A review by peter_fischer
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

3.0

The fact that brain activity and cellular biochemistry persist for a period beyond clinical death is used here as a storytelling device (not entirely convincingly): Tequila Leila, a prostitute in Istanbul, has been found dead in a metal garbage bin. The post-mortal brain activity takes the form of a succession of memories, telling the story of how and why Leila becomes a prostitute and is finally murdered. The brain-activity-after-death device notwithstanding, this is a wonderfully interesting and positive, if melancholy, novel, written by a gifted storyteller. It touches on many issues emanating from the inferior standing of females in traditional religious societies.