A review by zamiya
The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk
1.0
This book was okay. Honestly I lost patience throughout it, especially in the very beginning and somewhere in the middle. The book dragged on and on in the beginning. Like, we get it!!!!! You have a crush on the red-haired woman!!! You're a well-digger!!!!! Move on!!!
Now, in theory, the ideas in this book - father-son relationships, guilt, etc - are interesting. But to me, the ideas were not expressed or elaborated upon well enough. Pamuk's writing reminded me of the writing of Khaled Hosseini - in this case, The Kite Runner is probably most similar in terms of ideas to TRHW - but it was nowhere as layered or descriptive. I wanted MORE from this book. I wanted the relationship with Cem's father to be explored more. I wanted more description of Cem'a guilt towards his own behavior. I wanted a better resolution. I wanted to know what really happened to Master Mahmut. He was such a big part of the story, but then he was just summed up into "oh he died 5 years ago... anyways-" The middle just felt like a big waste of time to me. I got so bored throughout the story.
Cem was an awful character, but this was done on purpose. He objectifies the red-haired woman and sees her as a sort of fantasy - this is seen, for example, when she tells him her name but he still continues to call her "the red-haired woman". He pushes Master Mahmut into the well and runs away! I feel that aspect could have been elaborated upon more. I mention the book again, but in The Kite Runner, a similar incident happens where the main character suffers through a lot of guilt. But Hosseini wrote that character so well, described his journey with his guilt so expertly. Cem just seems so one-dimensional compared to the characters in TKR. Like, if he is the villain in the story, then at least make me care about what he does. He could have been written in a more interesting way.
Maybe I have to re-read this book and try to focus more. Maybe this is a book that solely provides questions, questions that the reader must answer through their own observation and experiences. But essentially, what irritated me most was that such brilliant ideas did not reach their potential in this book. I expected better. It wasn't absolutely terrible, but it was boring and the characters and ideas could have been written better.
Now, in theory, the ideas in this book - father-son relationships, guilt, etc - are interesting. But to me, the ideas were not expressed or elaborated upon well enough. Pamuk's writing reminded me of the writing of Khaled Hosseini - in this case, The Kite Runner is probably most similar in terms of ideas to TRHW - but it was nowhere as layered or descriptive. I wanted MORE from this book. I wanted the relationship with Cem's father to be explored more. I wanted more description of Cem'a guilt towards his own behavior. I wanted a better resolution. I wanted to know what really happened to Master Mahmut. He was such a big part of the story, but then he was just summed up into "oh he died 5 years ago... anyways-" The middle just felt like a big waste of time to me. I got so bored throughout the story.
Cem was an awful character, but this was done on purpose. He objectifies the red-haired woman and sees her as a sort of fantasy - this is seen, for example, when she tells him her name but he still continues to call her "the red-haired woman". He pushes Master Mahmut into the well and runs away! I feel that aspect could have been elaborated upon more. I mention the book again, but in The Kite Runner, a similar incident happens where the main character suffers through a lot of guilt. But Hosseini wrote that character so well, described his journey with his guilt so expertly. Cem just seems so one-dimensional compared to the characters in TKR. Like, if he is the villain in the story, then at least make me care about what he does. He could have been written in a more interesting way.
Maybe I have to re-read this book and try to focus more. Maybe this is a book that solely provides questions, questions that the reader must answer through their own observation and experiences. But essentially, what irritated me most was that such brilliant ideas did not reach their potential in this book. I expected better. It wasn't absolutely terrible, but it was boring and the characters and ideas could have been written better.