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A review by homewithyou
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"Perhaps nothing was worth worrying about in a city where everything was constantly shifting and dissolving, and the only thing they could ever rely on was this moment in time, which was already half gone."
3.5 stars. i had to read this for my grsj lit class and i liked it a lot more than i thought it would, but i blame that on the five extensive academic circle-jerk papers my prof made us read on a foucault theory the week before. it was also harder to read than i thought it would be. some of the themes are heavy and dark given the nature of the story and what shafak seeks to navigate, but the content itself wasn't particularly explicit. surprisingly, i think i had a harder time reading the ending of the book instead of the more graphic events that occur earlier on. maybe it's the reality of death that i'm familiar with. reading about collective mourning in the aftermath of a death and feeling it as my own, rather than the disconnect that happens when reading about the act of dying and death itself. idk! i'm gonna stare at a wall for a while though!
overall, i liked it a lot. the characters and imagery in this novel are so vivid, and is clearly a loving observation of a complicated city with complicated people and an even more complicated history.
3.5 stars. i had to read this for my grsj lit class and i liked it a lot more than i thought it would, but i blame that on the five extensive academic circle-jerk papers my prof made us read on a foucault theory the week before. it was also harder to read than i thought it would be. some of the themes are heavy and dark given the nature of the story and what shafak seeks to navigate, but the content itself wasn't particularly explicit. surprisingly, i think i had a harder time reading the ending of the book instead of the more graphic events that occur earlier on. maybe it's the reality of death that i'm familiar with. reading about collective mourning in the aftermath of a death and feeling it as my own, rather than the disconnect that happens when reading about the act of dying and death itself. idk! i'm gonna stare at a wall for a while though!
overall, i liked it a lot. the characters and imagery in this novel are so vivid, and is clearly a loving observation of a complicated city with complicated people and an even more complicated history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Misogyny, and Sexism