Oedipus Backwards

Thin on patient detail and emotional heft, Pamuk’s hero rushes from scene to scene. Major questions are asked, but they don’t illuminate our readerly selves.

- Jerry Pinto

“A father is a doting, charismatic figure who will until his dying day accept and watch over the child he sires. He is the origin and the centre of the universe. When you believe that you have a father, you are at peace when you can’t see him, because you know that he is always there, ready to love and protect you.”

Ali, the protagonist, loves telling stories, but we do not hear them first-hand. We’re just told he is good at it. Pamuk writes as if it were not his job to paint the scene for us.