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A review by mweis
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
I have heard nothing but great things about the work of Elif Shafak, so when I saw her 2024 release up on NetGalley I requested it on impulse and wow am I glad that I did because this was phenomenal.
This is historical fiction at its best. Shafak weaves together the stories of a poverty stricken child with an incredible memory in London 1840 with a young Yazidi girl facing the rise of ISIS in 2014 Turkey with a recently divorced hydrologist in 2018 London. What connects these three seemingly disparate stories is the ancient city of Nineveh, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and a single drop of water.
The first ~15% was a bit of a struggle trying to understand how these narratives weave together but the prose was enthralling so I kept going and as it all began to come together I couldn't help but marvel at the skill of this storytelling. Shafak is able to make a fairly long and heart wrenching story not get bogged down by the length and sadness.
This is a book that will sit with me for some time and is a serious contender for one of my favorite books of the year. I will absolutely be checking out Shafak's backlist and any future publications.
This is historical fiction at its best. Shafak weaves together the stories of a poverty stricken child with an incredible memory in London 1840 with a young Yazidi girl facing the rise of ISIS in 2014 Turkey with a recently divorced hydrologist in 2018 London. What connects these three seemingly disparate stories is the ancient city of Nineveh, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and a single drop of water.
The first ~15% was a bit of a struggle trying to understand how these narratives weave together but the prose was enthralling so I kept going and as it all began to come together I couldn't help but marvel at the skill of this storytelling. Shafak is able to make a fairly long and heart wrenching story not get bogged down by the length and sadness.
This is a book that will sit with me for some time and is a serious contender for one of my favorite books of the year. I will absolutely be checking out Shafak's backlist and any future publications.