My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

20th of 2022 was My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk. Finally, Read it. My name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, which was with me for almost 7 years now, is a book loved by many, set in the late 1590s,  in Istanbul, this book is about The Sultan, secretly commissioning a great book; a celebration of his life and his empire, to be illuminated by the best artists of the day - in the European manner. But when one of the miniaturists is murdered, their master has to seek outside help. What caused the the death of the painter, who investigates and what it leads to is what rest of the book is all about. 

Enishte Effendi, the maternal uncle of Kara (Black), is reading the Book of the Soul by Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya, a Sunni commentator on the Qur'an, and continuous references to it are made throughout the book. Part of the novel is narrated by Elegant Effendi, the murdered miniaturist. Al-Jawziyya argues, in the same fashion as Islamic doctrine, that the souls of the dead remain on earth and can hear the living.

Each chapter of the novel has a different narrator, and usually there are thematic and chronological connections between chapters. The novel blends mystery, romance, and philosophical puzzles, illustrating the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murat III during nine snowy winter days in 1591.

My Name is Red explores how identity and perspective are created through storytelling, and it conveys the idea that any one story is best understood through a multiplicity of narrative perspectives. Though it is not an easy read, it is an excellent combination of a strange but beautiful narration style, a philosophical discourse on art and a murder mystery. On the backdrop of Istanbul in 1590s, Pamuk has set a murder mystery based on the clash of systems of art in the city at the time of European renaissance.  The seven human narrators include a corpse, other narrators: a dog, a miniature representation of a horse, a tree, Death, the color Red, a gold coin which has “changed hands 560 times” Though it features a large cast, My Name Is Red is essentially the story of Black, a failed illustrator who has spent 12 years in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire after falling in love with his beautiful cousin, Shekure, and being rejected by her. As the book is a commentary on religious oppression and cultural norms, the author chooses to use art as the medium in which these elements are narrated.

As Black begins the investigation, three other miniaturists, Butterfly, Stork, and Olive, are the main suspects. What was the motive? professional rivalry, romantic jealousy or religious terror? Meanwhile, Shekure has fallen in love with Black again, after seeing him, even if he hasn’t seen her. Hearing about the murder of the miniaturist, she decides to stop waiting for the return of her soldier husband, who has been missing for more than four years. She has three suitors: the first is one of the miniaturists, the second is Black, and the third is her brother-in-law, Hasan. She does not want to marry Hasan—when she and her husband lived with him, he was cruel to her and flirted with her inappropriately under his brother’s nose. Hasan threatens to sue her to return with him Back at the local coffeehouse, the three suspect miniaturists share their illustrations and the content of the book they are working on with another storyteller, who broadcasts these stories to the public. Being as the book is provocative, and creative oppression rampant in those parts, hearing the stories angers a fanatical religious group. As a result, Enishte is murdered.

Black, now looking for two murderers, Shekure and Black marry, With time, religion and tradition grows more popular, and the use of illustrations and paintings diminishes, giving start to their own little dark age. This is a Noble price winning, book, which is an enthralling look into politics, art and love.