What is the first news event you can recall?
In February 1959, the plane of the Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes crashed near Gatwick airport. Menderes got out alive and that made him a legend in Turkey. But his minister of tourism died, and the minister’s daughter was my classmate.
What is the biggest problem of all?
That other people are so different.
If you could spend a day in one city or place at one moment in history, what would that be?
Two typical days in Istanbul, circa 1350 and 1650.
What is your favourite quotation?
“In the long run we are all dead”, John Maynard Keynes.
Which of your ancestors or relatives are you most proud of?
My 100-year-old mother, who still has a sharp mind and cracks jokes.
What has been your most interesting moment at a book signing?
When the enthusiastic person who wants me to sign his/her book does not realise that four or five decades ago we used to be classmates, and that the certain Ferit Pamuk they knew in their class is now the writer Orhan Pamuk. While I recognise them and remember some details about this person and make jokes about it, the old classmate does not remember me at all. This kind of surprise has happened to me more than once.
Your new novel Nights of Plague tackles the end of the Ottoman Empire. Has Turkey come to terms with its imperial past?
No, unfortunately… producing a sugared version of the past is not coming to terms with it.
What can crises like plagues, or the coronavirus pandemic, reveal about a society?
That society has a deep tendency to be authoritarian. And it is normal and OK for people to simultaneously demand conflicting policies from the government—such as complete lockdowns and keeping the business of the angry citizen open.
What have you changed your mind about?
The place of art in my life.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I am simple and a bit childish.
What is the last piece of music, play, novel or film that brought you to tears?
The film Roma by Alfonso Cuarón.
What do you most regret?
When I was young, not learning Persian. When I was older, missing the opportunity to teach and live in Japan.
Which person (or sort of person) would you most like to spend a day in the shoes of?
A creative and very original painter with a unique style!
Who is your role model?
Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Woolf, Camus, Proust, Faulkner, Tanizaki, García Márquez.
Are you proud of your country?
For the last 45 years, I have been trying to give a deep, convincing and satisfying answer to this question in my books.
“Nights of Plague” by Orhan Pamuk is published by Faberat £14.99
