Chapters 17 through 20 Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 17, The Pleasures of Painting, we learn that shortly after starting school, Pamuk discovered that he loved drawing and painting. Initially it made him happy regardless of whether he had talent, but later it was discovered that he was indeed a talented artist. He also enjoyed the praise and adoration it brought from others, especially his father. He studied the line drawings in books and reproduced them from memory.

In Chapter 18, Resat Ekren Kocu's Collection of Facts and Curiosities: The Istanbul Encyclopedia, the author states that he was fascinated with books from the time he could read, especially those with drawings depicting Ottoman history. It never occurred to him that the strange drawings might reflect the artist's imagination more than historical fact. Kocu, the melancholic writer discussed previously, spent many years writing The Istanbul Encyclopedia, but age forced...