My Name is Red

My Name is Red took me almost three weeks to read - and I normally read two books a week. It requires concentration and an interest in things Turkish, Islamic Art and murder.

The 'voice' changes from short chapter to short chapter. Set in 1591, the book tells the tale of the then Sultan who has commissioned a book in the 'Frankish style' (which he has just seen via the Doge in Venice). Portraying life as it is seen is anathema to an Islamic artist - he (and it is always he) must try and translate scenes as Allah (praise be upon him) would see it. That means that every horse must be the ideal horse, every soldier must be the ideal soldier etc. etc.

The notion of portraying life as it is would be a refutation of the will of God.

The story follows the murder of two of the major players in the production of the book and the return of a miniaturist called Black to Istanbul and his wooing of his long term love, Shekure.

If you cannot stand the thought of hundreds of pages taken up with philosophical debate on the nature of Islamic Art, then avoid it. Personally, I found it fascinating for it touches on so much of what we Westerners find difficult with the Islamic way of thinking.

The murder story itself, and the interlinking love story, are almost incidental. They do carry you through the debate and enable it to become digestible.

I know Istanbul very well and I know a fair bit about Islamic Art - so I guess that helped a lot. I found the relative lack of description of 1591 Istanbul to be a disappointment, but I found the philosophical inquiry to be absolutely fascinating.

This book will live with me for a long time - it's worth the effort. I commend it very highly to you.