The Museum of Innocence - set in Istanbul between 1975 and today - tells the story of Kemal, the son of one of Istanbul& apos; s richest families, and of his obsessive love for a poor and distant relation, the beautiful Fusun, who is a shop-girl in a small boutique. In his romantic pursuit of Füsun over the next eight years, Kemal compulsively amasses a collection of objects that chronicles his lovelorn progress-a museum that is both a map of a society and of his heart.
The novel depicts a panoramic view of life in Istanbul as it chronicles this long, obsessive love affair; and Pamuk beautifully captures the identity crisis experienced by Istanbul& apos; s upper classes that find themselves caught between traditional and westernised ways of being. Orhan Pamuk& apos; s first novel since winning the Nobel Prize is a stirring love story and exploration of the nature of romance.
Pamuk built The Museum of Innocence in the house in which his hero& apos; s fictional family lived, to display Kemal& apos; s strange collection of objects associated with Fusun and their relationship. The house opened to the public in 2012 in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul.
& apos; Pamuk has created a work concerning romantic love worthy to stand in the company of Lolita, Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina. & apos; --Financial Times
