Orhan Pamuk in the context of Istanbul and authorship: the black book, my name is red, Istanbul

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1606893 (Table of Contents)

In this study I examine the role of “Istanbul” and “authorship” in three books of Orhan Pamuk: The Black Book, My Name Is Red, and Istanbul: Memories and the City. I first focus on the atmosphere and the general feelings of the city, and then I analyze the portrayal of “authorship” through the following questions: How do the features and feelings of the city form and direct each book? What are the roles and the processes of authorship in each of the books? What feature does the resulting authorship have? What kind of a hierarchy do the city and the authorship have and how do they feed each other? I also compare and contrast these three books and how these works relate to one another. I conclude that after the city and authorship battle and interlace, it is not the city but rather the authorship that ultimately comes to the forefront. More importantly, I believe that this authorship calls its readers to lay claim to their own lives, through whatever medium they chose, although Pamuk’s preference in this “centerless world” as “consolation” is literature in general, and novel in particular.