The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist: Understanding What Happens When We Write and Read Novels (Vintage International)

There is an old adage that when a writer writes fiction, everyone thinks it’s true and when a writer writes non-fiction, people think some things were made up. Readers tend to think that writers only write fiction about the things that have happened to them in real life. However, that is not entirely true. Mr. Pamuk’s book brilliantly explores the truth underlying the magic of storytelling. In every great work of fiction, a writer must be unafraid to allow the truth to shine. Sometimes that means writers might artfully craft their own experiences from real life to become larger, bolder, more dramatic, more poignant, more imaginative, (sometimes more understated too), and, ultimately, more meaningful than what actually happened. A writer’s pursuit to allow the truth to shine in fiction is often a lonely quest. This is why the essence of good storytelling requires that a writer must have a certain courage. The truth is in the telling of the story. There comes a time when a book begins to write itself and there is nothing the author can do to stop the flood, except to turn off the faucet and quit writing! The ideas and dialogue are filling the pages faster than the rush of a waterfall. Once the story begins to emerge and take on its own momentum, most of the work is being done by the characters themselves. The writer has to stand back and give the characters the space and the freedom to become real and powerful enough to speak to the reader. While the characters are doing all of this work, the writer possesses the discipline to work fastidiously with the language, the flow and pacing of the story, and the magic of storytelling. It is the writer’s job to always find the best word possible and the most imaginative and original way to turn a phrase that has not been used before. Mr. Pamuk speaks of great works of fiction as having a “center,” or the true meaning of the story that is the final impression left with the reader. The characters, what they say, what they do, and how they move through a given place of time, all of the details of their lives form a cohesive whole in the unfolding of the story—“the center.” This “center” is the heart of the novel and it is emotionally compelling enough to make readers want to own the story as if they had written it themselves.

As a semi beginner in the world of novels & fiction, I have to admit that I could not fully absorb this book compared to an experienced reader in this field. But this book is definatly a great eye opener for beginners in the field.The book is based on the essay written by Schiller on the difference between the Naive and sentimentalist poet but applying it to novelists.The author gives great insight on the world of novels from both the aspects of the writer and reader. This insight will actually aid the reader in better benefiting from his reading in the world of fiction. He gives valuable opinions on works of great world novelists.We have an interesting chapter talking about the relationship between novels and paintings followed by another chapter on the relationship between novels and museums.The final chapter talks about the core of the author's theory; The novel's "center".ı was introduced to the world of novels and fiction by the author Orhan Pamuk reading his great book "other colors" having this book my second read of the author where I would like to thank Orhan Bey Pamuk for his great insights and inspiration.I believe I will be coming back to this book in the future for more concentrated benefit and increase of inspiration.Finally, I recommend this book for readers interested in developing their fiction reading and looking for insights and inspiration in the field.

A good if somewhat personal insight into the novel. I particularly like his view that writing is a spiritual act.

This brief, thoroughly interesting collection of Harvard lectures is a rare insight into one of the world's great writer's feelings about his craft. Anyone who has read Pamuk's novels understands his command of language, the pictures he puts in your mind, how deeply he writes his characters, and the episodic way he advances the plot. Here, Pamuk describes how everything is intentioned that way, for the novel is an intense creation intended to be told in a certain way, revealing it's secret center to the reader that is both artistic and analogous to the complexities of life. This theme is discussed throughout the lectures, all autonomous but tied together through a shared fascination of the writing process. The continual mention of a scene in Anna Karenina is a clever framing device, and in it's example of a profound train ride Pamuk branches off to describe how he goes about working such a transitory profession. The book is always stimulating and conversational, worth many rereadings to get all the hidden gems Pamuk puts throughout. Amust for Pamuk or literary theory fans.

"In contrast, throughout the poorer, non-Western parts of the world (including my homeland, Turkey), the issue of whom and what to represent can be a nightmare for literature and for novelists."I find this quote quite disrespectful to the myriad Turkish novelists from different backgrounds and of different political views, that have been writing about anything and everything for such a long time. Many great novelists reflected and influenced public opinion before his time. Quotes such as this make me question Mr.Pamuk's competency in evaluating literature, let alone anything else.He seems too inclined to win Western favour by subscribing to Orientalism and exhibiting his own country as less than what it is. There seems to emerge a pattern among some Nobel winners related to this.I have read his work in his native language and I have found it inferior to, say, Yasar Kemal's work. Orhan Pamuk's narrative is too contrived, too dry, too distant from real life and real people. I think I can live without his views on literature.

La gracia de las grandes novelas es precisamente que no tienen un sólo centro sino múltiples, que son ambiguas y no resuelven preguntas sino que las hacen

Excellent review of the opportunities and challenges of writing good fiction. Pamuk at his very best, lucid and poetic. Five stars.

The book ordered was for someone that loves his books. It was a gift which I wanted to hand over. I had no worries that the book would arrive in time and in good condition. I wrapped it and handed it over. I was so pleased to see the response. No only was the author known but the book was one which was not known but was hailed as 'intriguing and informative'. He loved it. I loved the service. All in all a very easy birthday present for the book collector in the family!