Try to discover who I am from my choice of words and colors, as attentive people like yourselves might examine footprints to catch a thief.
Orhan PamukRead
When the whole world reads your books, is there any other happiness for a writer? I am happy that my books are read in 57 languages. But I am focused on Istanbul not because of Istanbul but because of humanity. Everyone is the same in the end.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A writer's true joy lies in connecting with humanity through their work, transcending geographical boundaries.
Orhan Pamuk expresses that the greatest fulfillment for a writer comes not from fame or recognition, but from the universal reach of their words. While he takes pride in the fact that his books have been translated into 57 languages, he acknowledges that his focus is not solely on the city of Istanbul but on the shared human experience that connects us all, emphasizing the equality and unity of humanity regardless of cultural differences.
Themes
WriterHumanityHappinessBooksIstanbul
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a literary festival could use this quote to emphasize the impact of literature on global understanding.
More from Orhan Pamuk
All quotes →The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion . . . open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony.
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Where there is true art and genuine virtuosity the artist can paint an incomparable masterpiece without leaving even a trace of his identity.
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It was in Cihangir that i first learned Istanbul was not an anonymous multitude of walled-in lives - a jungle of apartments where no one knew who was dead or who was celebrating what - but an archipelago of neighbourhoods in which everyone knew each other.
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We had no desire to live in Istanbul, nor in Paris or New York. Let them have their discos and dollars, their skycrapers and supersonics transports. Let them have their radios and their color TV, hey, we have ours, don't we? But we have something they don't have. Heart. We have heart. Look, look how the light of life seeps into my very heart
Orhan PamukRead
These political movements flourish on the margins of Turkish society because of poverty and because of the people's feeling that they are not being represented.
Orhan PamukRead
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