Istanbul：Memories and the City

Ashimmeringevocation,byturnsintimateandpanoramic,ofoneoftheworld’sgreatcities,byitsforemostwriter.OrhanPamukwasborninIstanbulandstilllivesinthefamilyapartmentbuildingwherehismotherfirstheldhiminherarms.Hisportraitofhiscityisthusalsoaself-portrait,refractedbymemoryandthemelancholy–orhüzün–thatallIstanbullusshare:thesadnessthatcomesoflivingamidtheruinsofalostempire.Withcinematicfluidity,Pamukmovesfromhisglamorous,unhappyparentstothegorgeous,decrepitmansionsoverlookingtheBosphorus;fromthedawningofhisself-consciousnesstothewritersandpainters–bothTurkishandforeign–whowouldshapehisconsciousnessofhiscity.LikeJoyce’sDublinandBorges’BuenosAires,Pamuk’sIstanbulisatriumphantencounterofplaceandsensibility,beautifullywrittenandimmenselymoving.