The Child Finder
Rene Denfeld, 2017
HarperCollins
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062659057
Summary
A haunting, richly atmospheric, and deeply suspenseful novel from the acclaimed author of The Enchanted about an investigator who must use her unique insights to find a missing little girl.
"Where are you, Madison Culver? Flying with the angels, a silver speck on a wing? Are you dreaming, buried under snow? Or—is it possible—you are still alive?"
Three years ago, Madison Culver disappeared when her family was choosing a Christmas tree in Oregon’s Skookum National Forest. She would be eight-years-old now — if she has survived. Desperate to find their beloved daughter, certain someone took her, the Culvers turn to Naomi, a private investigator with an uncanny talent for locating the lost and missing.
Known to the police and a select group of parents as "the Child Finder," Naomi is their last hope.
Naomi’s methodical search takes her deep into the icy, mysterious forest in the Pacific Northwest, and into her own fragmented past. She understands children like Madison because once upon a time, she was a lost girl, too.
As Naomi relentlessly pursues and slowly uncovers the truth behind Madison’s disappearance, shards of a dark dream pierce the defenses that have protected her, reminding her of a terrible loss she feels but cannot remember. If she finds Madison, will Naomi ultimately unlock the secrets of her own life?
Told in the alternating voices of Naomi and a deeply imaginative child, The Child Finder is a breathtaking, exquisitely rendered literary page-turner about redemption, the line between reality and memories and dreams, and the human capacity to survive. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Rene Denfeld is a bestselling author, journalist, and licensed investigator. Her debut novel, The Enchanted won numerous honors, including the prestigious French Prix, an ALA Medal for Excellence in Fiction, a Carnegie listing, listing for the International Dublin Literary Award, Book of the Year for the Oregonian, and a finalist for the Center for Fiction Flaherty-Dunnan prize. She has written for the New York Times, Oregonian, and Philadelphia Inquirer.
Rene has been a foster child for twenty years. She was awarded the Break The Silence Award at the 24th Annual Knock Out Abuse Gala in Washington, DC, in recognition for her advocacy and social justice work. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her three children, all adopted from foster care. (Adapted from the pubisher .)
Book Reviews
Denfeld endows her novel with psychological heft, with the ravages of trauma placed front and center. For Naomi, whole swathes of her life have been erased, and for years “she had been running from terrifying shadows she couldn’t see.” For the Snow Girl, drawing on her imagination to retreat into a world of fairy tales is the only means of keeping her mental self intact. Even Mr. B’s tragic past is hinted at, obliquely, giving his character a degree of pathos rarely found in typical thriller fare.… Dark though it is, The Child Finder is superb, revealing a world that contains evil but also goodness. And Rene Denfeld’s writing, artful yet precise, make it a pleasure to read. READ MORE …
Molly Lundquist - LitLovers
[A] powerful novel about a search for a missing girl that's also a search for identity.… Elegaic, informative and disquieting, it artfully moves between Naomi's painstaking search …and the survival tactics of plucky Maidson.
Michael Callahan - New York Times Book Review
Using multiple voices, Denfeld takes an innovative approach to dealing with the pain of trauma, taking moments of darkness and frailty and probing them in heartbreaking, surprising ways.… The conclusion will leave readers breathless.
Publishers Weekly
Investigator Naomi is especially good at locating lost children because once upon a time she was lost herself. Now she's after Madison Culver, who vanished three years ago in Oregon's Skookum National Forest.… Big in-house love.
Library Journal
And though Denfeld is no doubt trying to explore the psychological realities of this abuse…, her tendency toward florid writing can make her depiction feel romanticized and takes the book at times from disquieting into downright unpalatable. Denfeld's intentions are good, but her tone strikes the wrong notes.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, consider our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Child Finder … then take off on your own:
1. How would you describe Naomi? What motivates her to become "the child finder? When asked by Madison's mother how she is able to find lost children, Naomi responds, "I know freedom." What does she mean? Talk about the ways in which Naomi uses her experience, both as a previous captive and as an investigator, to locate missing children?
2. What is Naomi's relationship with Jerome? Why is she unable to settle accept his offer of love? She acknowledges her need to "keep running from terrifying shadows she couldn't see," but wouldn't Jerome offer some protection from those shadows?
3. Something hovers around the edges of Naomi's memory which is trying to reveal itself through her dreams. Did you guess what it is before the end of the book? Why is Naomi unable to remember anything before her life with Mrs. Cottle and Jerome? Talk about those years with her foster family and about Mrs. Cottle's goodness.
4. Naomi tells Madison's mother that if she is able to locate her daughter, that Madison "won't return the same." What does Naomi mean … and how else does Rene Denfeld explore the lasting effects of trauma on survivors of kidnapping and child abuse?
5. Talk about the novel's setting: the mountains, the snow and ice, the darkness of the forest. How does that setting contribute to the book's atmosphere?
6. What are some of the ways Denfeld incorporates fairy tale elements into her novel. Why might she have done so?
7. Talk about Mr. B, both his monstrous side and his tender side. How would you describe his pathology … and does what we learn at the end of the novel help you make sense of his actions?
8. Describe the emotional dynamics between Mr. B and Madison. — why does Madison want to be close to Mr. B yet fear him at the same time? How does her retreat into her imagination help her survive? Finally, how difficult was it for you to read about the physical relationship between Mr. B and Madison?
m. SPOILER ALERT: At the end, Naomi tells Madison that she must own her experience. Why does she say that — what does she mean?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng, 2017
Penguin Publishers
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780735224292
Summary
From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned — from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead.
And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother — who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair.
But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town — and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.
Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1980-81
• Raised—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Shaker Heights, Ohio, USA
• Education—Harvard University; M.F.A., Michigan University
• Awards—Hopwood Award; Pushcart Prize
• Currently—lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Celeste Ng [pronounced "ing"] grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker Heights, Ohio, in a family of scientists. She attended Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan (now the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan), where she won the Hopwood Award.
Her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You (2014) was a New York Times bestseller and was also included as one of the paper's Notable Books of the Year. It was named a best book of the year by more than a dozen other publications, won several awards, and was a finalist for others.
Little Fires Everywhere (2017), Ng's second novel, was also published to rave and starred reviews.
Her fiction and essays have appeared in One Story, TriQuarterly, Bellevue Literary Review, Kenyon Review Online, and elsewhere, and she is the recipient of the Pushcart Prize. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and son. (Adapted from the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Celeste Ng’s fine new novel is a perfect demonstration of mathematics’ chaos theory — the idea that small changes in organized systems lead to large variations in outcome (the butterfly effect). Or maybe it’s Murphy’s law — if something can go wrong, it will.… Ng is a young writer who has already revealed her gifts with her 2014 debut, Everything I Never Told You. In this second novel, she continues to astound us with the maturity of her insights, complicated characters, and impressive writing. Highly recommended. READ MORE…
P.J. Adler - LitLovers
[Ng’s] descriptions are so dead-on you can practically see the Cleveland skyline as you ride shotgun with these characters.
Glamour
Takes unerring aim at upper-middle-class America’s blind spots.… [A] nuanced study of mothers and daughters and the burden of not belonging to our families or our communities.
Vogue
Totally absorbing, each character drawn so well it makes it impossible to decide whose side you’re on.
Marie Claire
Fans of novelist Celeste Ng…can rejoice.…The story drifts effortlessly between characters; each is full and memorable as they coax the novel to its fiery climax. Ng reminds us that action is a choice, and you’ll want to keep readiing until the last irreversible actions play out.
Bust
A captivating examination of motherhood, identity, family, privilege, and community.
Buzzfeed
Ng’s uncanny ability to embody multiple viewpoints makes for a powerful, revelatory novel.
BBC
The un-put-downable story that everyone will be talking about…. A must read for book clubs.
PopSugar
(Starred review.) An intricate and captivating portrait of an eerily perfect suburban town with its dark undertones not-quite-hidden from view and a powerful and suspenseful novel about motherhood.… [A]n impressive accomplishment.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) Shaker Heights native Ng writes what she knows into a magnificent, multilayered epic that's perfect for eager readers and destined for major award lists. —Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC
Library Journal
(Starred review.) Ng’s stunning second novel is a multilayered examination of how identities are forged and maintained, how families are formed and friendships tested, and how the notion of motherhood is far more fluid than bloodlines would suggest.… [A] tour de force
Booklist
(Starred review.) The characters she creates here are wonderfully appealing…. With her second novel, Ng further proves she's a sensitive, insightful writer with a striking ability to illuminate life in America.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for Little Fires Everywhere … then take off on your own:
1. How would you describe Mrs. Richardson and Mia, the two mothers in this novel? In what ways are they different? Why might the former always be referred to as "Mrs." rather than Elena, while Mia is always referred to by her first name? Clearly it is done purposely by the author: how does it shape the way we feel about the two women?
2. Talk about the four Richardson children, Lexi, Trip, Moody, and Izzy. Are any of the four more sympathetic than others? What is their relationship to one another? How does their affluence shape their outlooks on life?
3. Now consider Pearl: what is she like a character? How has her peripatetic upbringing, being uprooted frequently, shape her view of things? What draws her to the Richardsons?
4. Why is Moody drawn to Pearl? What does she offer him? What attracts Lexi to Pearl, certainly an unlikely friendship? In fact, overall, how is Pearl thought of/treated in the family? What does Mia think of her daughter's involvement with the Richardsons?
5. What about Izzy? Why is Mrs. Richardson more impatient with and critical of her than with the others? From the novel's first paragraph, we are told that people always thought Izzy somewhat of a "lunatic." Is that a fair assessment? As the novel progresses, what do you learn about her lunacy.
6. Why is Izzy drawn to Mia, and vice versa? What do the two see in one another?
7. What were your thoughts regarding the Mirabelle McCullough / May Ling Chow case? Whose side were on? Did your allegiance change?
8. How are class and race treated in this novel? What impact do they have on the story's events and the way the characters respond?
9. Describe Shaker Heights and its sense of itself as a refuge and "a little bit of heaven on earth." Would you enjoy living there or somewhere like it? Consider why Celeste Ng might have set her novel in such a place?
10. The novel's opening begins with the fire and then goes backward in time to trace events leading up to it. Why might Celeste Ng have structured her novel to begin with the ending and the most dramatic event? How does the reverse structure affect your reading of the story?
11. How does Mrs. Richardson respond to the fire — immediately and then later at night. What does she come to realize about Izzy and her role in her daughter's behavior. Does she gain your sympathy at the end?
12. What do you think/hope will happen to Izzy, Mia, and Pearl?
13. What is the significance of the title: to what do the "little fires everywhere" refer?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
The Tenant
Katrine Engberg, 2020
Gallery/Scout Press
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781982127572
Summary
When a young woman is discovered brutally murdered in her own apartment, with an intricate pattern of lines carved into her face, Copenhagen police detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner are assigned to the case.
In short order, they establish a link between the victim, Julie Stender, and her landlady, Esther de Laurenti, who’s a bit too fond of drink and the host of raucous dinner parties with her artist friends.
Esther also turns out to be a budding novelist—and when Julie turns up as a murder victim in the still-unfinished mystery she’s writing, the link between fiction and real life grows both more urgent and more dangerous.
But Esther’s role in this twisted scenario is not quite as clear as it first seems. Is she the culprit—or just another victim, trapped in a twisted game of vengeance? Anette and Jeppe must dig more deeply into the two women’s pasts to discover the identity of the brutal puppet-master pulling the strings in this electrifying literary thriller.
Hailed as "inconceivably thrilling" (Fyens Stiftstidende, Denmark), The Tenant is a work of stunning originality that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
A former dancer and choreographer with a background in television and theater, Katrine Engberg has launched a groundbreaking career as a novelist with the publication of The Tenant. She is now one of the most widely read and beloved crime authors in Denmark. The Tenant is her debut novel and the start of a series hailed for its artful originality and beautiful prose. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Engberg’s debut features dark family secrets—and a smorgasbord of surprises.
People
[A] gripping addition to the Scandinavian crime fiction pantheon.
OprahMag.com
[A] fast-moving first novel and series launch…. The undertow from the overly ambitious plot drowns any sense of plausibility, but Engberg’s sparkling cast and palpable evocation of a society U.S. readers will find similar yet foreign keep the pages turning pleasurably.
Publishers Weekly
[C]areful plotting ensures that the mystery unfolds deliberately, with surprises constantly woven into the narrative…. Engberg’s English language debut promises a gritty, unflinching procedural series, and will leave readers craving the translation of Kørner and Werner’s next adventure.
BookPage
Everyone has secrets, and some secrets are lies. Engberg's debut novel, a sleeper hit in her native Denmark, is sure to attract comparisons to other Scandinavian thrillers.… [L]ayered, character-driven suspense from authors including Erin Kelly and Ruth Ware may prove to be more apt read-alike suggestions.
Booklist
Overly familiar plot elements keep this from being a standout, and some twists require a significant suspension of disbelief, but Engberg's fast-paced narrative is bolstered by an interesting and quirky cast as well as an intriguing setting. A bit over-the-top but still a lot of fun.
Kirkus Reviews
Engberg's plotting is dexterous, and her character-centered storytelling aligns nicely with her unhurried descriptions of Copenhagen…. The Tenant is yet another feather in the plumed cap of Scandinavian noir.
Shelf Awareness
Discussion Questions
1. Compare and contrast Jeppe’s and Anette’s personalities, attitudes, and working styles. Do you think their differences make them a good or a bad team? Why?
2. Discuss the development of Esther and Gregers’s relationship. Do you think they would have formed such a close bond if not for Julie’s murder? Why or why not?
3. When Julie was murdered, who did you first suspect was her killer? Did that change once Kristoffer was found? How did your suspicions shift throughout the novel? Did you ever suspect David?
4. Does the atmosphere of Copenhagen—the theater, the cafes, the sea—affect the story in any way? Do you think the novel could have taken place in any city? Would the novel have been as effective if set in a different city?
5. Jeppe’s divorce has a profound impact on both his personal and his professional lives. Discuss how the aftereffects of his divorce blur the line between the personal and the professional and how his ethics are then challenged. Do you think Jeppe is ethical? Do you think anyone in the novel is? Discuss why or why not.
6. On pages 130–31, Esther says, "People who carry around grief or who have faced great challenges are more interesting than the ones with easy, happy lives." Discuss the various characters in the novel dealing with grief, loneliness, regret, and the loss of emotional connection. Do you agree with Esther that these characters are more interesting? Why or why not? Then discuss people in your own lives who have overcome challenges. How did those experiences change them?
7. Reread the passages the killer wrote on pages 162 and 218. What is their significance in the greater context of the plot? Did these help inform your suspicions as to who the killer might or might not be?
8. On page 233, Esther ponders that "writing a murder mystery is like trying to braid a spiderweb, thousands of threads stick to your fingers and break if you don’t keep your focus." Discuss the mystery at the heart of the novel and if you think the plot twists and red herrings were effective. Were you guessing until the end of the novel, or did you predict the ending early on?
9. Discuss the meaning of the name Star Child in both Esther’s manuscript and David’s note to Julie. Why do you think the author chose this name? How would you react to someone giving you a slip of paper with the words Star Child on it? Do you think you would have reacted the same way Julie did?
10. "There’s a very fine line between seizing an opportunity and doing something that you know is just downright stupid" (p. 307). Discuss instances in the novel where the characters walked this line and whether they seized an opportunity or made a mistake. If the latter, do you think anything in the novel would have changed if they had had better judgment? Would you have made the same decisions these characters did? What would you have done differently?
11. On page 334, Jeppe muses, "You think you know a person." Discuss the characters in the novel, their motivations, and how they surprised you throughout the book. Then, if you have a story to share, tell the group about a time a friend or family member did something extremely out of character and explain why it caught you by surprise.
12. After the killer is revealed to be David, you are given a glimpse into his young life and what eventually pushed him to murder. If he had had a different childhood, do you think he would have still become a killer? Or was he inherently evil? Discuss his motives for the killings and why you think he spared Esther. If he wasn’t caught, do you think he would have continued killing?
13. Scandinavian crime fiction is becoming more and more popular in the U.S. Compare The Tenant to American thrillers—books, TV shows, and movies. What qualities, if any, distinguish Jeppe and his team from detectives portrayed in American media?
14. One of the major themes in the novel is revenge. Discuss who seeks revenge, what motivates them, and what the consequences are.
15. Discuss the social criticisms made in the novel. In your discussion, consider violence against women; patriarchal societies; abortion, specifically forced or regulated abortions; and life in foster care.
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
Creatures: A Novel
Crissy Van Meter, 2020
Algonquin of Chapel Hill
256 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781616208592
Summary
On the eve of Evangeline’s wedding, on the shore of Winter Island, a dead whale is trapped in the harbor, the groom may be lost at sea, and Evie’s mostly absent mother has shown up out of the blue.
From there, in this mesmerizing, provocative debut, the narrative flows back and forth through time as Evie reckons with her complicated upbringing in this lush, wild land off the coast of Southern California.
Evie grew up with her well-meaning but negligent father, surviving on the money he made dealing the island’s world-famous strain of weed, Winter Wonderland. Although her father raised her with a deep respect for the elements, the sea, and the creatures living within it, he also left her to parent herself.
With wit, love, and bracing flashes of anger, Creatures probes the complexities of love and abandonment, guilt and forgiveness, betrayal and grief—and the ways in which our childhoods can threaten our ability to love if we are not brave enough to conquer the past.
Lyrical, darkly funny, and ultimately cathartic, Creatures exerts a pull as strong as the tides. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Crissy Van Meter grew up in Southern California. Her writing has appeared in Vice, Bustle, Guernica, and Catapult. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the New School. She lives in Los Angeles (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Crissy Van Meter’s vivid and moving debut, is a novel powered by atmosphere.… The characters are as complex and explosive as the setting.… As Creatures unfolds, Van Meter subverts narrative expectations by making long and frequent digressions away from the compelling present, pre-wedding story line, to reveal either the past or future… eventually this structure begins to sway under its own weight.… At times, inevitability begins to outstrip surprise, and feeling is more reported than animated.… In its rendering of Winter Island, though—of sea-soaked splendor and terror and rage—Van Meter’s debut is an unwavering triumph. Equally dazzling is the novel’s emotional ballast.… For all the novel’s visual description, then, it’s Van Meter’s perceptive eye for this—the unseen—that makes for a coming-of-age that’s as human as it is wild.
Laura van den Berg - New York Times Book Review
Creatures evokes a family’s fragile bond as deep as the sea…. The sensibility of this short, gemlike novel puts Van Meter… in league with contemporary novelists for whom humans and their environment are tightly bound together—Lydia Millet, Joy Williams and T.C. Boyle come to mind. And Creatures is studded with lovely, melancholy sentences that shimmer like dark sea glass…. Van Meter tells that story with empathy and clarity but also evokes the wildness that her setting deserves. Creatures delivers a powerful feeling that we, like Evie, are destined to always feel at least a little adrift.
Los Angeles Times
In fluid and nutrient-rich prose, Van Meter creates a sense of island life that will have even the most dedicated landlubbers tasting salt on their lips.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
[E]xcellent… a beautiful look at how we navigate the pain and heartbreak that comes with being human.… Creatures jumps back and forth in time…. [The] narrative technique… seems to highlight that lives don't happen in a straight line; we're all a collection of past and present, and we never really escape what's happened to us years ago.… Van Meter also displays a real talent for crafting characters that feel real, with impulses both good and bad, and the capacity to love and to hurt.… Van Meter is a wonderful writer, and her novel is so beautifully written… a gift of a book
Michael Schaub - NPR
An alluring, atmospheric debut.
People
[T]ender and atmospheric…. Despite some unnecessary structural flourishes in the form of essay-prompts and themed-chapter sections, this promising debut sneaks up on the reader, packing a devastating emotional punch.
Publishers Weekly
This promising debut is set on Winter Island on the eve of Evie's wedding, with a dead whale trapped in the harbor, the groom possibly lost at sea, and the mother of the bride suddenly reappearing after having walked out long ago.
Library Journal
Van Meter's wonderfully un-ordinary debut is rather like the ocean itself: layered, deep, and happening all at once…. This is a moving, graceful novel of how people change and are changed by natures within and without.
Booklist
Some of the most heartbreaking moments in this novel are the most simply told, and there are scenes of beauty and magic and dry humor amid the chaos. And Evie is self-aware enough to acknowledge her own complexities and shortcomings. A quietly captivating debut.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers Book Club Resources. They can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
(Resources by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)
The Red-Haired Woman
Orhan Pamuk (transl. Ekin Oklap), 2017
Knopf Doubleday
272 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780451494429
Summary
A fable of fathers and sons and the desires that come between them.
On the outskirts of a town thirty miles from Istanbul, a master well digger and his young apprentice are hired to find water on a barren plain.
As they struggle in the summer heat, excavating without luck meter by meter, the two will develop a filial bond neither has known before — not the poor middle-aged bachelor nor the middle-class boy whose father disappeared after being arrested for politically subversive activities. The pair will come to depend on each other and exchange stories reflecting disparate views of the world.
But in the nearby town, where they buy provisions and take their evening break, the boy will find an irresistible diversion. The Red-Haired Woman, an alluring member of a travelling theatre company, catches his eye and seems as fascinated by him as he is by her.
The young man's wildest dream will be realized, but, when in his distraction a horrible accident befalls the well digger, the boy will flee, returning to Istanbul. Only years later will he discover whether he was in fact responsible for his master's death and who the redheaded enchantress was.
A beguiling mystery tale of family and romance, of east and west, tradition and modernity, by one of the great storytellers of our time. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—June 7, 1952
• Where—Istanbul, Turkey
• Education—Istanbul Technical University; graduated from the
Institute of Journalism, Uiversity of Istanbul
• Awards—Nobel Prize, 2006; Milliyet Press Novel Contest;
Orhan Kemal Novel Prize; Madarali Novel Prize; Prix de la
Decourverte Europeenne; Independent Award for Foreign
Fiction; IMPAC Dublin Award.
• Currently—teaches at Columbia University (New York City)
Ferit Orhan Pamuk is a Turkish novelist. He is also the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing.
One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over seven million books in more than fifty languages, making him the country's best-selling writer. Pamuk is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature—the first Nobel Prize to be awarded to a Turkish citizen.
Pamuk was born in Istanbul in 1952 and grew up in a wealthy yet declining bourgeois family; an experience he describes in passing in his novels, The Black Book and Cevdet Bey and His Sons, as well as more thoroughly in his personal memoir Istanbul. He was educated at Robert College secondary school in Istanbul and went on to study architecture at the Istanbul Technical University since it was related to his real dream career, painting. He left the architecture school after three years, however, to become a full-time writer, and graduated from the Institute of Journalism at the University of Istanbul in 1976. From ages 22 to 30, Pamuk lived with his mother, writing his first novel and attempting to find a publisher. He describes himeself as a "cultural" Muslim, who associates the historical and cultural identification with the religion.
Pamuk married Aylin Türegün, a historian, in 1982. From 1985 to 1988, while his wife was a graduate student at Columbia University, Pamuk assumed the position of visiting scholar there, using the time to conduct research and write his novel The Black Book in the university's Butler Library. This period also included a visiting fellowship at the University of Iowa.
Pamuk returned to Istanbul, a city to which he is strongly attached. He and his wife had a daughter named Rüya born in 1991, whose name means "dream" in Turkish. In 2001, he and Aylin were divorced.
In 2006, Pamuk returned to the US to take up a position as a visiting professor at Columbia. Pamuk is currently a Fellow with Columbia's Committee on Global Thought and holds an appointment in Columbia's Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures Department and at its School of the Arts.
Orhan Pamuk started writing regularly in 1974. In 1983 he won the Turkish Orhan Kemal Novel Prize for Mr. Cevdet and His Sons. The book tells the story of three generations of a wealthy Istanbul family living in Nişantaşı, the district of Istanbul where Pamuk grew up.
More prizes came his way. His second novel, The Silent House, won both the 1984 Turkish Madarali Novel Prize and the 1991 Prix de la Decourverte Europeenne (for the book's French translation). His historical novel, The White Castle, published in Turkish in 1985, won the 1990 Independent Award for Foreign Fiction and extended his reputation abroad. The New York Times Book Review wrote, "A new star has risen in the east—Orhan Pamuk." He started experimenting with postmodern techniques in his novels, a change from the strict naturalism of his early works.
Popular success took a bit longer to come to Pamuk, but his 1990 novel, The Black Book, became one of the most controversial and popular readings in Turkish literature, due to its complexity and richness. Pamuk's fourth novel, New Life, caused a sensation in Turkey upon its 1995 publication and became the fastest-selling book in Turkish history. By this time, Pamuk had also become a high-profile figure in Turkey, due to his support for Kurdish political rights. In 1995, Pamuk was among a group of authors tried for writing essays that criticized Turkey's treatment of the Kurds.
Pamuk's international reputation continued to increase when he published My Name is Red in 2000. The novel blends mystery, romance, and philosophical puzzles in a setting of 16th century Istanbul. That book won international literature's most lucrative prize, the IMPAC Dublin Award in 2003.
Pamuk's next novel was Snow in 2002, which takes place in the border city of Kars and explores the conflict between Islamism and Westernism in modern Turkey. The New York Times listed Snow as one of its Ten Best Books of 2004. In 2003, Pamuk published his memoirs, Istanbul: Memories and the City. The Museum of Innocence was first published in 2008.
Pamuk's books are characterized by a confusion or loss of identity brought on in part by the conflict between Western and Eastern values. They are often disturbing or unsettling, but include complex, intriguing plots and characters of great depth. His works are also redolent with discussion of and fascination with the creative arts, such as literature and painting. Pamuk's work often touches on the deep-rooted tensions between East and West and tradition and modernism/secularism.
In 2006 Pumak was awarded te the Nobel Prize for Literature. His acceptance speech, given in Turkish, viewed the relations between Eastern and Western Civilizations:
What literature needs most to tell and investigate today are humanity's basic fears: the fear of being left outside, and the fear of counting for nothing, and the feelings of worthlessness that come with such fears; the collective humiliations, vulnerabilities, slights, grievances, sensitivities, and imagined insults, and the nationalist boasts and inflations that are their next of kin....
Whenever I am confronted by such sentiments, and by the irrational, overstated language in which they are usually expressed, I know they touch on a darkness inside me. We have often witnessed peoples, societies and nations outside the Western world—and I can identify with them easily— succumbing to fears that sometimes lead them to commit stupidities, all because of their fears of humiliation and their sensitivities.
I also know that in the West—a world with which I can identify with the same ease—nations and peoples taking an excessive pride in their wealth, and in their having brought us the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and Modernism, have, from time to time, succumbed to a self-satisfaction that is almost as stupid.
—Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Lecture (translation by Maureen Freely)
(Autho bio adapted from Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
[B]y the end of the book, the contemplation of fatherly themes feels heavy-handed and…melodramatic…. Pamuk’s power continues to lie not with the theatrical but with the quiet and the slow.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) Reality and myth intertwine to create a twist that will send readers back to page one with hurried excitement.… [T] this novel will both appease fans…and delight first-time readers. —Joshua Finnell, Los Alamos National Lab., NM
Library Journal
(Starred review.) Pamuk masterfully contrasts East with West, tradition with modernity, the power of fables with the inevitability of realism…As usual, Pamuk handles weighty material deftly, and the result is both puzzling and beautiful.
Booklist
[A] brooding novel … [with] Pamuk's customary wealth of atmospheric detail…. It's also ham-fistedly obvious and relentlessly overdetermined.… A disappointment, though no book by this skillful and ambitious writer is without interest.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. At the start of the story, we are told that Cem’s father has disappeared, but that it is not the first time he has disappeared and he "didn’t always disappear for the same reason" (5). What are the reasons for his disappearances and how does his absence affect young Cem? Does Cem ever come to terms with his father’s disappearance?
2. The Red-Haired Woman is said to be a novel in the tradition of the conte philosophique, or philosophical tale. How does the novel fit in with this genre and what are some of the philosophical and social ideas and arguments the novel puts forth?
3. Evaluate Cem’s relationship with Master Mahmut. Would you characterize it as a father-son relationship? Why or why not? How does it differ from Cem’s relationship with his own father?
4. A motif of storytelling runs through the novel. Which of the characters are storytellers, and what kinds of stories do they share? Do their stories have anything in common? What seems to be the role or purpose of storytelling?
5. When Cem shares his version of the story of Oedipus with Master Mahmut, Mahmut replies, "Nobody can escape their fate" (46). Do you agree with him? Why or why not? Does the story ultimately support or overturn the notion of fate? How much do the characters seem to be driven by forces beyond their control and how much seems to be the result of their own actions and free will?
6. When does Cem believe he is "most completely [him]self" (63)? How does he believe a father’s presence affects this? Do you agree with him?
7. The Red-Haired Woman tells Cem that he should simply find a new father. "We all have many fathers in this country" (86). What does she mean? Who or what are some of the other father figures to which she refers?
8. Why does Cem ultimately abandon the dig and return home? How does his decision affect him in the years ahead? What does Cem decide is "the best thing to do" (117)? Do you agree with him?
9. Through detailed descriptions of the landscape, the author provides a snapshot of a rapidly changing world. Does the book ultimately offer a statement about progress and modernization versus tradition? Is the modernization of Turkish culture as represented in the book primarily positive? What has changed? What, if anything, seems to remain the same despite modernization?
10. In chapter 28, Cem notices the major difference between the story of Oedipus from the West and the story of Rostam and Sohrab from the East. What is this difference and why might it be notable?
11. After visiting with Mrs. Fikriye the librarian, Cem realizes a new commonality between Oedipus and Sohrab. What is it and how does it affect Cem’s understanding of the events of his own past? What do both stories say about loyalty?
12. Why does Ayşe call in a panic when she realizes that Cem has attended the Sohrab meeting even though he said he would not? What happens to Cem, and who is responsible? Does the book seem to suggest whether this outcome could have been avoided? If so, how?
13. When Gülcihan ends up at the same table as another woman with red hair who challenges the authenticity of her appearance, how does she respond? What does she see as the main difference between her and the other woman? How does this new knowledge contribute to the book’s more expansive dialogues about identity, desire, choice, and fate?
14. Evaluate the corresponding themes of innocence and guilt. Where do these themes surface in the book? Is it easy to determine which of the characters in the book are innocent and which are guilty? Why or why not? Does the book ever answer the question of how one’s innocence or guilt is determined? Why does Cem come to the conclusion that Oedipus and Rostam may be considered innocent, for instance? Through its exploration of these two overlapping themes, what view of morality does the author ultimately offer?
15. Gülcihan wishes to talk to Ayşe to tell her "as women, we were not responsible for what happened, for it had all been dictated by myth and history" (246). What does she mean by this? Do you agree with her? Why or why not? Are the Red-Haired Woman and Ayşe truly innocent, or are they somehow complicit or even responsible for what has happened?
(Questions issued by publisher.)