Comments on: What did you think?

By: Deema

Deema — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:52:10 +0000

hi all, i just saw your website by chance and it is exactly what im looking for!! , i guess its to late to join u in reading the book but i’m looking forward to reading your new book release

By: Fatima

Fatima — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:50:17 +0000

Okay. I know that almost 2 months passed since the last entry i posted, but it was because first my laptop died and second i was in the process of finishing Pamuk’s boring novel.

Now my first remark is concerning the obsession of this magical book whose content we know nothing about except for the Angel (of Death) that the narrator keeps obsessing about. I’ve been very curious to know anything about the book, but Pamuk obviously wants to keep it a mystery throughout the novel. So I wonder if Pamuk is indirectly drawing an image of the mysteries of life and how things can get secretive. Pamuk probably did this on purpose in order to make his readers get more curious, expecting something to happen or something to show in the end.

So this is how he’ll either make them throw the book away and burn it, or continue reading in the hope that the reader would get a glimpse of what’s written in this magical book, but obviously nothing happens in the end.

Second . . it seems that what Pamuk is doing in this novel (as I discussed it with Bookaholic) is to show us the repetitiveness of life in general. By portraying to us the life of a character longing for something new to happen to his world, but all he gets is a long and slow progress of things and ends up like the rest of people: getting married, having a daughter, and living a mundane life.

By: readmyblog

readmyblog — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:27:28 +0000

I wanna join the book club the only drawback is that I don’t read novels but a huge fan of literary criticism… would it be cheating if I just relied on Cliffs Notes?

By: Fatima

Fatima — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:03:01 +0000

Orhan Pamuk IS a very good writer. I personally read his other novel My Name Is Red for another bookclub. It was quite dense with historical detail. Pamuk knows his historical material very well. It shows he’s spent quite a long period of time studying history and revising it. However, I’m saying this again. The translation of The New Life is a bit ridiculous sometimes. I am sure if any of us masters the Turkish language and is able to read the novel in its original text, It’d be more interesting.

Anyway, it is funny how as soon as this bookclub started, everyone was extremely excited about it and now I don’t really see anyone saying anything about the book. I guess no-one else is reading it except the ones commenting here. What a shame.

By: Blue Fairy

Blue Fairy — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:30:33 +0000

Hey there!!

I’ve gotten to page 100…and I’m sooo curious about this book they’re all talking about! Its so weird how they haven’t talked about the details of it till now…I have a feeling its all gona be a bad dream :S

It’s pretty descriptive in parts but I found it a bit dreary and dull and sometimes depressing!! I dont understand why they keep riding buses back and forth!?! What’s that supposed to teach them about life?!

I’m gona keep reading in the hope that a great revelation about the meaning of life will be revealed or smthg!? But when?! It might get better…who knows…. plus he won an award for one of his books so he’s supposedly a pretty good writer

By: Fatima

Fatima — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:36:54 +0000

My first comment is a bit technical, since it’s related to the translation of the novel itself. I know that if i was given the responsibility of translating the text, i wouldn’t really be able to present a perfect translation myself. But the thing is after taking all of those 5 translation courses in college, i kind of became more aware of good and bad translations. So, the translation of Pamuk’s novel sounded a bit awkward sometimes. For example, he uses expressions such as “I walked into the heart of darkness” (page 42). I am not sure exactly whether or not the expression was written originally in Turkish as such, but i know that some translators can be a bit inventive in their translations. Was the translator fond of Joseph Conrad or something? I don’t know. In another part of the novel, he uses the word “brethren”. I wish i knew what the page number was. But isn’t brethren an archaic word (probably more medieval?), which shouldn’t really be used for a text written in what seems like a contemporary society in Turkey?

By: Bookaholic

Bookaholic — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:57:59 +0000

Shopaholic: That is great! I have sent out emails to several people who are interested. This is a big job which I hope all you bookworms out there help spread the word!

M: Thank you very much, it’s a pleasure having you here

By: M

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 09:53:22 +0000

Hi Bookaholic!
I love your idea to start a book club here in Kuwait.
I truly wish you all the best and great success.

By: Shopaholic

Shopaholic — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:34:49 +0000

No She is not a memeber,But I guess she heard it from someone. I guess this club needs to be advertised. Initially by emails coz we rarely find ppl from our generation who fancy reading. So we have to create a new atmosphere in Kuwait.

By: Bookaholic

Bookaholic — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:05:17 +0000

Hi there Shopaholic! Who told you about us? a member?
Goodluck with your book and you can tell us more about it after you’ve finished reading if you like. You are welcome to join and there are no rules, except you have to be a bookworm We won’t be meeting face to face anytime soon. We don’t know how successful this Bookaholics will become, however, you never know. Our discussions will take place online on this blog for now, but soon we will have our own official forum.

Thank you and looking forward to seeing you here again!