Orhan Pamuk promotes his new book in South America

BUENOS AIRES - Doğan News Agency

Turkish Nobel Laureate author Orhan Pamuk is currently touring South America to promote his new book, “The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist.”

The writer said he had found a number of similarities between Turkey and South America.
“I have seen huge similarities between Turkey and Brazil. Brazil is like Turkey in terms of the preservation of cultural heritage by the middle class,” Pamuk told Doğan news agency, adding that the most impressive thing in Latin America was the spirit and liveliness of the people.

Attending conferences in Latin America

The writer has attracted huge interest in South America; Pamuk first attended conferences in Chile, Uruguay and Argentina for conferences before going to Brazil. In Argentina, he met Maria Kodima, wife of Jorge Luis Borges – one of Pamuk’s favorite writers – and addressed fans at the Latin American Arts Museum, MALBA.

In Brazil, Pamuk visited the cities of Sao Paolo and Porto Alegre, where he attended the conference of the “Fronteiras do Pensamento” (Thoughtful Boundaries) group. The group hosted writers such as Terry Eagleton, Mario Vargas Llosa, Alain de Botton and David Lynch. Pamuk was the first Turkish writer to attend a conference by the group. 
“I’ve been planning to visit South America for the last 18 months. I learned of the region from Latin American writers such as Borges, Garcia Marquez and Julio Cortazar,” Pamuk said. Literature is one of the best ways to discover a culture, but it is still not enough to discover the whole continent, he said, adding that he read novels by Carlos Fuentes and Vargas Llosa. 

Similarities in Istanbul

Pamuk said South American cities were like Istanbul because they had seen many coups and had the same economic problems. “While they are struggling against decay, they are trying to restrict a new kind of modernity. Maybe because of this, ‘Istanbul’ was one of the bestselling novels in Latin America.” 

South America is a continent of football, Pamuk said, adding that his publisher invited him to a Corinthians-Palmeiras football match.

“During the match because of the death of Socrates, the legendary Corinthians player, everyone stood for minute’s silence before the match. After this, the audience also opened a poster that said ‘No to Racism,’” said Pamuk, adding that it was very exciting to have experienced such a thing in Brazil.