The man who was born in Istanbul in 1952 was going to be an architect, as his parents wanted him to be so. But destiny showed him another path. He went on the road of writing.
His mother had an apprehension that he would not earn
sufficient money to maintain his family, as most of the writers did not.
However, the reading of modern and ancient writings made this man become a
well-equipped writer. The man was Orhan Pamuk, and he earned Nobel Prize for
literature.
The narrative technique he displays in his writing is wonderful. It justifies the Nobel
Prize awarded to him. Orhan Pamuk loves his city of Istanbul and he
praises the city for its unmatched history of arts and the human tragedies the
wars had put into the city. If anyone wants to know about him in nutshell,
he or she should read at least one novel written by Orhah Pamuk. And the novel
“My Name is Red” would be a good choice.
The Plot
The story of this novel revolves around the Turkey of the
sixteenth century. But the point Orhan Pamuk makes is a contemporary
one. Primarily the novel walks around the life of miniature artists living
in Istanbul of the late sixteenth century. It narrates all types of
human follies and demonstrates how negative forces sway over positive factors.
The gist of the story is like this: certain communities block modernity
in any field of life. Even the artists are discouraged at the first instance and
then beheaded for disobeying the so-called religious truth. Orhan Pamuk
narrates this element taking the help of the cultural dynamics of his country.
The structure of society he describes seems convincing. The events narrated
with the help of multiple voices are full of emotions. These events portray the
physical and mental state of the people of the period involved. The novel succeeds
in describing the social texture of the characters and how that affects their
daily life.
The plot is well arranged. The story of the novel My Name is Red comprises three major happenings. The prime aspect of the story is a murder mystery. Murders of two artists are involved. Another aspect is a love story, running through the novel. However, the hidden aspect of the novel is the protest of the new wave in the field of art. A section of Turkish artists opposes the growing influence of western painting. They would not accept the paintings looking three dimensional. There was a section of the artists who wanted to use the concept of perspective painting.
