My Name Is Red

By: Orhan Pamuk, Erdag Goknar - translator

Narrated by: John Lee

At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of 16th-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers.

The Sultan has commissioned a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land to create a great book celebrating the glories of his realm. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed. The ruling elite therefore mustn't know the full scope or nature of the project, and panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears. The only clue to the mystery - or crime? - lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle,

My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey to the intersection of art, religion, love, sex, and power.

Translated from the Turkish by Erdag Goknar.

©2008 Orhan Pamuk (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"It is neither passion nor homicide that makes Pamuk's latest, My Name is Red, the rich and essential book that it is. . . . It is Pamuk's rendering of the intense life of artists negotiating the devilishly sharp edge of Islam 1,000 years after its brith that elevates My Name is Red to the rank of modern classic. . . . To read Pamuk is to be steeped in a paradox that precedes our modern-day feuds beteween secularism and fundamentalism." (Jonathan Levi, Los Angeles Times Book Review)

"Straddling the Dardanelles sits the city of Istanbul . . . and in that city sits Orhan Pamuk, chronicler of its consciousness . . . His novel's subject is the difference in perceptions between East and West . . . [and] a mysterious killer... driven by mad theology. . .Pamuk is getting at a subject that has compelled modern thinkers from Heidegger to Derrida . . . My Name is Red is a meditation on authenticity and originality . . . An ambitious work on so many levels at once." (Melvin Jules Bukiet, Chicago Tribune)

"A murder mystery set in sixteenth-century Istanbul [that] uses the art of miniature illumination, much as Mann's Doctor Faustus did music, to explore a nation's soul. . . . Erdag Goknar deserves praise for the cool, smooth English in which he has rendered Pamuk's finespun sentences, passionate art appreciations, sly pedantic debates, [and] eerie urban scenes." (John Updike, The New Yorker)

Interesting and Exhausting in it’s attention to detail

Not for the faint of heart
I loved the way different perspectives were used in this very cerebral homage to history and artistry rolled in there was a “who done it” that for me was anticlimactic by the time it was answered. Not without it’s merits I wouldn’t be quick to recommend or reread this. The narrator’s voice was lovely.

A good choice

I really enjoyed this slightly unconventional book. The narration was also excellent. there were 2 things that I didn't like about it. it was a little long and repetitive and it was confusing in parts.

A Nobel, Bravura Performance

A hysterically funny, sardonic, classic work by a magnificent writer. It's historical, moving, and wonderfully performed by the great John Lee. I read the book and listened to it twice on Audible. Gets better every time.

Poor performance

The narrator pronounces almost all the names totally wrong and with difficulty. He struggles with the Persian and Arabic words so bad that ruins the experience of listening. His sense of timing and choices of intonations are inconsistent and predictable. The performance does not elevate the text but degrades it.

Worthy of it’s Nobel

Orhan Pamuk has managed to pour all that is great and important about the history of a highly artistic, religious, and everchanging land with a great deal of elegance and mystery. The best parts of the book come to life because you understand so well how artists and religion are colliding during this time, the historical background is painted for you just enough to build up the fighting and fear and mystery and love. Excellently narrated, is there anything they got wrong? This story is a gem, as an audiobook it comes alive even more.

Great reader

I loved and enjoyed the exquisite interpretation of this amazing story.
Absolutely recommended
And looking forward to Re-listen it again

A wonderous philosophical story..

A beautiful novel set in Ancient Turkey during the height of the Ottoman empire. A story that honors the art of miniaturists, the rivalries between them, Sultan power, politics, and all the intricacies between. A journey that is both dangerous and loving. This one was hard to put down.

A Dense Story that Stays with You

Not an easy story for me to keep up with in the audio book form due to the Turkish names and the detailed description of Turkish and Persian miniatures and miniaturists, It is the story of a murder within the Ottoman community of court sponsored miniaturists but also an examination of the brutality of Ottoman system and the stultifying effects of an ever narrowing Islamic clerical interpretation of what kind of art is permissible. Although I found the book sometimes tedious and sometimes difficult to follow, it has stayed with since I read it. John Lee is an over-the-top narrator with his old fashioned rolling "r's" and English acting style but his seeming command of Turkish words is amazing as well as his abililty to portray different characters.

Effect lost in an audio version?

I loved it and I didn't. Snow by Pamuk is one of my favourite books - poetic, beautifully written, intriguing and historical. However, I read Snow in print and listened to Red on audible. I liked the storyline of Red very much. I found the first person narrative interesting, however, it was easy to lose track of who's voice was being expressed. I thought the narrator had a nice voice, but found very little variance between the characters - e.g. couldn't tell the difference between the voices of Black, the protagonist, from the murderer, and the miniaturists.

I do recommend the book, with the caution that it's not an easy listen if you like to attend to the details of a story. If you like to read print as well, this is probably a book better suited to print.

Butterfly, Olive, Stork, and more tell their tales

Where does My Name Is Red rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In terms of performance, once again for Turkish themed audiobooks, John Lee shines. In terms of Orhan Pamuk's works I've heard so far (this is the third), it is uneven if beguiling.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I liked the wonderful descriptions in Chapters 28 and 58 (these may vary a bit in the format used to access this online or as a download) of manuscript illuminators' tensions and successes. The challenge to create as if one sees the world for one's self as with the Franks, or the way Allah sees the world, as with the school of Herat in Persia, intrigues.

The least interesting was as with Pamuk's other books his tendency to wander off. He gives so much detail and so many subplots that he can lose the reader or listener. Better to let this narration float on, and not to worry about the intricate details of the mystery itself herein.

What about the narrator’s performance did you like?

John Lee masterfully captures the sounds of Turkish in translation. This as it's narrated by a variety of men and women as well as a dog, a horse, Satan, a gold coin, and maybe Death is difficult to follow as a listener. But Lee does his best to remind us of the different voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, as it is far too long. As I said above, it's preferable to take this at small portions. After a while, Pamuk's flow takes you up and the plot does not matter as much as the feel of the book. John Lee is a trustworthy guide as he navigates the ebbs and flurries of the novel.

Any additional comments?

It does encourage you to reflect on the shifts from traditional to modern art. Pamuk lavishes lots of love on the manuscripts he clearly loves. His enthusiasm is contagious, and erudite.