The Black Book: A Novel

Orhan Pamuk

Dec 2014 · Macmillan + ORM

About this eBook

The Black Book is a stunning tapestry of Middle Eastern and Islamic culture which confirms Orhan Pamuk's reputation as a writer of international stature, comparable to Borges and Calvino.

Galip is an Istanbul lawyer, and his wife, Ruya, has vanished. Could she be hiding out with her half brother, Jelal, a newspaper columnist whose fame Galip envies? And if so, why isn't anyone in Jelal's flat?

As Galip plays the part of private investigator, he assumes the identity of Jelal himself, wearing his clothes, answering his phone calls, even faking his wry columns, which he passes off as the work of the missing journalist. But the amateur sleuth bungles his undercover operation, and with dire consequences.

Richly atmospheric and Rabelaisian in scope, The Black Book is a labyrinthine novel suffused with the sights, sounds, and scents of Istanbul. An unforgettable evocation of the city where East meets West, The Black Book is a boldly unconventional mystery that plumbs the elusive nature of identity, fiction, interpretation, and reality.

About the author

Orhan Pamuk is the author of such novels as The New Life, The Black Book, My Name Is Red and The White Castle. He has won numerous international awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. He lives with his wife and daughter in Istanbul.

Translator Guneli Gun is the author of Book of Trances and On the Road to Baghdad, and the translator of Night by Bilge Karasu. She lives in Oberlin, Ohio.