The Word and the Bomb: Writing in the Age of Terror—Orhan Pamuk

This half-hour episode hails from a series originally broadcast on Danish television in 2008 exploring the role of literature in shaping the post–9/11 world. Here, series host Jes Stein Pedersen travels to Istanbul to speak with Turkish Nobel-laureate novelist Orhan Pamuk. Pedersen is very eager to engage Pamuk in issues relating to politics and religion, both within Turkey and in a wider East-West setting, but Pamuk seems uncomfortable during most of the interview. Pamuk claims to lack enough knowledge to offer comments on the controversy behind the cartoons depicting Mohammed published in a Danish newspaper, and at one point impatiently asks Pedersen to cease asking politically-tinged questions. However, Pamuk speaks with more self-assurance about world reaction to his controversial bestselling novel Snow, acknowledging that Turkish law and culture feature too many taboos to enable a frank discussion of many subjects. Unfortunately, for much of the time, Pamuk and Pedersen appear to be engaged in parallel conversations. Pedersen pads the program by trying to talk with people on the streets of Istanbul about Pamuk—some walk away quickly while others provide tepid support. Also available in The Word and the Bomb: Writing in the Age of Terror series are the volumes Daniel Kehlmann and Alaa Al Aswany. Not a necessary purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)