Displacing Fictions of Orhan Pamuk

Gürses’s book is a wonderful addition to the literature on Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk (b. 1951) and on Ottoman and Middle Eastern studies in general. In the expansive introduction Gürses not only encapsulates a review of the literature of the Nobel laureate’s life and works but also provides a meditation on Orientalism and a summary of Ottoman literary history—an impressive sweep of information that provides context for this study of Pamuk. Gürses elects to use the bridge as a site of contestation, as opposed to (re)-conciliation, to capture continuous movement of peoples and ideas. He asserts that the objective of his work is to “demonstrate the limits and violence of the bridge metaphor through the study of the new symbols of Pamuk’s work” (p. 27). He is artful in achieving his objective. In four well-crafted chapters Gürses establishes the foundation for his study and critiques The White Castle, My Name Is Red, and Istanbul: Memories of a City. The coda brings a satisfying close to the complicated ideas advanced by the author. The bridge as symbol of violence speaks to displacement of those in exile as well as notions of home. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * Choice Reviews *