History Literature / MyNameIsRed

* DysfunctionJunction: The miniaturists' workshop is full of very, very large egos that only work together in harmony because of their devotion to Master Osman. It doesn't take long after the murder for all hell to break loose.

** As the book progresses, this gets taken UpToEleven, with [[spoiler: Butterfly]] telling [[spoiler: Black]] a story while holding him down with a knife to his throat, just to discuss how difficult it would be to paint them in that position. Later, [[spoiler: Stork]] tells a story while [[TalkingIsAFreeAction ''wrestling over a dagger''.]]

** As the book progresses, this gets taken UpToEleven, with [[spoiler: Butterfly]] telling [[spoiler: Black]] a story while holding him down with a knife to his throat, just to discuss how difficult it would be to paint them in that position. Later, [[spoiler: Stork]] tells a story while [[TalkingIsAFreeAction ''wrestling with [[spoiler:Butterfly]] over a dagger''.]]

** As the book progresses, this gets taken UpToEleven, with [[spoiler: Butterfly]] telling [[spoiler: Black]] a story while holding him down with a knife to his throat, just to discuss how difficult it would be to paint them in that position. Later, [[spoiler: Stork]] tells a story while [[TalkingIsAFreeAction ''wrestling with [[spoiler: Butterfly]] over a dagger''.]]

* TheFundamentalist: Nusrest Hoja, a conservative imam railing against coffee shops and other luxuries. His shadow hangs over every event in the book, [[spoiler:but he never actually appears]].

''My Name is Red'' is a fine example of a [[PostModernism postmodern]] novel. No two subsequent chapters are told from the same viewpoint, though there are recurring narrators such as Black and his love, Shekure. The first chapter is even narrated by Elegant Effendi's corpse at the bottom of a well. Other chapters are related by inanimate objects, like a drawing of a tree or a gold coin. ''My Name is Red'' won the Dublin Literary Award for its author, Orhan Pamuk. Though not the easiest novel, the persistent reader will be rewarded with a fascinating and sometimes disturbing glimpse into Ottoman culture, values, and society.

* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Black, although sometimes it's also used as a GagPenis

* DistressedDamsel: [[spoiler:A bit of this appears in Shekure's story, as she will be required to marry her husband's brother if she cannot find a husband.]]

* PosthumousNarration: Elegant Effendi, who narrates the first chapter after his dead body has been dropped down a well, and later [[spoiler:Enishte Effendi who narrates his own funeral]]

* TheEmperor: Sultan Murat III is held in deep reverence, with characters reluctant to even look upon his visage.
* TheFundamentalist: Nusrest Hoja, a conservative imam railing against coffee shops and other luxuries. His shadow hangs over every event in the book, [[spoiler:but he never actually appears]].
* TheMatchmaker: Esther, a Jewish woman, carries love letters between paramours.
* TreasureRoom: Sultan Murat III's private collection, which contains a staggering profusion of art and treasure from around the world. [[spoiler:It's also dusty and neglected by its owner, who leaves a solitary dwarf to watch over it]]. When Black and Master Osman are allowed access to search for clues, it's a really big deal for them, [[spoiler:especially Master Osman who cares more about seeing the treasures than in finding the murderer]].

* TreasureRoom: Sultan Murat III's private collection, which contains a staggering profusion of art and treasure from around the world. [[spoiler:It's also dusty and neglected by its owner, who leaves a solitary dwarf to watch over it]]. When Black and Master Osman are allowed access to search for clues, it's a really big deal for them, [[spoiler:especially Master Osman who cares more about seeing the treasures than in finding the murderer]].

Weaving together art, history, religion, and a dozen other weighty concepts, ''My Name is Red'' is a byzantine and thought-provoking novel. The year is 1591, and from the Tapkapi Palace in Istanbul, Sultan Murat III rules over the vast (and perhaps decaying) Ottoman Empire. It is a cold winter, snow falling around the slender minarets, the city seeming to turn in on itself for warmth. Around the world, new lands are being discovered, and the barbarous Franks grow ever more impetuous.

But this is of little concern to the miniaturist employed by the Sultan to illuminate books. Following the traditions of the Persian masters, they draw the world, hoping to capture the eternal and ineffable. Yet their lives are disrupted by the murder of one of their own, Elegant Effendi. Now, Kara, known as Black, a miniaturist who has returned from a long sojourn in Safavid Persia, must find the culprit before he and all other miniaturists have confessions tortured out from them.

* TreasureRoom: Sultan Murat III's private collection, which contains a staggering profusion of art and treasure from around the world. [[spoiler:It's also dusty and neglected by its owner, who leaves a solitary dwarf to watch over it]]. When Black and Master Osman are allowed access to search for clues, it's a really big deal for them, [[spoiler:especially Master Osman who cares more about seeing the treasures than in finding the murderer]].
* TrueArtIsOffensive: A major theme in the novel. Sultan Murat III ordered the commission of an illustrated manuscript that showed the breadth and variety of his dominion, and wanted it done in a more conventionally realistic European style instead of the idealized Persian/Ottoman style. This is a... ''controversial'' decision, to put it lightly.

''My Name is Red'' is a fine example of a postmodern novel. No two subsequent chapters are told from the same viewpoint, though there are recurring narrators such as Black and his love, Shekure. The first chapter is even narrated by the corpse of Enishte Effendi, on the night of his murder. Other chapters seem to be related by inanimate objects, like the drawing of a tree. ''My Name is Red'' won the Dublin Literary Award for its author, Orhan Pamuk. Though not the easiest novel, the persistent reader will be rewarded with a fascinating and sometimes disturbing glimpse into Ottoman culture, values, and society.

Weaving together art, history, religion, and a dozen other weighty concepts, My Name is Red is a byzantine and thought-provoking tale. The year is 1591, and from the Tapkapi Palace in Istanbul, Sultan Murat III rules over the vast (and perhaps decaying) Ottoman Empire. It is a cold winter, snow falling around the slender minarets, the city seeming to turn in on itself for warmth. Around the world, new lands are being discovered, and the barbarous Franks grow ever more impetuous.

My Name is Red is a fine example of a postmodern novel. No two subsequent chapters are told from the same viewpoint, though there are recurring narrators such as Black and his love, Shekure. The first chapter is even narrated by the corpse of Enishte Effendi, on the night of his murder. Other chapters seem to be related by inanimate objects, like the drawing of a tree. My Name is Red won the Dublin Literary Award for its author, Orhan Pamuk. Though not the easiest novel, the persistent reader will be rewarded with a fascinating and sometimes disturbing glimpse into Ottoman culture, values, and society.

* TrueArtIsAncient: Many characters see older art as being superior, which is one of the reasons there is such a hostile reaction to European influences.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Significant portions of the book show how European art is based on fundamentally different assumptions than is Middle Eastern art. As an example, miniaturists strive to avoid individualistic styles (though they might insert key elements that would only be recognized by a chosen few), and the idea of an artist signing his work is arrogance at best, and blasphemy at worst.

* GeniusBonus: The novel is full of references to Middle Eastern history and literature, as well as the theology of Islam. Though widely known in the Middle East itself, much of this is rather esoteric for Western readers.

* ValuesDissonance: ''Oh so very much''.

* MarryForLove: [[spoiler:Averted, at least for Shekure. Society expects her to be married

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Significant portions of the book show how European art is based on fundamentally different assumptions than is Middle Eastern art.

* AuthorSelfInsert: Shekure has two sons, named Orhan and Shevket. The author of the novel is, of course, Orhan Pamuk, and he has an older brother named Shevket. Not only that, but Shekure was the name of Orhan Pamuk's mother.

* ShownTheirWork: Pamuk knows
* ValuesDissonance: ''Oh so very much''. Torture and pederasty are tolerated by Ottoman society.

!!This book provides examples of: