The action of almost all of Orhan Pamuk’s novels takes place in Istanbul, a mysterious and beautiful city that has experienced the highest prosperity and the sad twilight of decline. Such duality is often reflected in the characters and destinies of heroes who are unable to get rid of the past, which continues to have a decisive influence on their thoughts and actions. These are the heroes of Pamuk’s second novel, “The House of Silence,” one of the author’s most touching and sad works, reminiscent of Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children” in skill and emotional power. The story of one Istanbul family slowly unfolds before the reader, told on behalf of its various representatives, each of whom is imprisoned in their own house of silence, filled with unspoken dreams and disturbing thoughts about the past.