Pamuk recently won a Nobel Prize in Literature, and this book is probably his most well-known. He creates through the nominal device of a mystery story some unforgettable characters and scenes, as he presents the collision of Asian philosophy (as represented by Turkish artistic rules) and Western European philosophy (as represented by the Venetian art of perspective and realism) in the 16th century.

As fascinating as the history and social strictures are, I found this book at times unbearably slow. Members of my book club disagreed quite a lot about it, which made for a lively discussion. I hesitate to rate it, for it is not average, but I would not recommend it to everyone.

I'm sending this to friends of banyantree who will take it with them to India!