FIRST LINE REVIEW: "It was the happiest moment of my life, though I didn't know it." And because he didn't recognize it for what it was, Kemel spends the next 9 years trying to recapture the happiness that he lost because he was blind to the gift he had been given. This book has moved me profoundly, not only because I read it while in Istanbul where the novel is set, but because it spoke so heartbreakingly of the little moments that we too often ignore, innocent of the gifts that those moments can be. And in two days I will visit the actual Museum of Innocence and I already know that it will wreck me!

I am a great admirer of Pamuk, but this one though bought with great expectations, disappoints. Firstly, book is too long (728 pages) and there are no such page turning incidents as expected from a large work of fiction.
Half of it is spent in describing Kemal's desire for Fusun and on getting repeated accounts, it turns out boring. Consequently, the image of Kemal generated is as a foolish rich kid who is trapped by a women's beauty and wastes his life (all the other characters think so too).
We feel no sympathy for Fusun; she is obstinate and can never wash her hands off from Kemal's suffering. Why did she take eight years for the divorce? As he says,"It was not long before it occurred to me that if her dream came true and she became a star, she would take to abusing not just me but Feridun too, possibly even leaving us both".
But this is Kemal's part of the story, and can be questioned. He also refers the tortures that Fusun undergoes as a child by males; but she is no damsel in distress. As in the driving licence incident, she does not bend when the suppression comes on account of being a woman.
Feridun is to be pitied, as a victim trapped between these lovers - at least he does well in his world.
The interesting part is the life in Turkey interwoven with the story - the aristocratic class striving hard to be modern, hotels in Bosphorus, military dictatorship of 1980s, the films and T.V. programmes - which unfortunately is not that stressed.
Perhaps I must not be a judge of Kemal. He has lived his life for what he desired and as his name signified "completeness", he strives for it. It is to be noted that Ataturk, the founder and first President of Republic of Turkey is also named as Mustafa Kemal. I like the last lines and share it here:
"My last words in the book are these, Orhan Bay, please don't forget them..."
"I wont". . .
"Let everyone know, I lived a very happy life."

Thank god that's over! The worst book I have ever read without doubt. If it wasn't my bookclub's book there's no way I would have finished it. That is a whole lot of time I will never get back!

The idea that a Museum of Innocence really exists makes me want to pack my bags and travel to Turkey and see the museum.

About the book
A love that is returned by two sides but then turns into obsession when there is love showed only by one side.We don't get to see clearly if Füsun loved him in the end or not.We didn't get much from her character.Okay except the earring part.I need more explanations tho.
Except the love part,we get to see the dark side of rich life and Istanbul in earlier years.
Orhan Pamuk's writing style is so good,made me interested in his other books since this is my first book by him.
Something I should add is that no matter how long and unnecessary a chapter was, like his longing for her would go on on many chapters,it still didn't get boring.

Couldn't get into it. The story of a privileged thirty year old man seducing an 18 year old girl, whose blondness and thinness and virginity described in creepy, panting prose is just really boring. I was hoping to learn about Turkey but I finally surmised that all I'd get out of this book is a detailed record of this writer's personal sex fantasies.

This was the May book for my local library book club. I tried REALLY hard to finish this, but all I managed was a skim read. Now that I am not at university any longer I have to admit that apart from Tolkien I try and avoid books with massive indices...so this never really appealed. I appreciate that this author won a Nobel prize, but that doesn't mean that the book (or any book the author writes) will have universal appeal. This is not an entertaining book, it's well written but for me it was a skim read, I flicked through and barely remember any of the events that happened...A book that's not for the faint-hearted when it comes to hefty tomes, hardly a book to pack in the suitcase unless you wish to use a lot of your allowance up.

Бросаю на 140 странице. Для меня это какой-то турецкий Мураками, которого я недолюбливаю, да и мужик неприятный, я ему не симпатизирую и не сопереживаю.