First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

In Istanbul, in the late 1590s, the Sultan secretly commissions a great book: a celebration of his life and his empire, to be illuminated by the best artists of the day. But when one of the miniaturists is murdered, their master has to seek outside help. Did the dead painter fall victim to professional rivalry, romantic jealousy or religious terror?

A thrilling murder mystery, My Name is Red is also a stunning meditation on love, artistic devotion and the tensions between East and West.

Happy Friday everyone! Technically, it is already Saturday. Nevertheless, I am glad we were all able to make it through another work week. Personally, the previous week was quite hectic. Because I will be on leave the entire week next week, I had to rush to complete a document. I even had to render work during a holiday. Regardless, I am just glad I was able to complete it yesterday although it is still up for vetting and I will have to answer any concerns about the document. How about you? How was your work week? I hope it was not as tedious as mine. I hope you were also able to complete your tasks. I hope you are all spending the weekend recovering and resting. It is a brief respite but I hope we all get to optimize it. It is also an opportunity to pursue things that we are passionate about. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in body, mind, and spirit.

I also can’t help but notice how time has been flying fast. Just like that, we are nearly midway through the year’s fourth month. It seems like just yesterday when we welcomed the second quarter of the year after an eventful first quarter. Time flows, taking its natural course sans any regard to anyone. Anyway, how has the year been so far? I hope that everyone that it is going great or is going the way you wanted it to. If your year is going awry, I hope you experience a reversal of fortune. I hope positive energies, blessings, and good news flow into your lives in the coming days and months. I hope that you are well on your way to achieving your goals this year. Speaking of goals, I have several, reading-wise. One of my goals this year is to expand my foray into translated literature, hence, why I kicked off my 2025 reading journey with the works of East Asian writers. It was, as always, a fascinating and memorable experience that introduced me to new worlds I hadn’t been to before.

But with the first quarter done, I deemed it necessary to explore other worlds. I didn’t have to go too far as I decided to immerse myself in the works of Asian writers. I commenced this journey with Elif Shafak’s latest novel, There Are Rivers in the Sky. I followed it up with Shafak’s countryman, 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Orhan Pamuk. It was in 2015 that I first encountered Pamuk. During a random book-purchasing binge, I obtained a copy of Snow simply because the cover says that Pamuk is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature; back then, I didn’t have an iota about the prestige that comes with being awarded the Prize. I have since begun to understand the importance of the Prize and I was glad that it was a random purchase that introduced me to Pamuk (and to Naguib Mahfouz as well). I have also read a couple of Pamuk’s works.

Among Pamuk’s works cited by the Swedish Academy was My Name is Red. It is also cited by many literary pundits as among his best works. This internationally recognized novel has won several prestigious literary prizes, including the International Dublin Literary Award. It is for these reasons that I have been looking forward to it although it was just recently that I managed to find a copy of the book. Originally published in 1998 as Benim Adım Kırmızı, My Name is Red transports the readers to late sixteenth-century Constantinople, present-day Istanbul and the muse of Pamuk’s (and Shafak’s) works. The story commences interestingly, with the voice of a recently departed man. The opening chapter titled I am a Corpse relates the murder of Elegant Effendi, an illuminator working for a workshop of miniaturists in the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Murad III. Elegant, whose body lies at the bottom of a well, was talking directly to the reader, speculating about the reasons for his murder without mentioning who his murderer was.

The story then introduces more characters and even objects and paintings taking the narrative voice. However, as the story progresses, two characters loom above the story. After twelve years of being virtually banished from Istanbul, Black returns to the city of his birth shortly after Elegant’s murder. He worked as a civil servant who, upon his return, renewed his relationship with his uncle, Enishte Effendi, a book dealer. Interestingly, it was his uncle who orchestrated Black’s being sent away. This was after Enishte learned that Black fell in love with Shekure, Enishte’s daughter and Black’s cousin. However, Enishte and Shekure have been struggling. Following her cousin’s exile, Shekure, the second prominent character of the story, has married a soldier with whom she bore two sons.

The status of Shekure’s husband, however, was unclear. He did not return from the war. His body was also not recovered. With this uncertainty, Shekure cannot be considered a widow although she believes her husband is dead. Shekure has since been staying with her father-in-law and brother-in-law, Hasan. Hasan, however, made Shekure uncomfortable, even sexually abusing her. Because of these instances, Shekure, along with her sons, went back home to her father. She was unsure of whether to wait for her husband or to find a new man. It was at this juncture that Black reentered her life. It did not take long before old feelings floated to the surface and the two lovers rekindled their romance.

The story takes time to build. Pamuk regals the readers with details of the art scene during the Ottoman Empire. At one point, Enishte and Black discussed the new realist style of European painting. When Black reentered his uncle’s life, Enishte was commissioned by the Sultan to create a book of paintings in the European style. He employed a group of miniaturists to create this book; among those artists was Elegant. However, this new style artistic of depicting the world is considered heretical, prompting Enishte to keep the project a secret. When Elegant went missing, Enishte was distraught, prompting him to seek assistance from Black who readily helped him. Things take a darker turn when Enishte himself is murdered and Black is considered a suspect.

There are so many threads to the story which makes it both challenging and interesting. Art obviously is a prevalent subject, beyond the story being a romance and suspense story. It is always fascinating how Pamuk transports the readers across time. I can’t wait to see how the story wraps up. Will Black be able to get to the bottom of the mystery? Or is he a world in a sheep’s skin, i.e., is he the murderer (the murderer also gets to narrate, even confessing about the guilt he feels)? My Name is Red is not an easy read but it is quite a compelling one. I am nearly done with the book, just a couple of hundred pages away from getting to the conclusion. How about you fellow reader? What book or books have you read over the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy whatever you are reading right now. Happy weekend!