Ted Harrison (2)

Orhan Pamuk's 'My Name is Red' tells the story of a murder of a master gilder in 16th century Ottoman Empire. One of four miniaturists covertly working on a sacriligous illustrated book for their Sultan, Elegant Effendi's death throws suspiscion on the group and threatens to bring to light their iconoclastic endeavours and rebuke of the tenets of the Koran. The mystery is cleverly unfolded through first person recounts from a multitude of characters that, like in a 59 leg relay race, take it in turns to carry the story forward to its conclusion - the uncovering of the late gilder's killer.

The murder however, is but a single strand to a story interwoven with authorial musings on life, art, money, culture, death, religion and love. Pamuk's text is brimming with debate, insight and rhetoric on the aforementioned subjects, bestowing his thoughts to the reader through his complex and erudite text; skillfully interposed with allegories, parables and ancient tales from generations of Turkish history.… (altro)

An unusual angle on the Elvis phenomenon in that it examines what happened after Presley's death. Many of the chapters look at the money, or surprising lack of it. The author goes through the incredible greed and manipulation on the part of Colonel Tom Parker, who was taking up to 50% of Elvis' earnings, even after death. There are the legal proceedings after Priscilla took over the management of the estate and how she and a well-chosen team were able to rebuild Elvis' reputation and earning potential.
From there, the book takes an odd turn, spending several chapters discussing fans who have melded Elvis into a religious icon. There are chapters that cover Elvis impersonators and the attempts to stop them by both Colonel Tom and Priscilla, the many corporations that have owned the Elvis rights since Lisa Marie sold them, the difficulties of turning Graceland into a tourist attraction and keeping it running, and a discussion of the rumors that Elvis didn't die in 1977. And lots of testimonials from loving fans.
Overall, a good discussion of the enormous impact Elvis has had, though the three chapters of Elvis as religious icon were nutty.… (altro)