"Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Cultural Identity through Collective Melancholy (part of a summer series of books relevant to the Arab World)
By: kquenzer at 12:41 pm
To Pamuk, Istanbul is a city of hüzün, or melancholy, and while its inhabitants can fight this mood, they will eventually succumb to it. What is most striking about Pamuk’s memoir Istanbul is his ability to define himself through his city. He poignantly writes with allegiance to his notion of hüzün, understanding it as an almost compulsory element of living in an ancient, fallen city. Not only is hüzün inevitable, to Pamuk it the force behind his own work as well as the work of all other Istanbullu (the people of Istanbul)."
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