Quotes from Orhan Pamuk

If the lycée teachers studying this book in their class are now beginning to get nervous, they can advise the students to skip this page.

There are three types of buildings in Istanbul," he used to say: (1) those full of devout families where people say their daily prayers and leave their shoes outside, (2) rich and Westernized homes where you can go in with your shoes on, (3) new high-rise blocks where you can find a mix of both sorts.

An illustration that does not complement a story, in the end, will become but a false idol. Since we cannot possibly believe in an absent story, we will naturally begin believing in the picture itself.

This was a far cry from the meritocratic Ottoman period, when only by dint of an education could a man of humble background hope to rise through the ranks, get rich, and become a pasha.

To give charm of novelty to things of every day, and to excite a feeling analogous to the supernatural, by awakening the mind's attention from the lethargy of custom, and directing it to the loveliness and wonders of the world before us.

Yeni bir mekana, bir eve ilk defa gelmiÅŸ çocuklar?n, hayat?n sillesini daha yemediÄŸi için hala her ÅŸeye kar?? merakl? ve aç?k kalabilen genç insanlar?n yapabildiÄŸi gibi pencereden d??ar?ya ilgiyle bakt?.

Because Anna Karenina could not read the novel she held in her hands, we read Anna Karenina the novel.

Eso que llaman familia cada día que pasaba me parecía más como un grupo de personas que aparentan ser felices acallando por un rato sus demonios interiores para que creer que son amadas y para sentirse tranquilas, cómodas y seguras

the place we return to is never the same place we left.

We read novels because we want to see the world through other experiences, other beings, other eyes, other cultures.

Po?injao sam i sebe da doživljavam kao satkanog od one svetlosti koja je navirala iz knjige. I to me je smirivalo.

According to my father, the greatest happiness in life was to marry the girl you'd spent your youth reading books with in the passionate pursuit of a shared ideal.

the waiting was torture, the worst Ka had ever known. It was this pain, this deadly wait, he now remembered, that had made him afraid to fall in love.

why humanity has a spiritual need for a mirror (a custom-built mirror!) such as the novel.

Kenangan-kenangan ini tidak berhubungan satu sama lain, kecuali bahwa semuanya memiliki keterkaitan dengan cinta. Ka tahu betul bahwa kehidupan adalah rangkaian tanpa arti dari berbagai kejadian acak.

Einstein...even failed physics once, but he'd never thought of giving up school to make a living.

T?pk? sevdiÄŸi k?z?n ölümünden sonra hayat?n baÅŸkalar? için bütün s?radanl??? ile sürüp gitmesini bir türlü kald?ramayan kiÅŸi gibi bir öfke duydu bu insanlara.

Believing that Sibel was saying these things to me to make me angry, I got angry. But this is not to say that the fury owed nothing to my partial awareness that she was right.

Cuando el jardín de la memoria comienza a secarse -le había dicho Celâl una de aquellas noches-, uno tiembla con amor por los últimos árboles y rosales que le quedan. Los riego y los acaricio de la mañana a la noche para que no se sequen: ¡recuerdo, recuerdo que no quiero olvidar!

If you think you are better than Stork, then by all means, get hold of me.

Eskileri bir bütün içinde sanmak eskiler kadar eski bir yan?lg?d?r!

Encontrarse solo con los rastros en lugar de con los recuerdos en sí se parece a mirar con lágrimas en los ojos la huella que ha dejado en un sillón vuestra amante después de abandonaros para no volver más.

lo habían encuadernado cuidadosamente con un papel de aguas azul que hacía recordar los sueños.

God takes note of His creatures' true intentions. The Lord favors a man who intends to fast during Ramadan over a man who fasts because he can't find food to eat anyway. Because one of them means it, while the other one doesn't.