This is a difficult one to assess as a whole. It is shorter than most of Pamuk's novels and mostly written in quite simple language. It is partly a story of modern Turkey and its politics, partly a study of father-son relationships and partly a retelling of Oedipus and the Persian legend Rostam and Sohrab. The story falls into three parts, each of which is quite distinct.The first part is both the simplest and the easiest to like. The narrator Cem tells of a job he took after his father, who was...

As a fatherless son, so a sonless father will be embraced by none.from Ferdowski's Shahnameh (and the epigraph to this novel)I had wanted to be a writer. But after the events I am about to describe, I studied engineer in geology and became a building contractor. Even So, readers shouldn't conclude from my telling the story now that it is over, that I've put it all behind me. The more I remember, the deeper I fall into it. Perhaps you, too, will follow, lured by the enigma of father and sons.The

DIG and RUN!!!!!! ....... I became transfixed by thoughts, questions, opinions, and judgments about Cem --- taking the train back home to Istanbul when he did... at the end of Part I of this story. There are three parts to this novel. Each are different-- related & connected, but different. The novel comes together brilliantly at the end..... but this is one twisted story!!!! My goodness! A familiar lovelorn pursuit, took me back to "The Museum of Innocence". Similar to "The Museum of Innocenc...

Utter garbage. A tedious tale tediously told. Repetitive and boring. The author thinks he has something profound to say about father-son relationships. He doesn't. And he also mistakenly believes that his constant recourse to the Oedipus myth will prove that he's erudite. It doesn't. Here are a couple of lines to prove my point: 'I let out each piercing wail, hoping for some release from the anguish' and 'The things you hear in old myths and folktales always end up happening in real life.' Not u...

Follow my blog Book Nation by Jen https://booknationbyjen.wordpress.com... for all reviews and recommendations. I really enjoyed this short but dense book, The Red-Haired Woman written by Turkish Nobel Prize winning author Orhan Pamuk. In the 1980s, a teenage, fatherless boy is an apprentice to Master Mahmut, a well digger. They dig for water in the hot sun, and tell stories to pass the time. They develop a tight relationship and grow to rely on each other as co-workers and as father and son. On...

This was a nice read. Would not recommend if you are new to Pamuk. What to expect?- lots of literary symbolisms- frequent comparisons between Greek epic + Firdowsi's story of Rostam and Sohrab + life of protagonistWhat did not seem right?-Pamuk starts explaining. Almost as if he is scared the reader will not be able to read between the lines-comparison between the protagonist's life and the epics seemed repetitive and lumpy.-less lyrical than usual Pamuk novelsFor more - http://www.thebooksatche...

The plot thickens ... And even the storyline is flawless the building-up is a bit to obvious.I will not spoil your fun, only point to the fun fact that leftwing actors retelling Greek classic plays were frowned upon.If you should pick a role for yourself in this play of Pamuk, I would recommend you found a place in the choir, that would be in safe distance from the inevitable turn of history.

3.75 stars. In the late 1980s, I travelled to Turkey with my soon to be husband. We had just finished university, had little money and were in search of adventure. It was certainly an interesting trip and we have often talked about going back to Turkey, but I am also aware that traveling in a country when you don't know the language and have no real means of getting to know people isn't really a great way to get to know a country. This was my first book by Orhan Pamuk. But I feel that the two da...

Life follows myth.So it does.The story draws upon two ancient myths. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, in which the son kills the father (unknowingly) and Ferdawsi’s Rustam and Sohrab taken from The Persian Book of Kings Shahnameh, which is a reversal of Oedipus Rex in that it is the father who kills the son (again, unknowingly) and the string of events that lead to both deaths and the consequences the murderers face for their sui generis crimes. The two contradictory yet complementing myths become the pa...

4.75!If it weren't for the last chapter, it would have been a very strong, heavy 5 stars! The last chapter mildly ruined the magic.Yet, this is a unique tail, a staggering art, a mixture of western and eastern mythologies, past and present, myth and reality! Brilliantly portraying the appeal of taking myth so seriously that it is brought about in your life. Disclosing the pleasure of enduring agonizing pain by yourself, and actually enjoying not sharing it with anyone. The author is amazingly aw...

The book that has the traces of Author's style as a rule. A brief information about the early days of Istanbul and a very mastered way of merging it with the legend about Rustam and Sohrab was very awesome. The end was really shocking. Controversy to Elif Shafak's "Havva' 3 daughters" this book was not written in the business purposes and makes you enjoy the storyline. Like it very much.

From BBC Radio 4 - Book at Bedtime:The Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk explores the complex layers of father-son relationships through the apparently simple story of a young man apprenticed to a welldigger on the outskirts of Istanbul.As the story of the well digging proceeds, he brings together eastern and western myths and legends to look at what is really meant by authority and rebellion. Can anyone ever escape their fate?With this vivid image of digging towards the centre of the earth at the hear...

For the first third of Re-Haired Woman it barely held my interest. Fortunately Pamuk has such a stellar reputation that I forced myself to keep reading. The story begins on a sleepy mountaintop in a town outside Istanbul, Turkey where a well digger and his two teenage charges tell one another morality stories and occasionally wander down the mountain and into the small town. Ongoren boasts a military outpost some restaurants and coffee houses and a band of actors who are there for a limited run....

My favorite film director is Wong Ka-Wai. I often say if Pamuk or Haruki Murakami were to be made into films, they have to be directed by Wong. Not that their books are similar, but all the emotions, sadness and melancholy of the characters, often depicted in minute but memorable scenes (rather than going on and on about actual emotions)... All three of them do this the best. Now to think about it, Murakami is known for often using a well as symbolism. And This book is also about a well. (My Nam...

​I'm a huge fan of the soulful and brilliant Turkish Nobel Prize winning novelist Orhan Pamuk. So when I heard he had a new release (published in the U.S. last month), I got my hands on it as soon as possible.I loved The Red-Haired Woman, an alluring tale of a teenager who is hired as the apprentice of a master welldigger to find water on a barren plain on the outskirts of Istanbul. During his time on the job, he meets a beautiful red-haired woman. His affair with her transforms him in unimagina...

Dear Mr. Pamuk, sorry to rate this one only 2 stars! I appreciate the philosophy that you brought to your book specially the part which is related to my country (Ferdowsi's Rostam & Sohrab myth) but your story is not believable enough insomuch random meetings happen in it.

3.5 stars!

No wonder i am a Pamuk fan!This book was quite different, style wise and plot, from his previous works!Pamuk illustrates in his book the unsettling relationship between father and son!Growing up fatherless, Cem becomes a well digger’s apprentice who takes the role as his father!The book is divided into three parts; two of which narrated by Cem himself at 16 and 30s and the third by the red haird woman!Cem’s character development can be sensed and is felt in the first two parts; the voice is more...

Beautifully written. Great story, touch of philosophy within the storyline . Loved the Turkish setting and time components.

From helping dig a well to creating a valuable property company, this story charts the progress of Cem set to the backdrop of the expansion of Istanbul. Cem and his wife Ayse can't have children and yet they're obsessed with the stories of Oedipus and Rostam and Sohrab, even naming their property company Sohrab. The success of his company is the beginning of the end for Cem as he advertises his company himself and these adverts are seen by a son he never knew he had, the result of a one-night st...