To read a novel is to wonder constantly, even at moments when we lose ourselves most deeply in the book: How much of this is fantasy, and how much is real?

As I was looking at myself in the bathroom mirror, it occurred to me that if all else failed, a man could at least kiss himself, and I stared in to the mirror, conjuring up...

Istanbul is a vast place. There are very conservative neighbourhoods, there are places that are upper class, Westernised, consuming Western culture.

Being a fiction writer makes you someone who works with irresponsibility.

‘The Museum of Innocence’ is not about politics; it’s a love story, but I think it’s political in the sense that it wants to capture how a man suppresses a woman.

Y lo peor era que mi cara se había transformado en otra completamente distinta, en la comisura de mis labios se abría paso una cierta desvergüenza de tanto beber y besar en las fiestas, mis...

Tell me then, does love make one a fool or do only fools fall in love?

At the heart of the novelist’s craft lies an optimism which thinks that the knowledge we gather from our everyday experience, if given proper form, can become valuable knowledge about reality.

,Es el amor el que vuelve estúpidas a las personas o es que sólo los estúpidos se enamoran?

I see Turkey’s future as being in Europe, as one of many prosperous, tolerant, democratic countries.

Authoritarianism, an unrealistic occidental imagination – these issues will never be settled. Turkey will continue to take Europe as a model; it will continue to pursue its search for democracy.

Durante toda minha vida me senti perdido e só como um animal ferido. Talvez se eu não tivesse abraçado com tal violência, não a teria irritado tanto, e talvez não tivesse destruído um trabalho de...

My fear was not the fear of God but, as in the case of the whole Turkish secular bourgeoisie, fear of the anger of those who believe in God too zealously(…) I experienced the guilt...

The power of things inheres in the memories they gather up inside them, and also in the vicissitudes of our imagination, and our memory–of this there is no doubt.

The knowledge that she could learn to love a man had always meant more to her than loving him effortlessly, more even than falling in love, and that was why she now felt that she...

I don’t much care whether rural Anatolians or Istanbul secularists take power. I’m not close to any of them. What I care about is respect for the individual.

I’m a relatively disciplined writer who composes the whole book before beginning to execute and write it. Of course, you can’t hold – you cannot imagine a whole novel before you write it; there are...

Havadan sudan söz ettikten ve gerekli bilgi formlarını titizlikle doldurduktan sonra, “sorunumu” sorunca, doktora, bir an, sevgilimi kaybettiğim için kendimi uzaya yollanmış bir köpek gibi yalnız hissettiğimi söylemek geldi içimden…

Immersing oneself in the problems of a book is a good way to keep from thinking of love.

My prolonged study of these photographs led me to appreciate the importance of perserving certain moments for prosperity , and as time moved forwards I also came to see what a powerful influence these framed...

The opponents of this process have always tried to vilify westernization as a poor imitation.

Generally, I get bad reviews in Turkey.

These political movements flourish on the margins of Turkish society because of poverty and because of the people’s feeling that they are not being represented.

…when a good poet is confronted with difficult facts that he knows to be true but also are inimical to poetry, he has no choice but to flee to the margins; it was…this very retreat...

After all, a woman who doesn’t love cats is never going to be make a man happy.

I saw myself in the mirror, and from my expression I had a shocking intimation of the rift between my body and my soul. Whereas my face was drained by defeat and shock, inside my...

Maybe you’ve understood by now that for men like myself, that is, melancholy men for whom love, agony, happiness and misery are just excuses for maintaining eternal loneliness, life offers neither great joy nor great...

My hero wants to belong too, but he doesn’t want to give up all the things he came to value in the west.

First, I would find an object which I would think is suitable for my characters and stories, then write about it, and in the end, I ended up with a house full of thousands of...

…the endless repetition of an ordinary miracle.

Those who can truly see, know.

Life is beautiful if you are on the road to somewhere

When two people love each other as we do, no one can come between them, no one,” I said, amazed at the words I was uttering without preparation. “Lovers like us, because they know that...

I think novelists should be disciplined and self-imposed working hours. I work a lot, but I don’t feel that I’m working. I always feel that there is a child in me, healthy, and I’m playing.

If a writer is to tell his own story – tell it slowly, and as if it were a story about other people – if he is to feel the power of the story rise...

In the cities of the European Franks, women roam about exposing not only their faces, but also their brightly shining hair (after their necks, their most attractive feature), their arms, their beautiful throats, and even,...

The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion . . . open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony.

Sometimes I would see them not as mementos of the blissful hours but as the tangible precious debris of the storm raging in my soul.

The writer’s secret is not inspiration – for it is never clear where it comes from – it is his stubbornness, his patience.

I always enjoy impersonating my characters in the first-person singular.

To appropriate an invention, be it artistic or technical, you have to have at least a part of your spirit embracing it so radically that you somehow change.

Real museums are places where Time is transformed into Space.

In fact no one recognizes the happiest moment of their lives as they are living it. It may well be that, in a moment of joy, one might sincerely believe that they are living that...

Ist nicht eigentliches Ziel von Roman und Museum, unsere Erinnerungen so aufrichtig wie möglich zu erzählen und dadurch unser Glück in das Glück anderer zu verwandeln?

Contrary to what is commonly believed, all murderers are men of extreme faith rather than unbelievers.

I consider myself Istanbul’s storyteller. My subject matter is my town. I consider it my job to explore the hidden patterns of my city’s clandestine corners, its shady, mysterious places, the things I love.

For me, Westernization is not about consuming fanciful goods; it’s about a system of free speech, democracy, egalitarianism and respect for the people’s rights and dignity.

…in a brutal country like ours where human life is cheap, it’s stupid to destroy yourself for the sake of your beliefs. Beliefs, high ideals–only people living in rich countries can enjoy such luxuries.’ ‘Actually,...

The real question is how much suffering we’ve caused our womenfolk by turning headscarves into symbols – and using women as pawns in a political game.

Despite the loss they were suffering, they’d both relaxed – as people do when they realize they’ve run out of chances for happiness