My Name Is Red

Paperback, 432 pages

English language

Published Aug. 27, 2002 by Vintage.

ISBN:
9780375706851
OCLC Number:
438505256

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5 stars (4 reviews)

At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of sixteenth-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers.

The Sultan has commissioned a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land to create a great book celebrating the glories of his realm. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed. The ruling elite therefore mustn’t know the full scope or nature of the project, and panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears. The only clue to the mystery–or crime? –lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle, My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey …

30 editions

Review of 'My Name Is Red' on 'Import'

5 stars

My name is black. I am Red. I, Shekure. All things appear equal in the eyes of Allah.



A beautiful painting in a book. A medium transcribed, with the visions of the story from all angles portrayed through the individual perspectives of each chapter/painting. A subtle and intelligent murder mystery, a romantic tale, a classic, told through the eyes of portraits in a way that contorts the reader and makes them re-think everything they could know about art and perspective. Absolutely spectacular.

Subjects

  • Fiction
  • Illumination of books and manuscripts
  • Islam and art

Places

  • Istanbul (Turkey)

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