Nine snowy days in Istanbul, 1591. This is the setting of Orhan Pamuk’s widely red novel, Benim Adım Kırmızı. The story revolves around Eküre, a beautiful woman with two sons, who decides to look for a new husband four years after her own never returns from war. Enter three potential suitors — and chaos. Mystery, love, murder and the supernatural, these are the elements which, when combined, make up an enigmatic plot which haunts the reader long after the book has been put down.
Written by Pamuk in 1998, the book was translated into English in 2001 and is now commonly known as My Name is Red. This book not only helped establish Pamuk’s international reputation, but also contributed towards the Nobel Prize in Literature the author received in 2006.
Now, Jamhoori Publications has announced that the book has been translated into Urdu, under the new title Surkh Mera Naam. The foreword to this translation has been written by none other than renowned novelist Mustansar Hussain Tarar, and it is now available for purchase online at www.jumhooripublications.com for a price of Rs780.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2014.
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