Orhan Pamuk

"Istanbul: Memories and the City" is a memoir, so the most important person in the book is the author himself. Pamuk was born in 1952 in Istanbul, and has never left the city. He grew up in a somewhat dysfunctional nuclear and extended family, living primarily with his parents and older brother, although his parents' marriage was volatile and they were often separated. Pamuk's family had once been quite wealthy, but by the time he was born, his father and other relatives had significantly reduced that wealth through poor business decisions. For many years while he was growing up, Pamuk lived in a building called Pamuk Apartments, sharing one apartment with his parents and brother while other members of his extended family lived in the building's other units. As he grew up, the author experienced the sense of melancholy that enveloped his own family, other residents of Istanbul...