''The New Life'' (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

: ''Yeni Hayat'') is a 1994 novel by Turkish writer

Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over thirteen million books in sixty-three lan ...

, translated into English by Güneli Gün in 1997. The plot centers around a young engineering student in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

who discovers a "new life" in the pages of a book of the same name. The protagonist finds a number of other readers who have become similarly consumed as well as a few people who seek to destroy the book because of the effect it has on its followers. No passages from the book are revealed, and readers of the novel are left to hypothesize about its nature through the actions of the main character and other obsessed readers. Pamuk started writing the novel when suffering from

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

caused by a

jet lag Jet lag is a physiological condition that results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms caused by rapid long-distance trans-meridian (east–west or west–east) travel. For example, someone flying from New York to London, i.e. fr ...

after a long plane journey. The title of the book was appropriated from

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

's work '' The New Life''.

Plot

The protagonist, Osman, first notices the book in the university canteen when a female student, Janan, sets a copy down for a moment on his table. He later buys his own copy at a bookstall and is so thrilled by this novel that he sets off in search of the new life it promises. Janan introduces Osman to her lover Mehmet who had also read the book and been to the world it describes. Osman, who at this point is enchanted by Janan, witnesses Mehmet gunned down at a bus stop, but the injured man mysteriously disappears and can't be traced at any hospital. The two embark on surreal bus journeys in search of Mehmet. One of the buses has a road accident which results in fatalities, however, they emerge alive, expropriating wallets and identities of two dead passengers. They continue the journey and encounter Dr. Fine, Mehmet's father. It turns out that he had sent spies to keep watch on his rebellious son and to murder other readers of the book. Janan herself vanishes and Osman goes on more surreal and violent bus journeys. It later appears that a deceased friend of Osman's father, Uncle Rifki, may actually be the author of the book.

Reception

The novel was met with negative feedback from reviewers and readers alike, with many finding it incomprehensible. Following the release of the English version,

D. M. Thomas Donald Michael Thomas (born 27 January 1935), is a British poet, translator, novelist, editor, biographer and playwright. His work has been translated into 30 languages. Working primarily as a poet throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Thomas's 1981 ...

gave the novel a mixed review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and

Gabriel Josipovici Gabriel David Josipovici ( ; born 8 October 1940) is a British novelist, short story writer, critic, literary theorist, and playwright. He is an Emeritus professor, after having been Professor at the University of Sussex. Biography He was born ...

in his negative review for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' called the book "unreadable" and described its references to

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

and

Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

as "embarrassing". In contrast to negative reviews, ''The New Life'' has reportedly become the fastest selling book in Turkish history at the time of its release. It sold 164,000 copies in a year and by 1997 that figure had exceeded 200,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Life, The 1994 novels Novels by Orhan Pamuk Novels set in Istanbul Turkish novels