The series is based on a best-selling novel from 2008.

The Museum of Innocence
The Museum of Innocence (Image: Netflix)

Fans have raved about the romantic tragedy which dropped on Netflix on Valentine’s Day. Based on Nobel-winner’s bestselling 2008 novel by author Orhan Pamuk chronicles a man’s obsessive affair with a much younger women. Set in 1970s-80s, it tells the story of a decade long love story between Kemal, a wealthy Istanbul businessman and his love interest, Füsun, the main protagonist’s working-class relative.

The story, centered on Kemal’s infatuation with his cousin Füsun, inspired a real-life museum in Istanbul that has remained popular for over 15 years. In his romantic pursuit of Füsun over the next eight years, Kemal compulsively amasses a collection of objects that chronicles his lovelorn progress-a museum that is both a map of a society and of his heart.

While Pamuk has claimed The Museum of Innocence is not the best novel he has written, fans have praised the Netflix adaptation, as his 2008 bestseller returned to the spotlight. The renewed attention has also fed back into interest in the museum itself with an increase in vistors in Istanbul, Turkiye.

An audience reviewer wrote on Rotten Tomatoes the new series is nearly as good as the novel.

They wrote: “Almost as good as the book I read. Great acting, the director done a great job. If you read the book must watch.”

A second praised: “I read the novel when it was first published and loved it. I was happy when Orhan Pamuk actually created a physical Museum of Innocence in Istanbul, that complemented the experience of the novel.

And now this great miniseries adaptation further enhances that experience. I have not revisited the book since I read it, but I remember the arc of the plot and its emotional impact on me.”

The Museum of Innocence
The Museum of Innocence is available to watch on Netflix (Image: Netflix)

A third added: “I enjoyed the novel. I could not put it down. The tension and desire is compelling.

As a reader I too got obsessed with the hero’s desire. I felt sorry for his moral lack of spine, but he paid a huge price for it as the affair derailed his whole life.”

The Museum of Innocence is available to watch on Netflix