Orhan Pamuk

Summary of Istanbul memories and the city chapter 5

Istanbul memories and the city

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In Chapter 5, Black and White, the author notes that despite the gloominess of his home, he preferred being indoors because the streets seemed dangerous. Likewise, he preferred winter to summer, and loved the days when it snowed because it made the city seem new. During the 1950s and 1960s, there were film crews throughout the city, but the Turkish film industry no longer exists. Films from those times now make him feel like he's watching his own past. Although the city was once colorful, now it seems black and white. People dress in drab colors and even the packs of dogs that roam the streets are a nameless color between gray and charcoal. The author also notes that his fears and fantasies were fed by stories of gruesome crimes and murders, including one that took place on the river, causing his mother to stop letting Pamuk and his brother go out to play, even in their own garden.