“we are just starting a group read/discussion of this book over at Better than Starbucks.http://www.shelfari.com/groups/23648/aboutplease join us! it looks like a great book!”
“I'm almost finished it now - it's a big of a slow going especially since I only read it 20 minutes before bedtime!! It has a very interesting form and structure, a story told in many perspectives. I still haven't guessed the culprit but then again I'm not one of those that tries to spoil endings for myself :). Very, very dense and detailed in places but gives a fascinating indepth view of the world of miniaturists. Having been to Istanbul very briefly I was able to "get" some of the Muslim cultural references but probably not all. I would recommend it.”
“A friend, who is a designer, just recommended this book to me. Did you like it?”
“It is a beautiful book to be read, almost in one go.... miniature painting is very common and acknowledged in Asia and partly Europe.... writer has been very elaborate in describing the era and the problems being faced by such artists........excellent book !!!!!”
“Like most people here I also liked this book, but found it a bit dense and heavy at times. One thing I really missed though: a chance to see the paintings described! I don't even know if they are real artworks or only fictions of Pamuk's mind, but I'd love to see an illustrated version of this book.”
“it is not an easy book to read.. but still i am happy I did it. perheaps it is true that muslims can understand it better, but I beleive that such a deep view of a whole society can be given only by a great artist with full knowledges about what it is writing and by someone who has deep feelings.. i liked more the chapter "my name is red". on the other side I see the figure of Shekure as an example of how motherhood can be presented. I beleive that more than her beaty(which is not described in fact), it is her clevereness and sense of practicity that attract anyone's attention. At the end of the book, thinking of her, it brought in my mind first pages of " Year 93" of V.Hygo where motherhood it is explained in a total diferent way, but yet very impresive..”
“i am still reading this book.. first pages were hard to pass.. but it had happened to me with other books also that after some 'less interesting' pages comes a very nice story and a very good narrator. I am 'walking' through the book feeling the increase of 'interest'”
“I'm reading this book very slowly but with each chapter, the book fails to disappoint me. Right now, I'm reading a chapter called "I'm a Tree" and decided to pick a few sentences which grabbed me to include in my comment:" "My request is that you look at me and ask: "Were you perhaps meant to provide shade for Majnun disguided as a shepherd as he visited Leyla in her tent? or "Were you meant to fade into the night, represening the darkness in the soul of a wretched and hopeless man?" How I would've wanted to complement the happiness of two lovers who fled from the whole world, traversing oceans to find solace on an island rich with birds and fruits! I would've wanted to shade Alexander during the final moments of his life..."”
“the only advise I can give you is to keep reading it and avoid taking a long break from finishing the bookbut like a slowly melting chocolate ....the longer it stays ..the more the savour its taste”
“This book is like Alice in Wonderland!!! You just keep discovering and being led up the garden path of imagination mixed with the reality of an age gone by...simply fantastic!”
