Thank you David for yet another thought provoking post. I read Orhan Pamuk’s work when I was much younger, maybe 10 years ago in my early 20s. I found it really difficult to read then, but perhaps will find it easier now. On the topic of translated works, I share your sentiment that it is important to read widely beyond one’s own culture and language. I find the little turns of phrases from other languages to be quite evocative and sometimes much more impactful than what we are accustomed to in our own language. Can I suggest, if you are interested in reading work written by those from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, that you visit my friend’s magazine, be:longing – it is a publication specifically focusing on personal experiences of migration, cross-culture and belonging. Rather an important literary addition to today’s fraught society, as you put it!
Thank you David for yet another thought provoking post. I read Orhan Pamuk’s work when I was much younger, maybe 10 years ago in my early 20s. I found it really difficult to read then, but perhaps will find it easier now. On the topic of translated works, I share your sentiment that it is important to read widely beyond one’s own culture and language. I find the little turns of phrases from other languages to be quite evocative and sometimes much more impactful than what we are accustomed to in our own language. Can I suggest, if you are interested in reading work written by those from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, that you visit my friend’s magazine, be:longing – it is a publication specifically focusing on personal experiences of migration, cross-culture and belonging. Rather an important literary addition to today’s fraught society, as you put it!
www.belongingmag.com if you’re interested!
PS I have not emailed you yet, but will be doing so soon.