Silent House (Vintage International) - Softcover

Pamuk, Orhan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307744833 ISBN 13: 9780307744838

Publisher: Vintage, 2013

Synopsis

In a crumbling mansion in a gentrified former fishing village on the Turkish coast, the widow Fatma awaits the annual visit of her grandchildren: Faruk, a dissipated historian; his sensitive leftist sister, Nilgün; and Metin, a high schooler drawn to the fast life of the nouveaux riche. Bedridden, Fatma is attended by her faithful servant Recep, a dwarf--and her late husband's illegitimate son. Mistress and servant share memories, and grievances, from the past. But the arrival of Recep's cousin, Hasan, a fervent right-wing nationalist, threatens to draw the family into the political cataclysm arising from Turkey's tumultuous century-long struggle for modernity. Written in the 1980s but never before published in English, this spellbinding novel is a stunning addition to the works of Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk.

About this title

Review:

"[A] superb novel, which grips the reader and refuses to let go."
--The New Yorker

"Propulsive. . . . Reveals a family that is as complicated and volatile as [their] country. . . . The work of a great engineer."
--The Washington Post

"Inspired and impassioned. . . . Threaded through with ideas about history, religion, memory, class and politics. . . . The reading experience is so very pleasurable."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Luminous and stylistically inventive. . . . Brilliantly captures the disorder, nostalgia and hope of a society struggling with violence and self-definition."
--San Francisco Chronicle

"An excellent introduction to a body of work that is worthy of its 2006 Nobel Prize. . . . Pamuk summons empathy."
--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Impressive. . . . Proves once and for all that [Pamuk] is truly one of the world's most versatile fiction writers, no matter the language in which he is read. . . . [A] subtle portrayal of the slow-burning fire of Turkey's revolution."
--The New York Observer

"A poised and hugely impressive grasp of human variety."
--The Sunday Times (London)

"Artfully managed. . . . Illuminate[s] some of the sources of Islamist ideology, and sketch[es] the problems of Turkey. . . . Neither a polemic nor a history. It's a satisfying work of fiction by one of the best novelists writing today."
--The Washington Times

"An excellent introduction to [Pamuk's] Nobel Prize-winning body of work."
--The Miami Herald

"With its modernist multi-perspective narrative, the novel is full of arresting and unforgettable literary moments. . . . Psychologically gripping. . . . Silent House is both a highly readable fiction and an unsparing portrait of the Turkish intellectual class."
--The Independent (London)

"A poignant portrayal of everyday life in a 1980s Turkish seaside resort. . . . Pamuk transports us to a pivotal moment in his homeland's history--and maps the emotional geography of modern Turkey."
--National Geographic Traveler (Book of the Month)

"Fanatical politics might empty our heads, but it is literature that returns humanity to the silent house."
--The Daily Beast

"The beginnings of a great writer. . . . 30 years on, the novel feels doubly prescient."
--The Guardian (London)

"A powerful, assured and engaging multiple-voiced narrative. It provides exciting insights into the subsequent career of a consistently original novelist. . . . English-language readers now have the opportunity to experience early Pamuk; it has been well worth the wait."
--The Irish Times (Dublin)

"Pamuk builds a multifaceted panorama distinguished by his customary intellectual richness and breadth."
--Kirkus

Book Description:

Never before published in English, Silent House, Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk's second novel is the moving story of a family gathering in the political shadow of the impending revolution of 1980.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0307744833
• ISBN 13: 9780307744838
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352