand the rootlessness Osman feels, having had to change travel plans and sleep on a bench in the Ankara otogar.

Although it's possible to travel Turkey without relying on buses, Pamuk shows that the bus service is a way of life.

However, Pamuk's public transport network is different from the modern, commercial buses I took. For Osman, each bus-ride is a step into the unknown.

The 'New Life' is not just about life but a search for death. Osman obsesses about traffic accidents as a way to bridge life and death.

Thankfully, my journeys were not as dangerous as Osman's.

At the heart of The New Life are the themes of identity and philosophy, as Pamuk meditates on the East-West divide.

We also see the themes of metafiction, the power of literature, and an embrace of faith.

Although the novel can be read as a satire and has some flaws, it is a strong picture of Turkey in change.

The changing landscape of the country's public-transport system is the heart of the novel and the country.

I first read The New Life cerca 1997 or 1998 and immediately fell in love with it.

I "won" the novel in an English Dept. Xmas party book exchange. The new prof of postcolonial lit (among other areas of expertise), Lisa Nakamura, at Sonoma State University was my "anonymous" gift-giver.

Recently, a friend who read it with her book group admitted she found the writing (style) clunky and unsatisfying. (I had suggested the novel to them). This prompted me to reread the novel.

One can admire Pamuk's novel through the looking-glass of postmodernism or postcolonialism. Or one can simply enjoy it as a surreal kind-of sort-of road novel cum romance cum Bildungsroman.

Set in "modern" Turkey, the existential mode of transport for young seekers here is neither the railroads of the European Lost Generation nor the automobile of 50's and forward American youth, but the bus.

"On the Road" here means "On the Bus", and it is on board that life, love, death, politics and philosophy play themselves out.

It's a unique and captivating story that offers different perspectives depending on how one approaches it.