I hated this book. Better said, I hated the main character of this book. I literally could not stand him, nor could I understand his poor, troubled soul. *bad me*
This is my first Pamuk novel ever and I received it as a gift from someone dear to me, so I decided to stick to it and try to finish it even though I had many attempts of putting it aside.
Overall, it was not a bad book, but I disliked a lot of the characteristics it came with - genre, characters, etc. This would not be the kind of book I would pick up in a bookshop, at all.
The writing is, truth be told, quite impressive. I could, at times, emphasize with Kemal or understand him. It let me travel inside his mind and get the motifs behind his actions.
The problem was with the plot itself and the character's decisions. As the hopeless romantic I am, I hated what he did to Sibel and how he played both of the girls for his own pleasure. And again, how did he fall in love with Fusun? He would sleep with her and help her study, that's their time together summed up. I am not even exaggerating. He became obsessed with the image of Fusun, as he thought of her, rather than her actual self.
But he stays obsessed for years?! And he goes and has dinner with her and her husband? How...? I could go on and on about some unrealistic, or better said, impossible to understand acts of his, but it would not fit the available field.
And the ending was extremely predictable, especially for me. I saw it coming instantly. It couldn't have been in any other way. It's the only thing that saved the book for me.
Do I recommend this book? I'm not sure. Maybe if you are into self-centered narcissists.
Try it at your own risk.