The White Castle
First edition (Turkish)
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| Author | Orhan Pamuk |
|---|---|
| Original title | Beyaz Kale |
| Translator | Victoria Holbrook |
| Country | Turkey |
| Language | Turkish |
| Publisher | Carcanet Press (UK), George Braziller (US) |
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Publication date
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1985 |
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Published in English
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1990 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
The White Castle (original Turkish title: Beyaz Kale) is a novel by Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk.
The events of this story take place in 17th century Istanbul. The story is about a young Italian scholar sailing from Venice to Naples who is taken prisoner by the Ottoman Empire. Soon after, he becomes the slave of a scholar known as Hoja (master), a man who is about his own age, and with whom he shares a strong physical resemblance.
Hoja reports to the Pasha, who asks him many questions about science and the world. Gradually Hoja and the narrator are introduced to the Sultan, for whom they eventually design an enormous iron weapon.
The slave is told to instruct the master in Western science and technology, from medicine to astronomy. But Hoja wonders why he and his slave are the persons they are and whether given knowledge of each other's most intimate secrets, they could actually exchange identities.
The story begins with a frame tale in the form of a preface written by historian Faruk Darvinoglu (a character referenced in Pamuk’s previous book, The Silent House) between 1984 and 1985, according to the fictional dedication to the character’s late sister at the beginning of the frame tale. Faruk recalls finding the story that follows in a storage room while looking through an archive in the governor’s office in Gebze, among old bureaucratic papers. He takes the transcript, fascinated by its presence in such a place. During his breaks from work, he begins trying to find a source for the tale, hoping to authenticate its events and author. He is able to connect the author to Italy, but is unable to make any further progress. An acquaintance tells him that manuscripts such as the one he found could be found throughout the many old, wooden houses of Istanbul, mistaken for ancient Korans, and left venerated and unread. With some encouragement, he decides to publish the manuscript. The preface ends with Faruk noting that the publisher chose the title of the book, and a remark on the nature of modern readers will try to connect the dedication to his sister to the tale that follows. (See metafiction).
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