Hemos decidido aquí leer a Orhan Pamuk y su Me llamo Rojo, publicado en Punto de Lectura a buen precio, 10,30 €. Como es un libro largo y  hay ritmos de lectura de lo más variado, vamos a dar de tiempo un mes. Entre que se encarga, se busca, se compra, se empieza y se termina, puede pasar ese tiempo sin problemas.

El autor recibió el Premio Nobel de literatura en el 2006. Anteriormente había recibido:

•  1979 Milliyet Yayınları Roman Yarışması —Certamen de novela Milliyet— (Turquía) por su novela Karanlık ve Işık (Ex aequo)
• 1984 Madaralı Roman Ödülü —Premio novelístico Madarali— (Turquía) por su novela Sessiz Ev
• 1990 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (Reino Unido) por su novela Beyaz Kale
• 1991 Prix de la Découverte Européenne (Francia) por la traducción al francés de Sessiz Ev
• 2002 Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger (Francia) por su novela Benim Adım Kırmızı
• 2002 Premio Grinzane Cavour (Italia) por su novela Benim Adım Kırmızı
• 2003 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (Irlanda) por su novela Benim Adım Kırmızı
• 2005 Premio de la Paz del Gremio de Libreros Alemanes (Alemania)
• 2005 Prix Medicis Etranger (Francia) por su novela Kar

… así que no es nuevo en estas lides. Ha tenido algún que otro problema con la justicia turca por haber afirmado que los turcos se cargaron a un millón y medio de armenios y a 30.000 kurdos. También salió del país después del asesinato de Hrant Dink, periodista turco que escribía para un semanario en lengua armenia y que también había tenido problemas con la justicia.
La lista de las obras de Pamuk:

• 1982 – Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları (Cevdet Bey y sus hijos). Inédita en español.
• 1983 – Sessiz Ev. Traducción al español: La casa del silencio (Metáfora Ediciones, 2001).
• 1985 – Beyaz Kale. Traducción al español: El astrólogo y el sultán (Edhasa, 1994).
• 1990 – Kara Kitap. Traducción al español: El libro negro (Alfaguara, 2001)
• 1995 – Yeni Hayat. Traducción al español: La vida nueva (Alfaguara, 2002)
• 1998 – Benim Adım Kırmızı . Traducción al español: Me llamo Rojo (Alfaguara, 2003)
• 2001 – Kar. Traducción al español: Nieve (Alfaguara, 2005).
• 2005 – İstanbul: Hatıralar ve Şehir. Traducción al español: Estambul. Ciudad y recuerdos (Mondadori, 2006).

Copio de la web de Punto de Lectura el argumento de la novela:

Me llamo Rojo nos introduce en el esplendor y la decadencia del Imperio Turco. Viajamos hasta el siglo XVI, el sultán desea inmortalizar su figura en un lienzo, pero la ley islámica lo prohíbe. La tentación vence y cuatro artistas trabajarán en secreto, elaborando un libro lleno de imágenes nunca antes pintadas. Hasta que uno de ellos desaparece.

¿Ha leído alguien por aquí algo de Pamuk?

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Para quien quiera leer más, hago un cortapega descarado de la Wikipedia en inglés con los enlaces originales, para que no se diga:

Pamuk started writing regularly in 1974. His first novel, Karanlık ve Işık (Darkness and Light) was a co-winner of the 1979 Milliyet Press Novel Contest (Mehmet Eroğlu) was the other winner). This novel was published with the title Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları (Mr. Cevdet and His Sons) in 1982, and won the Orhan Kemal Novel Prize in 1983. It tells the story of three generations of a wealthy Istanbul family living in Nişantaşı, the district of Istanbul where Pamuk grew up.

Pamuk won a number of critical prizes for his early work, including the 1984 Madarali Novel Prize for his second novel Sessiz Ev (The Silent House) and the 1991 Prix de la Découverte Européenne for the French translation of this novel. His historical novel Beyaz Kale (The White Castle), published in Turkish in 1985, won the 1990 Independent Award for Foreign Fiction and extended his reputation abroad. The New York Times Book Review stated, «A new star has risen in the east–Orhan Pamuk.» He started experimenting with postmodern techniques in his novels, a change from the strict naturalism of his early works.
Popular success took a bit longer to come to Pamuk, but his 1990 novel Kara Kitap (The Black Book) became one of the most controversial and popular readings in Turkish literature, due to its complexity and richness. In 1992, he wrote the screenplay for the movie Gizli Yüz (Secret Face), based on Kara Kitap and directed by a prominent Turkish director, Ömer Kavur. Pamuk’s fourth novel Yeni Hayat (New Life), caused a sensation in Turkey upon its 1995 publication and became the fastest-selling book in Turkish history. By this time, Pamuk had also become a high-profile figure in Turkey, due to his support for Kurdish political rights. In 1995, Pamuk was among a group of authors tried for writing essays that criticized Turkey’s treatment of the Kurds. In 1999, Pamuk published his story book Öteki Renkler (The Other Colors).
Pamuk’s international reputation continued to increase when he published Benim Adım Kırmızı (My Name is Red) in 2000. The novel blends mystery, romance, and philosophical puzzles in a setting of 16th century Istanbul. It opens a window into the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murat III in nine snowy winter days of 1591, inviting the reader to experience the tension between East and West from a breathlessly urgent perspective. My Name Is Red has been translated into 24 languages and won international literature’s most lucrative prize (excluding the Nobel, which he later received), the IMPAC Dublin Award in 2003.
Asked the question “What impact did winning the IMPAC award (currently $127,000) have on your life and your work?“, Pamuk replied “Nothing changed in my life since I work all the time. I’ve spent 30 years writing fiction. For the first 10 years, I worried about money and no one asked how much money I made. The second decade I spent money and no one was asking about that. And I’ve spent the last 10 years with everyone expecting to hear how I spend the money, which I will not do.”
Pamuk’s most recent novel is Kar in 2002 (English translation, Snow, 2004), which explores the conflict between Islamism and Westernism in modern Turkey. The New York Times listed Snow as one of its Ten Best Books of 2004. He also published a memoir/travelogue İstanbul — Hatıralar ve Şehir in 2003 (English version, Istanbul — Memories of a City, 2005). Orhan Pamuk won in 2005 the €25,000 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for his literary work, in which «Europe and Islamic Turkey find a place for one another.» The most prestigious German book prize was awarded in the Paul’s Church in Frankfurt.
Orhan Pamuk’s next book ‘Other Colours’ – a collection of non-fiction – is scheduled for publication in the UK in Spring 2008. His next novel will be ‘The Museum of Innocence’.
Pamuk’s books are characterized by a confusion or loss of identity brought on in part by the conflict between European and Islamic values. They are often disturbing or unsettling, but include complex, intriguing plots and characters of great depth. His works are also redolent with discussion and fascination with the creative arts, such as literature and painting. Pamuk’s work often touches on the deep-rooted tension between East and West and tradition and secularism.