A few days ago I invited you to help me choose which Nobel authors’ book I should read for the April Challenge. With 66.7% of the vote, Orhan Pamuk’s The Museum of Innocence is the winner!
Tied for second place was My Son’s Story and Zinky Boys, with an honorable mention for Voices From Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich. I’m excited to start The Museum of Innocence and have already reserved it at the library.
With the reading challenge I’ll be checking in here each week to update you on my progress
When someone says “Nobel Prize winner for literature,” what comes to mind? Is it a positive or negative reaction? Why do you think you have this reaction?
Honestly? What comes to mind is an activist ~ Someone working tirelessly to change a social ill. This is a positive reaction.
The negative reaction is in the 2nd half of what comes to mind: difficult reading. Something especially dense and literary – definitely not escapist reading.
What book did you choose? Who is the author / when did they win the Nobel Prize / nationality? Where does this story take place?
I’m so thankful YOU chose the book! Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel in 2006. Born in Istanbul, Turkey Pamuk has spent the majority of his life in the same area. I had no idea that Pamuk was so influential so I’m pretty excited to read his work. According to the 2015 Global Thought Leaders Index, Pamuk ranks number 4 as the most influential world voice.
In 2008 The Museum of Innocence was published and in 2012 Pamuk opened his own museum ‘The Innocence of Objects.’
This novel is “about a man’s lifelong infatuation with a young woman and his attempt to build a museum housing the objects associated with his love.” I find the concept to be fascinating – how many of us hold onto mementos of our love affairs? To house those in actual museum is a fascinating idea to me.
Why did you pick this particular book?
haha! I didn’t pick it – you did! Although I did narrow down the list from hundreds to just five! I added this particular book for the reason stated above – the idea of creating a museum for our mementos is one I’d love to explore in depth.
What other authors / books did you also consider for this challenge?
In the introductory post I outline the top five books I’ve narrowed down the challenge to ~ I will confess that I’m really wanting to read Svetlana Alexievich’s work. She won the Nobel in 2015. Her book Voice From Chernobyl sounds devastating, yet also a book we should all read. At some point I do plan to read Zinky Boys. My dad was a career Marine, served in Vietnam and devoted his life to our country. Zinky Boys sounds like one of those novels that will help me to understand war and its effects on young men like my dad.
In researching books and authors for this challenge I realized I’ve only read a handful of the Nobel authors, most notably, Pablo Nerudo. Ironically, I’ve got a book of his poetry on my nightstand before I even knew of this challenge!
Let’s Discuss!
What about you? Do you tend to gravitate towards books and authors that have won awards, like the Nobel or the Pulitzer, or do you avoid those at all costs?
