The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist: Understanding What Happens When We Write and Read Novels

An inspiring brief lecture series about writing and reading novels.

Its central conceit, inspired by Schiller, is the contrast between naive and sentimental thought, which unfortunately seems a bit clunky, since the modern usage of those terms is different. But putting aside that academic overlay,

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the text itself is insightful and thought-provoking.

I confess to liking this work much more than his novels, which I've always liked in concept but found a bit lacking in execution (or translation, perhaps). This I think is the opposite. Pamuk grew up wanting to be a painter, and he brings a refreshing visual sense to his appreciations, as well as a novelist's sense of craft.

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