The Red-Haired Woman Summary
Pamuk, Orhan

The Red-Haired Woman Overview

The Red-Haired Woman follows the story of Cem Çelik, who is born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. When Cem is a teenager, his father unexpectedly disappears, and Cem takes a job as a welldigger’s apprentice in the nearby town of Öngören. The welldigger, Mahmut, becomes a new father figure in Cem’s life. Meanwhile, Cem becomes obsessed with a beautiful red-haired woman in Öngören. After a sexual dalliance with the woman and an unfortunate accident at the well, Cem flees back to Istanbul, and the rest of his life is shaped by the events in Öngören. The novel examines themes of fate, storytelling, fatherhood, modernity, and the significance of the past.