Description
In this lyrical meditation on place and memory, Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk offers an intimate portrait of Istanbul—the city where he was born and has spent his life—revealing how geography shapes identity and consciousness. Moving fluidly between personal memoir and urban history, Pamuk traces the contours of his beloved city through childhood recollections, family stories, and encounters with the artists and writers who defined his sensibility. At the heart of his narrative lies hüzün, the distinctly Turkish melancholy that permeates Istanbul's streets and monuments, a poignant reflection of living amid the grandeur and decay of a once-great empire. Like the great literary cities of Joyce's Dublin and Borges' Buenos Aires, Pamuk's Istanbul becomes inseparable from the writer himself—a shimmering, cinematic exploration where the city's history and his own memories intertwine. This beautifully crafted work stands as both a love letter to a magnificent city and a profound meditation on how places we inhabit ultimately shape who we become.
Available Editions
paperback
Vintage
Published Jul 11, 2006
402 pages
ISBN: 9781400033881
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Details
First Published
2003
Language
eng
Translation
Original: Istanbul: Hatıralar ve Şehir
From: tur
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