Penguin Random House Canada, August 22, 2017.
Four Stars
Ten years ago, I read Snow – my first book by Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk – and absolutely
loved it. I haven’t been as impressed with Pamuk’s more recent work, although I’m
not sure if it’s the slower pace, weighed down by symbolism and archetypical
characters, or if my expectations are too high after my experience with Snow.
The Red-Haired
Woman is heavily influenced by both western and
eastern legends, specifically Sophocles’ Oedipus
Rex and the Persian story of Rostam and Sohrab. Although these stories provide complex layers to the novel, they also sometimes make the characters feel less real and more like symbols for the themes that Pamuk is exploring here – the relationships between fathers and sons, the idea of individual freedom versus the government, and ultimately the gray areas between good and evil. It’s a lot to take on, and it explains why the story sometimes becomes dry and unable to hold the reader’s attention.
The novel is set in Istanbul in the 1980s. Cem is
sixteen years old, and he spends his summer as the apprentice to a well-digger,
Master Mahmut, in a small town outside the city. As they desperately search for
water in the barren land surrounding them, they tell stories at night to pass
the time, including the legends mentioned above, which both man and boy become
fixated upon. Oedipus Rex, the story
of a king who kills his father and marries his mother, specifically becomes a
loose allegory for Cem’s larger lifelong struggles.
After a day of digging wells, Cem goes into town to
visit the tent of some travelling performers who act out “morality tales” for
the crowd. When Cem meets the older, married, red-haired woman who performs in
the plays, he becomes obsessed and follows her around town. To Cem’s surprise,
the two experience one night of passion together, before an accident at work
causes Cem to flee back to Istanbul. His experiences that summer weigh him down
with a sense of guilt and shame that follows him into adulthood.
Thirty years later, Cem and his wife have the opportunity
to purchase the land where he dug the well that summer. When Cem travels back
to the small town, he discovers that his past has not stayed buried as he
expected – and the red-haired woman has a surprising secret for him. The
mystery elements tie the novel together from start to finish, although the big
reveal is certainly not surprising. The
Red-Haired Woman is much more concerned with its multi-layered plot, rich
in literary and historical references, than in developing the mystery or the
characters themselves. Although the novel didn’t always hold my attention, I did
appreciate the complex layers of story and history – and I think it will only
get better with each re-read.
I received this book from Penguin Random House Canada
and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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