snow || orhan pamuk || 4.0/5.0 starsi have a thing for nobel laureates of literature. kipling, sinclair lewis, steinbeck, jose saramago, hemingway, neruda, garcia marquez... you really can't go wrong. i love them all. so i was excited to try out mr. pamuk, the 2006 laureate "who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures".
i liked the book, but i was expecting more. its always hard to read a novel in translation, and i'm hoping that may be the cause of my discontent here. i'm very much a reader for language, and i didn't love the verbiage in snow. certainly a good story, and a very timely one. the novel hinges around the 'headscarf girls' - supporters of the political islamist party in kars, turkey. the plot unfolds over a three day period, in which the town is cut off by snow, and during which a short coup is made by a visiting theatre personality.
i've put my name is red, one of pamuk's earlier novels on my list & will give him another shot sometime - hoping to enjoy that one a bit more.
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