Other Colors: Essays and a Story
by: Orhan Pamuk; Translated by Maureen Freely
Published by: Vintage Books
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Reviewed by Sarah van Ingen
In 2006, Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Knowing this you might approach his work with high expectations. Given that you are good hearted and a lover of literature, I am certain that this collection will surpass even your highest expectations. No, there’s nothing magical or ethereal about this writing. Rather, it’s earthy. Its pages are marked by the stink and incense kicked up by Pamuk’s shoes as he journeys across Istanbul and the East-West divide. On this journey, hope is the smell of an old suitcase, and shame is an acrid taste that you can’t quite spit out of your mouth.
These essays are substantial, and each can stand by itself. Yet, the true beauty of this book is apprehended as these essays are reflected into and off of each other and into and off of the lives of the author and the reader. Read as a collection, these essays weave into a quilt that carries sustaining warmth.
There are essays that observe the beauty of the monotony, isolation, and vulnerability of everyday life. There are brilliant essays on Dostoyevsky, and essays that reveal Pamuk’s fierce love of the novel. The political essays do not disappoint. Pamuk digs deep into the heart of identity. He goes beyond behavior to explore shame and idolatry, love and lust, hate and hypocrisy. In these days of globalization, I would suggest that we can’t afford not to think deeply about the connections between the East and the West, and few writers are as thoughtful or honest as Pamuk.
Pamuk has arranged his essays with an “autobiographical center.” The sum of these essays gives profound insight into the inner life of a great novelist. Pamuk’s literary power rests in his willingness to explore his own fragility. In his own words, “For it is by sharing our secret shames that we bring about our liberation.” This collection explores the deep reaches of our humanity. Here, you might catch a glimpse of life through the eyes of an “other.” In doing so, you may even become free to catch a glimpse of yourself.
Armchair Interviews says: Superb writing that you’d expect from Nobel Prize winner.
Author’s Web site: http://www.OrhanPamuk.net
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