Orhan Pamuk’s “The Pamuk Apartments”

From The New Yorker's archive: a ruminative essay about the Turkish novelist's childhood in Istanbul.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   View in browser | Update your preferences     Personal History The Pamuk Apartments Growing up among the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. By Orhan Pamuk The Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk offers expansive portraits of evolving customs and mores. Since 2005, Pamuk has written for The New Yorker on topics including the sweeping 2013 protests in Istanbul's Taksim Square, the wonders of that city's street food, and the significance of obtaining his first passport. The author of more than twenty books, including "Snow" and "The Museum of Innocence," Pamuk was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. The novelist is an accomplished anatomist of the interplay between the dream of home and the longing for something new. One of my favorite pieces by the writer is "The Pamuk Apartments," a ruminative essay about his childhood in Istanbul. Pamuk depicts the ebb and flow of his adolescence, framed closely by the familiar comforts of tradition on one side and the whims of various eclectic family members on the other. Of his father, he writes, "He loved jokes, word games, surprises, reciting poetry, showing off his cleverness, taking planes to faraway places. He was never a father to scold, forbid, or punish. When he took us out, we would wander all over the city, making friends wherever we went, and during these excursions I came to think of the world as a place made for taking pleasure." Pamuk's childhood home was located in what had once been the garden of a pasha's mansion. As the novelist reminisces about his family's idiosyncratic rituals, he also chronicles the vestiges of a fading culture. It is on the social and political remnants of the Ottoman Empire, Pamuk observes, that his family's foundation is built. As he explores the sinuous corridors of his upbringing, Pamuk affirms what it means to belong, to have a sense of place, and, ultimately, to resolutely forge a new path.   —Erin Overbey, archive editor More from the Archive     Life and Letters My Father's Suitcase From 2006: The Nobel Lecture. By Orhan Pamuk     Fiction "The Autumn of the Patriarch" From 1976: An undying despot in a weakening house of power. By Gabriel García Márquez You're receiving this e-mail because you signed up for the New Yorker Classics newsletter. Was this e-mail forwarded to you? Sign up.   Unsubscribe | Manage your e-mail preferences | Send newsletter feedback | View our privacy policy    The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products and services that are purchased through links in our newsletters as part of our affiliate partnerships with retailers.    Copyright © Condé Nast 2021. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.