Haf

Touted as one of Orhan Pamuk's best novels ‘The Black Book' takes the idea of a detective novel and turns it into an almost 500 page novel about Istanbul and identity. This wasn't a bad book by any means but it's less a thriller and more of a discussion with one chapter a column by Galip/Celal and the other follows the story. If you're used to Orhan's musings then you'll enjoy this novel like I did but if not then be prepared for less action and more exposition. The actual story told on the blurb really only starts halfway through the novel and the ending was kind of predictable but it was really more about the journey. This was my second novel by Orhan Pamuk and having adored ‘A Strangeness In my Mind' I wasn't floored by this but I'm eager to read more by Orhan Pamuk.

I wish I could like this book much more than I did.

A worthy end to a great trilogy. It isn't the best book out of the three but it's fascinating to see how much the family has changed over the course of these three books; for starters each member gets to dictate their own lives compared to back in Palace Walk where Al-Sayyid Ahmad made every decision for them. You feel like you're growing up with the characters and their story seems somewhat familiar to the stories of our own families. The only major gripe I had was that Kamal seems to have not developed much as a character and his perpetual indecision is infuriating. Overall, I enjoyed this book and it was an easy read at around 300 pages.

I don't know what to think of this book. It isn't a traditional novel in any sense, each chapter in the book is a first chapter and there's not really a progression in the plot. At its heart this is a family drama, we learn about how messed up the family is but at the same time we understand how they all got to this point. I didn't particularly like the protagonist-Sarah but I understood why she is the way she is. I wish there was some sort of resolution in this novel but I think Alameddine wasn't aiming for a conclusion. Alameddine definitely writes very well, he's quite eloquent and able to capture his characters' emotions quite well. I'm looking forward to reading his other books. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes their characters to be realistic and messed up.

Readers familiar with Orhan Pamuk will immediately recognise how he was influenced by Tanpinar's writing. Tanpinar could have easily written a straightforward criticism of the bureaucracy in his time but instead he chose to write a satire about society at the time. To understand this book some historical context is required and this book needs to be re-read. You realise how so many things we are now accustomed to were a drastic change in people's lives for example the quantification of time into minutes and hours made you more aware of wasting it whereas before people qualified time according to the daily prayers and it was okay to just not do anything. Tanpinar satirises both Turkish and Western cultures but does so in a way that's rational and subtle. The novel itself is hilarious in its absurdity and it resonates even today. Overall this is one of the best books of its kind and everyone should be required to read it.