Welcome to Litsy!

An intricately detailed, meditative account of obsessive love set in 1970s Istanbul, this novel brings its narrator's world to vivid life. Kemal, son of a wealthy family, seems destined for a happy marriage and bright future until his fixation on a beautiful shopgirl becomes the focal point of his life. Somehow this hyperfocus gives the book a surreal air, the internal workings of Kemal's mind taking precedent over any other point of view.

The story is about a wealthy businessman, Kemal Bey, and his obsessive love for a young shop girl, Fusum. Unlike other Pamuk's novels, Istambul takes a backseat, however, we also get a fine portrait of 70's Istanbuls well as an exploration of the concept of memory and how it shapes our lives.

The writing is lyrical, however, the story drags in the middle as we get into the headspace of Kemal.

4out of 5 stars

I am slowly making my way through this physical book as I have time for it. I bought it several years ago, and it didn‘t hold my interest. Now I‘m savoring the prose and the slow pace. I like that it‘s set in Istanbul in the 1970s. I know so little about Istanbul, and I‘m comparing it against my memories of 1970s America.

Good but a bit long

"I realized that the longing for art, like the longing for love, is a malady that blinds us, and makes us forget the things we already know, obscuring reality."
-Orhan Pamuk, The Museum Of Innocence

The Museum of Innocence in Istanbul is a beautiful little gem and the only place I know that brings a book to life without ruining your emotions. Listening to passages of the book made me want to instantly read the novel. If you are ever there, please visit.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. But the narrator came off as icky and sad. I couldn't help thinking through the entire story, "If a guy stalks you this hard, please call the police, that is not a healthy love."