The White Castle: Amazon.ca: Orhan Pamuk: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

One of Turkey's foremost novelists explores the ambivalent relationship between master and slave in this elegant, postmodernist twist on the theme of the doppelganger. During the 17th century, a young Italian is captured by the Turkish fleet and brought to Istanbul, where he becomes the slave of an erudite man who could pass for his twin. The Hoja , or master, is convinced that the Italian youth's European education is superior to his own and he becomes the young man's pupil. Once the Hoja perceives the superficiality of the young man's knowledge, however, he insists that the slave tell him more, demanding details of his double's upbringing. When this, too, becomes tiresome, the slave confesses to real and imagined sins for which he is beaten. As their relationship changes over the years, with each alternating domination, the author deftly plays the mirror-image characters against each other. To aid the Ottoman sultan in his war against the Poles, the two develop a fantastical war machine. Its disastrous failure in battle proves their undoing. The reader is left guessing at the ultimate fate of the Hoya and the slave, while at the same time admiring Pamuk's skillfully constructed paradoxes.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The third novel by the well-known Turkish writer recounts the life of a young Italian Christian taken captive at sea by the Ottoman Turks in the 17th century. Through his intelligence he is treated quite favorably as a slave and spends his days in Istanbul doing research for the Pasha and young Sultan under the sponsorship of a learned man, whom he hauntingly resembles. A slow, unmoving book that lacks substance or well-developed characters, it ironically concludes in the closing chapters with the author's comment, "I have now come to the end of my book. Perhaps discerning readers, deciding my story was actually finished long ago, have already tossed it aside."-- Paula I. Nielson, Loyola Marymount Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Product Description

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

20 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Dear Orhan,, Oct 19 2003

By

Susan C. Bentler "Madam Book Nerd" (Alexandrai , VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The White Castle: A Novel (Paperback)

Dear Orhan:

After countless wasted hours at bookstores flirting with other authors, I discover you, a "new" author I can enthuse about grandly, knowing that with time you will receive the Nobel Prize for literature, while I boast about having read everything of you have written.

You remind me of Milan Kundera and Umberto Eco. There is also the uniquely rich, varied texture of Instanbul inferred in this particular novel, but none the less quite present for me.

(Perhaps i should say that "My Name is Red" is a joyous frolic, a magnum opus, a great success and a good place for your newer readers to start, if they need background in 16th century Istanbul.)

Still I hope no one who reads "Red" misses "White Castle." I found it a serious yet gently amusing exercise in thinking about identity.

There are some telling moments where the two look-a-likes, as slave (captive Italian) and Hoja (Turkish Master) try to tease out their individual nuances and idiosyncracites.

The result is subtle and astonishing. For me, the breathtaking moment is the contrast of the Slaves's anxiety in the face of the plaque and Hoja'a fearlessness. This is literature for romantic thinkers.

White Castle is a brilliant play on identity. Anyone who has spent a few introspective moments post 9/11, et al, should read this contrast and synthesis in western-eastern idea.

So please dear Orhan, although it may be a long road to the Nobel, it is I who have everything to gain, rich hours spent over dark coffee, your books clasped firmly in hand because I cannot deny myself the pleasure of reading them. Sometimes to the detriment of all my other obligations.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars This is for one of the reviews, Feb 13 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The White Castle: A Novel (Paperback)

I have already reviewed this wonderful book -- now I have a question. Twice I have read really great reviews by S. Bentler. I want to know if this person is an author. The writing is so lovely, I would read this person's books. I don't know where else to address this question but here, in hopes that he/she may notice at some point, and answer the question. Thanks

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars A Story of an Italian and a Turkish, Mar 29 2003

By

Can Adiloglu (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The White Castle: A Novel (Paperback)

I started reading the original version (Turkish) of this book while I was in Turkey, but then I stopped in the middle. When I turned back to USA, I saw the English translation, and continued and finished it by reading the English. I can say that the translation is more or less as good and exciting as the original.
The book is nice, and like Pamuk's more popular book, "My Name is Red", it also questions the values of East and West, Ottoman Empire and Venice.
However, I agree that this book is not Pamuk's best. Although I enjoyed reading it a lot, it was simpler than Pamuk's other stories.
It still is a very good and interested book, especially for the people who wants to see how different, or how similar used to be (are) the perspectives and lives of people of the East and West of the Mediterranean.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 20 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 43 reviews 3.6 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly fine writing!
I predict that Pamuk will one day receive the Nobel Prize for literature. This is one of the best books I have read in recent years. Read more

Published on Jan 2 2003 by Margaret Dybala

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely superb
I have wanted to read something by this author for some time. He came recommended as a truly unique voice, with the additional interest of being a Turk steeped in the mores and... Read more

Published on Oct 29 2002 by Robert J. Crawford