Easy read - engaging storyline

This is my first Pamuk. I’m quite frugal with reviews so please take 3 stars to mean that it is a good read. The only thing that does not cause me to give it any more stars is that I did not find in this story anything particularly unforgettable or life alteringly beautiful writing.

That being said, Pamuk writes with an effortlessly buttery flow. He skilfully weaves layers into most of the characters which I did find connective during my read. It is the mark of a good writer to be able to evoke emotions of pity or anger on behalf of characters. Pamuk is certainly amply capable in that regard. I particularly loved the way the book changed pace halfway through. Up until chapter 21 (out of 45 chapters), we follow Cem, a boy of 16 from Besiktas in istanbul. He takes an apprenticeship with a well digger in a nearby village and for a month we follow this journey. The pace at which the first half is delivered gives the reader the ability to develop some sympathy for the young man without a father figure. His father had abandoned them for political activism and he starts to feel very strongly towards Master Mahmut as being a replacement father figure for him. Halfway through the pace of the story alters by way of an event (no spoilers don’t worry!) and then we whizz through 30 years in the second half of the book. The story is tied in with two ancient tales. One belonging to Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, the tale of Sohrab and Rustum (where the father, Rustum kills the son). The second story belonging to Greek mythology, the tale of Oedipus. Both stories contain the example of filicidepatricide and

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