Museum of Innocence: banal and excruciatingly long tale

I picked up this book because it is written by a Nobel laureate and it is based in the interesting city of Istanbul. Orhan Pamuk’s eye for detail and craftsmanship as an author are apparent in the book. However, reading through the book is a test of patience. The book is full of banal details and because I am writing a serious review I won’t use the teenage expression ‘so boring’ but that would be an apt reaction.
Kemal beh’s obsessive infatuation for Fusun is what the story is all about. I have consciously used the word infatuation and not love because what Kemal feels for Fusun is simply a one sided obsession for her beauty. True love ought to set one free to achieve whatever one wants to be in life. In the eight years that Kemal keeps visiting Fusun’s home for dinner; neither him nor Fusun is free to lead a life that they so desire.
The story starts in the 1970s, 40 days before Kemal’s engagement to Sibel. It continues until Kemal dies as an old man. Throughout this time Kemal keeps collecting small knickknacks from Fusun’s life and their time spent together. These range from hairpins, salt shakers, handkerchiefs, show pieces atop the TV set to the 4213 cigarette butts the Fusun smoked in his presence and all of these form a part of the museum of innocence. To Kemal – and to Orhan Pamuk – this might seem like an ode to love but to the reader, it seems banal and uninteresting. After reading this book I have no desire left to visit the actual museum that Orhan Pamuk built in Istanbul after this book.
Looking to the positives of the book, one does get to experience the Istanbul of the 70s and how the rich and famous lived then. The story is narrated in an easy flowing manner.  But does it have to 734 pages long? Let me answer that as well; with an emphatic ‘no’.  I am not recommending this book and doubt if I will ever pick up another book by Orhan Pamuk. I also wonder why the book got 4 star reviews. Agreed, it has its moments but they are very few and far between to make the book worthwhile.