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Orhan Pamuk

オルハン・パムク

Orhan Pamuk

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1952-06-07 （Istanbul, Turkey）
Nationality
Turkey
Languages
Turkish, English
Residence History
Istanbul, Turkey (birthplace and long-term residence) → New York, USA (Columbia University, visiting professor / faculty) → Bard College (writer-in-residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Essayist, Professor
Active Years
1982-
Affiliations
Columbia University (visiting professor; later faculty, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures), Bard College (writer-in-residence)
Influenced By
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Umberto Eco (frequently compared)
Influenced
Elif Şafak, Younger generation of contemporary Turkish novelists

Education

Robert College (secondary school)
Degree: 中等教育修了
Period: 〜1970年代前半
Country: Turkey
Completed secondary education; originally aspired to be a painter before university.
Istanbul Technical University (studied architecture)
Faculty of Architecture / Department of Architecture
Period: 在学（途中で進路変更）
Country: Turkey
Initially studied architecture but later changed direction toward writing/journalism.
Istanbul University, Department of Journalism
Faculty/Department of Journalism / Department of Journalism
Degree: 学士（ジャーナリズム）
Period: 1970年代
Country: Turkey
Graduated from journalism department before embarking on literary career.

Awards

Orhan Kemal Prize
1983
Work: Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları
Organization: Millet newspaper / Turkish literary organizations
Result: 受賞
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
2003
Work: My Name Is Red
Organization: IMPAC Dublin Literary Award committee
Result: 受賞
Prix Médicis étranger
2005
Work: Snow
Category: 外国語小説部門
Organization: Prix Médicis committee
Result: 受賞
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
2005
Organization: German Publishers and Booksellers Association
Result: 受賞
Nobel Prize in Literature
2006
Organization: The Nobel Foundation / Swedish Academy
Result: 受賞（生涯業績・作品群に対して）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları

1982 Novel

Pamuk's debut novel; a multi-generational family story that established his reputation in Turkey.

familymodernizationmemory

Sessiz Ev

1983 Novel

A novel in which family past and present intersect; received domestic literary recognition.

memoryfamilyburden of the past

The White Castle

1985 Historical fiction / philosophical parable

Set in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, this parable-like novel explores self and other, knowledge and language; widely translated.

identityEast-West encounterknowledge and imitation

The Black Book

1990 Novel (postmodern)

An experimental long novel portraying Istanbul's labyrinthine nature through multilayered narration.

cityinvestigationsigns and storytelling

The New Life

1994 Novel

A story about youth, fate and literary encounters; one of his domestic bestsellers.

youthfateliterary experience

My Name Is Red

1998 Historical mystery / art novel

A mystery set among 16th-century Ottoman miniaturists in Istanbul; an international bestseller that won several prizes.

artreligion and powertradition vs. change

Snow

2002 Political novel

Set in Kars in northeastern Turkey, the novel addresses politics, religion, and individual conflict; the author has called it his 'first and last' political novel.

politicsreligionidentity

Istanbul: Memories and the City

2003 Memoir / Essay

An autobiographical work blending memoir with reflections on Istanbul; widely acclaimed internationally.

memoryurban studiesautobiography

Museum of Innocence

2008 Novel / Love story

A love story spanning from the 1950s into the present in Istanbul; a real museum in Istanbul was created to accompany the fictional world of the novel.

lovememoryurban life
Adaptations
  • [Physical exhibition (museum)] Museum of Innocence (2012)

Nights of Plague

2021 Historical novel

A long historical novel drawing on past events; one of his recent works.

plaguesocietyhistory

Bibliography

  • Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları (1982)
  • Sessiz Ev (1983)
  • The White Castle (1985)
  • The Black Book (1990)
  • The New Life (1994)
  • Other Colors (1998)
  • My Name Is Red (1998)
  • Snow (2002)
  • Istanbul: Memories and the City (2003)
  • Museum of Innocence (2008)
  • Nights of Plague (2021)

Adaptations

  • Museum of Innocence (real museum in Istanbul linked to the novel)

Translations of Works

  • My Name Is Red, translations into Japanese by R. Wakui (Fujiwara Shoten, 2004) and Ryō Miyashita (Hayakawa, 2012)
  • Snow, translated into Japanese by R. Wakui (Fujiwara Shoten, 2006)
  • Museum of Innocence, translated into Japanese by Ryō Miyashita (Hayakawa, 2010)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Postmodern multi-layered narrationAllegorical and historical settingsDetailed portrayals of the city (Istanbul)
Recurring Motifs
Istanbulmemory and the pastclash and interlacing of East and Westart (e.g., miniature painting)

Legacy

A leading figure of contemporary Turkish literature; he won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Turkish Nobel laureate. His body of work centered on Istanbul and the creation of a real museum linked to his fiction have made him internationally influential.

Museums

  • Museum of Innocence (Masumiyet Müzesi) Istanbul, Turkey Opened in 2012

Quotes

  • “who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures”
    Source: Nobel Prize Committee (citation for the Nobel Prize in Literature) (2006)

Trivia

  • Allegedly used the 2006 Nobel Prize monetary award to help establish the Museum of Innocence.
  • In 2006 he became the first Turkish Nobel laureate in any category.
  • In 2005 he was prosecuted under a charge of insulting the Turkish nation for comments on the Armenian Genocide; the case was dropped in 2006.