In the early chapters, there are several mentions of the Sultan’s obsession with Sherlock Holmes, and we learn that Doctor Nuri has been sent to the island both in a medical capacity and to investigate the crime. The cover, the stylised back-cover shock quote (“ Plague is not the only killer.“), and the first parts of the book, point to a literary thriller, with the outsiders sent to the island in danger of attacks from locals feeling threatened by any suggestion of restrictions or changes to their lifestyle. Pamuk’s latest big story, coming in at just under seven-hundred pages, is a multi-faceted work, then. Bonkowski? Well, as it turns out, he’s been murdered… However, once they reach Alexandria, having dropped the Pasha off in Mingheria, a message awaits: the couple must return to the island, where Doctor Nuri will help lead the fight against the now-confirmed plague. The same ship happens to be carrying Princess Pakize, the niece of the Sultan, and her husband, Prince Consort Doctor Nuri, who are on their way to China on a diplomatic mission. Back in Instanbul, rumours of an outbreak of plague in Mingheria’s main town of Arkaz have made the rounds, so Bonkowski Pasha, Inspector of Public Health and Sanitation, is dispatched to the island to investigate.

Orhan Pamuk’s Nights of Plague (translated by Ekin Oklap, review copy courtesy of Penguin Hamish Hamilton) takes us back to 1901, with a trip to Mingheria, an island dominion of the Ottoman Empire. Instead, the writer has taken in what was going on and adapted it into a very different tale, showing us that while times change, human nature, and the way we react in times of danger, is surprisingly constant… Which is not to say that it’s a novel taking a straight look at what has unfolded over the past few years. While the wave hasn’t quite hit yet, there’s no doubt that at some point there’ll be a tsunami of books chronicling life during the pandemic, and today’s represents one of the first of those works, appearing in the original language last year (either that, or it’s a very happy coincidence on the part of the author!).

Orhan pamuk new book 2021