A review by binstonbirchill
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
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.
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.