A review by writtenontheflyleaves
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World ⌛️
🌟🌟🌟🌟
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⏳ The plot: Our main character is Leila. Vibrant, defiant, vital; after being rejected by her family she flees to Istanbul where she makes a living as a sex worker, gathering a disparate group of friends around her to become a second family. She is murdered on the first page. The rest of the novel traces her thoughts in the 10 minutes and 38 seconds after her heart stops beating, and her friends’ efforts to put her peacefully to rest.
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This is a bookstagram favourite and I can certainly see why. From the first page the writing is amazing - there were so many phrases that I underlined or starred because they seemed so peculiar and true. You come to care deeply about each of the characters, and the structure the book is told in is intriguing and compels you forward. Honestly I think it’s really remarkable.
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That said, I would love to read some reviews from any trans readers who picked this up - one of the best characters in the whole thing is Nalan, a trans woman who is one of the band of friends that rally around Leila in Istanbul. Leila meets Nalan before she starts transitioning, and at this point he/him pronouns are used. This makes sense in the context of their meeting, but then there’s one part in the second half of the novel where he/him pronouns were used to refer to Nalan that I just found jarring, to the extent that I wonder if it’s a typo! If anyone has read any reviews from trans readers that deal with this aspect of the novel I would love to read them.
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🌊 Read it if you love stories about deep friendships, and omnipotent narration that gives you a bird’s eye view of a story.
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🚫 Avoid it if you’re avoiding stories that include sexual assault, paedophilia, transphobia, violence, and grief. I’d really recommend looking up content warnings for this one if you’re in any doubt about it!
🌟🌟🌟🌟
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⏳ The plot: Our main character is Leila. Vibrant, defiant, vital; after being rejected by her family she flees to Istanbul where she makes a living as a sex worker, gathering a disparate group of friends around her to become a second family. She is murdered on the first page. The rest of the novel traces her thoughts in the 10 minutes and 38 seconds after her heart stops beating, and her friends’ efforts to put her peacefully to rest.
-
This is a bookstagram favourite and I can certainly see why. From the first page the writing is amazing - there were so many phrases that I underlined or starred because they seemed so peculiar and true. You come to care deeply about each of the characters, and the structure the book is told in is intriguing and compels you forward. Honestly I think it’s really remarkable.
-
That said, I would love to read some reviews from any trans readers who picked this up - one of the best characters in the whole thing is Nalan, a trans woman who is one of the band of friends that rally around Leila in Istanbul. Leila meets Nalan before she starts transitioning, and at this point he/him pronouns are used. This makes sense in the context of their meeting, but then there’s one part in the second half of the novel where he/him pronouns were used to refer to Nalan that I just found jarring, to the extent that I wonder if it’s a typo! If anyone has read any reviews from trans readers that deal with this aspect of the novel I would love to read them.
-
🌊 Read it if you love stories about deep friendships, and omnipotent narration that gives you a bird’s eye view of a story.
-
🚫 Avoid it if you’re avoiding stories that include sexual assault, paedophilia, transphobia, violence, and grief. I’d really recommend looking up content warnings for this one if you’re in any doubt about it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Trafficking, Transphobia, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Grief, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical content, Deadnaming, and Self harm