My Name is Red

In the novel My Name Is Red by the Turkish Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, Orhan Pamuk, someone is murdering miniaturists in Istanbul in 1591 CE. The book is a philosophical murder mystery. The book was translated by Erdag Göknar. The murders seem to be related to the fact that the miniaturists are working on a book that is influenced by Venetian artists for the Ottoman Sultan. In the Ottoman Empire in 1591 CE, there was a sense that imitating the style of Venetian painting was blasphemy (Pamuk & Göknar 287-290). The book is also a romance. The miniaturist and binder known in English as Black returned to Istanbul after 16 years spent working as a secretary to pashas in either the Eastern Ottoman Empire or the Safavid Empire (Pamuk & Göknar 6-7). In the 16th Century, as a young man, Black fell in love with his younger maternal first cousin, Shekure. Shekure’s father did not approve of Black because Black’s family was poorer than Shekure's. Shekure’s father is a master miniaturist. Shekure, upon Black's return to Istanbul, realizes she is in love with Black (Pamuk & Göknar 41). Shekure is married to a missing Ottoman cavalryman and has two young sons. The novel follows the relationship between Shekure and Black. Each chapter in the novel is told from a different perspective. The title of the novel in English derives from the chapter that is narrated by the color Red (Pamuk & Göknar 185-187). The book reminds me very much of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose; both delve into the mindset of people of the past. The book includes a map of the Ottoman Empire and a timeline of important historical events related to the novel. The novel My Name is Red is a philosophical work worth reading. Works Cited: Eco, Umberto. 2014. The Name of the Rose. Translated into English by William Weaver. Boston, Massachusetts: Mariner Books.