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Old 08-24-2014, 10:59 AM   #45
issybird
o saeclum infacetum
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookpossum View Post
that took me back to desertblues' suggestion that this was all imagined by the Venetian in the moments before he died when his ship was captured.

I love it that there isn't a clearcut solution to the mystery!
I consciously chose to read it as if it were imagined by the Venetian once he was captured, to while away his captivity. I have mixed feelings, though, about whether it's a strength or a flaw that there isn't a clearcut solution. I don't mind (that is, I enjoy) misdirection and multiple possibilities as I'm reading, but I also expect the author to have a clearcut solution which the story supports, as in a classic mystery novel. He doesn't have to share it, it can remain nebulous, but I'm left with the feeling that Pamuk hadn't quite made up his mind himself.

Quote:
Originally Posted by desertblues View Post
The Venetian in the novel seems to be ccondescending to Hoja about his astronomical knowledge and I wonder to what extent this is valid, just
I assumed that it was deliberately unjust, since it wouldn't be that long until the Ptolemaic cosmology was superseded. A not so subtle jab at the implied superiority (by the Venetian) of West over East.

Last edited by issybird; 08-24-2014 at 11:30 PM.
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