Reviews

Snow by Orhan Pamuk

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The story is set in a small town in Turkey, and it snows throughout the entire novel. Pamuk's writing is lovely, and it grabs you immediately. But I found myself getting bored around the halfway mark, and I really had to struggle to get to the end. The story line does pick up in the last quarter, but I found the book a little too long. The novel touches on themes of politics (secular vs Islamist ) and gender (young girls commit suicide rather than remove their headscarves). But as in real life, the novel doesn't offer simple answers; rather, it lays out the mystifying truth and invites the reader in. I was a little frustrated, as I wanted more answers than questions!

sara_grace's review

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3.0

Elegant but the middle is slow. I was sometimes quite bothered by the conversations between characters - repetitive speech patterns make me crazy.

magic_bookshop_'s review

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3.0

Ciężko jest mi do końca ocenić tę książkę. Czytanie dłużyło mi się, nie byłam też wciągnięta w fabułę. Jednak doceniam, to w jaki sposób został przedstawiony motyw śniegu oraz rozumiem jakie wartości i tematy autor chciał wyrazić poprzez tą powieść.

gmuguruza's review against another edition

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2.0

This took a lot of time, it's a taste I guess. I did like the start and the wrap up, but it's just so weird... and slow... and there are too many details and illogical behaviours by characters... I don't get the thought processes that are described and all the characters just seem delusional, is that the point? Did I have a huge cultural clash? I don't know.

alisarae's review

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I started Snow with the idea that it would follow the lines of a literary noir, but it is definitely not that. This book is a masterful reflection on the devout and the secular, the traditional and the contemporary, the East and the West. I already like books set in "crossroads" cultures, and I was pleasantly surprised by the elegant discussions and characters. I plan to read more of Orhan Pamuk's books.

rocknroulette's review against another edition

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3.0

ilk yarısı küçük şehir insanları ve dertlerini arka plan edinen bir aşk romanı tadında geçerken sona doğru romanın siyasi yönü ön plana geçti gibi hissettim. sanırım bu yüzden yarılayana kadar büyük bir heyecanla okurken kitabın sonunu sıkkınlıkla getirdim.

bookworld's review

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

binstonbirchill's review against another edition

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4.0

Snow takes place in the city of Kars in eastern Turkey near the Armenian border. That Kars has a lengthy history is evident but not explicitly discussed in the book. In the novel, politically, a modern secular government is in control of the country and it’s pitted against the local Islamist democratically elected government in Kars. This tension remains a focal point throughout, with head scarves providing the divisive tension point. A rash of suicides in Kars has drawn in our main character, Ka, who is there to report on the suicides, the politics, and to try and woo a beautiful, and newly single, woman.

Ka is all sorts of “in love” with this woman’s looks. She is super super beautiful. Everything he every wanted. So beautiful.

Thankfully there is more story to explore. The theatre is the focal point for the politics tension, the snow locks everything down, and inside this insular setting, things go spectacularly awry.

I wish there was more depth to Kay’s love. I really enjoyed learning about some of the different sides of the politics in modern turkey. The end was perhaps a bit drawn out but overall I think this was a very interesting book which surely would provide lots of talking points for a book club.