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“Far from a conventional appreciation of the city’s natural
and architectural splendors, Istanbul
tells of an invisible melancholy and the way it acts on an imaginative young
man, aggrieving him but pricking his creativity.”
- New York Times
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“Brilliantly constructed…Pamuk has remained faithful to his opulent
muse. This quietly instructive and enchanting elegy to a redeemed childhood and
to Istanbul itself will bring the world to his feet.”
- Observer (London)
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“Istanbul is equal
parts autobiography, travel essay, sociology, and criticism…As evocative as
Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Man.”
- Miami Herald
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“Fascinating…A deeply inward memoir of a city.”
- Sun
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“Essential reading for devoted fans of his novels.”
- Independent (London)
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“A fascinating literary adventure…Rich in details and
research.”
- San Francisco Chronicle
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“With Istanbul,
Orhan Pamuk may have written the most haunting, heartbreaking, gorgeous book
ever about a city.”
- San Diego Union-Tribune
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“Entrancing…Brilliant…Pamuk will be identified with Istanbul
as Lawrence Durrell is with Alexandria and James Joyce with Dublin.”
- San Jose Mercury News
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“Remarkable…Even those of us who have never set foot in
[Istanbul] will be transformed by reading Pamuk’s extraordinary and moving
book.”
- Financial Times
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“Delightful, profound, marvelously original…Pamuk tells the
story of the city through the eyes of memory.”
- Washington Post Book World
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“Insightful, eclectic, whimsical…Pamuk is not writing Istanbul, he’s painting it.”
- Boston Globe
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“A fascinating read for anyone who has even the slightest
acquaintance with this fabled bridge between east and west.”
- Economist
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“Brilliant…Pamuk insistently describes a dizzingly gorgeous,
historically vibrant metropolis.”
- Newsday
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“A portrait of one of the world’s great cities by its
foremost literary resident.”
- Barnes & Noble, editorial review
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“This is a powerful, sometimes disturbing literary journey
through the soul of a great city told by one of its great writers.”
- Publishers Weekly
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“[A] well-written account.”
- Library Journal
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“An engrossing tale.”
- Kirkus Reviews
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“Masterful…A three-pronged book: an anatomy of the city’s
body and soul; a compelling account of family politics, war, and diplomacy; and
a study of the youthful writer’s gropings through the dark towards his true
vocation.”
- Guardian (London)
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“Engaging…A rich and quirkily faceted portrait of a city.”
- Los Angeles Times Book Review