Orhan Pamuk is a popular Turkish writer. He became the owner of numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in literature, which he received in 2006. His proactive stance is often well known, often not coinciding with the opinion of the Turkish authorities. For example, regarding discrimination against Kurds and the Armenian Genocide.
Writer Biography
Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul. He was born in 1952. His father worked as an engineer. Orhan Pamuk received his education at an American college located in the Turkish capital. Then he entered a technical university. Parents dreamed that he would follow in his father's footsteps and become a civil engineer. In the third year, Pamuk left the university, dreaming of becoming a writer.
In 1977, he received a diploma from the Institute of Journalism of Istanbul University. In the mid-80s he lived in America. He taught at Columbia University, then returned to his homeland in Turkey.
Emigration to the USA
In 1982, the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk married, he has a growing daughter. In 2001, he divorced. Moreover, until 2007 he continued to live in Turkey. But after the murder of a Turkish human rights activist of Armenian descent, Hrant Dink left for New York, where he still remains. Dink was killed by an extremist.
In 2007, Pamuk received the title of professor at Columbia University. At the university, he teaches a course for beginner writers, and also teaches the history of world literature.
According to rumors, for some time Orhan Pamuk had relations with the Indian writer Kira Desai. Her most famous novel, The Legacy of the Ruined, on East-West relations, received the Booker Prize.
It is known that since 2010, the civil wife of a Turkish writer is Asla Akyavash. She has been connected with him by many years of acquaintance, relations have continued for more than one year.
Creativity of Orhan Pamuk
The first significant work of Pamuk was a novel saga called "Jevdet Bay and His Sons." In it, the author described in detail the history of several generations of the average Istanbul family.
In the writer's work, he is most interested in the topics of confrontation between the West and the East, Christianity and Islam, as well as modernity and traditions. A vivid example is the novel "Snow". It clearly describes the conflict between Islamism and Westernism, which unfolds on the example of life in modern Turkish society.
The action of almost all the books of Orhan Pamuk unfolds in the Turkish capital Istanbul. For example, the book "Istanbul. City of Memories", in fact, is a cycle of interconnected essays and stories that unites the city of Istanbul and the autobiographical motifs found on the pages of this work.
Awarding Nobel Prize
In 2006, an important event took place in the biography of Orhan Pamuk. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
This time, the Nobel Committee, arguing for its choice, chose a very original wording. The prize was awarded to the Turkish writer for the fact that, in search of the melancholy soul of his native city, he managed to find new symbols for the interweaving and clash of cultures.
At that time, one of his most famous works was the novel "White Fortress". It describes the events that took place in Istanbul in the XVII century. In the center of the story is a young Italian who is captured by the Turks. In captivity, he becomes a servant of a very strange person who is simply obsessed with the idea of knowing the universe.
Perhaps the most important secret of this work is the image of a Turkish scientist who looks so much like an Italian captive that they are often confused.
Social work
Pamuk's non-standard statements on many issues acute for Turkish society made him a controversial personality in the eyes of contemporaries and compatriots. Some admire his courage and courage, others consider him a traitor.
For example, in 2005, his hometown government sued Pamuk because of his interview with a Swiss magazine. In it, he openly stated that at least 30,000 Kurds and about a million Armenians were killed in Turkey, but besides him, everyone else is silent about this topic. After this statement, he became an object of hatred in his native country, since it is not customary in Turkish society to raise such topics. As a result, he temporarily left Turkey, but then returned, despite the allegations made.
The trial of Pamuk was planned for 2005, but it was postponed. As a result, the Ministry of Justice withdrew the lawsuit; the trial never took place.
Because of the accusations against Pamuk abroad, they became seriously interested in freedom of speech in Turkey itself. This issue is especially often raised in connection with the country's desire to join the European Union.
As a result, the human rights organization Amnesty International advocated the abolition of an article in the Turkish Criminal Code on insulting Turkey and local identity. For this crime, you can get a term (up to three years in prison). In support of Pamuk made many world famous writers.
The trial against the hero of this article ended in 2011. The court sentenced him to a fine of about four thousand dollars. By the way, the theme of massacres of Istanbul’s Armenians and Greeks was one of the main themes in his novel Istanbul. City of Memories.
Unique work "Museum of Innocence" by Orhan Pamuk
In 2012, Pamuk released a new novel called The Museum of Innocence. Its main theme is a reflection of the reality of the past. According to the author himself, he managed to form a unique collection of old, rare things, similar to those described in his book.
Those who read this work say that the “Museum of Innocence” by Orhan Pamuk is an amazing love story that is deep, limitless and inconsolable. In this novel, the author talks about the relationship between the heir to a wealthy Istanbul family named Kemal with his distant and poor relative, Fusun.
Pamuk in this work explores the innermost secrets of the human soul. He notes that in them, space and time are ultimately transformed into what is called true life.
Recent Pamuk novels
The books of Orhan Pamuk are very popular in Russia. In 2016, two novels were released at once. This is "Red-haired Woman" and "My Strange Thoughts."
He worked on My Strange Thoughts for six whole years. The work describes the events that occurred from 1969 to 2012. The protagonist works on the streets of the Turkish capital and watches as more and more people appear. Poor people come from Istanbul to Istanbul to earn money, the city is constantly changing and transforming. All the ongoing coups in Turkey, changes in power are shown as they are perceived by the protagonist. He wonders what sets him apart from everyone else.
The novel "Red-haired Woman" tells about the love relationship of Istanbul lyceum student and actress of a vagrant theater.