10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World

I "discovered" Elif Shafak two or three years ago and have read a couple of her books each year since. While I find myself less and less interested in fiction these days (perhaps because much of it isn't great?), I have loved every book of hers that I've read. Even her less-than-best writing is wonderful. Why? She is a phenomenally gifted storyteller; her characters are genuine even when they are far from normal; and her ability to take the reader to a different place and time is dazzling. In this book, the characters of Tequila Leila and her friends are so beautifully drawn (and they are definitely not "normal"), and the city of Istanbul is brilliantly depicted, including great beauty and a large dose of less-then-beautiful as well. The story is beyond engrossing, and the ending is perfect. Ms. Shafak is nothing less than a modern Scheherazade; how lucky we are to have her!

This novel has a very captivating and fresh start and the first half is a pageturner. However the second half loses its momentum and the ending is poor and loose. I'd be more satisfying if the book just stopped in 10'38''. In the second half not only does the plot lose its momentum, but it seems as though the author intentionally attempts to relate the tragic personal story of our protagonist with the history of Istanbul, which is unnecessary to me.

“10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World”, by Elif Shafak, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2019, and won several “Book of the Year” prizes; I can see why! What a wonderfully unique and exceptional novel. You know that old saying when people recount a near-death experience: “My Whole Life Passed Before My Eyes!” Well this is the story of the 10 minutes and 38 seconds after “Tequila” Leila, a prostitute in Istanbul, has been murdered and left in a dumpster. Her dying brain recalls her whole life in those minutes. We learn how she got where she is, and we learn about the lives of her five best friends, and we learn a lot about what being a female in Turkey was like in the 1950s through 1990 (spoiler alert: not great). The last third of the novel is about Leila’s five friends and how they intend to honor her after her death. It’s a beautiful (and thrilling!) story of friends who become family. This unusual structure for a “flash-back” story worked incredibly well! Leila’s life, though full of horrific abuses and some plain bad luck, was also full of loving and loyal friends. I highly recommend this fascinating and beautifully written award-worthy novel.

There is so much filled in this tale of fiction that weaves so much history, and sadness- particuarly when one realizes this area from which the author has set the scenery- a land that was somewhat a meeting of two worlds, where warlords usurped people who had been there for centuries and built something else; alongside a faith- one gets a peak into the window- istanbul. Her story crafts for the western reader a reality not known, a harshness of a male oriented society - people in the west thing they have it bad- but even where prostitutes have rights- its not anywhere on the scale of where this story is set. Being a historical buff; her stories echoes the sentiments of tragedy- tragedy is a symptom of such dogma and that dogma entrenched is where the protagonist is. It is the most unfortunate thing to be born a women in the middle of the east asia, most certainly, where nomads and warlords of unspeakable cruelty removed greek civilization and built something else- but this tale is superb, and crafted so well. I think this is her best book. I am starting to read the others- Turkey besides the Azeri state- locks up a significant amount of journalism, so pleasant to read her insights crafted into fiction but truth underlying the dark belly of the holy piety of this city so attributed, but so far from attained . She is a great author with full of similes and metaphors and deep insight. This was a joy to stumble upon.

This novel begins with the main character, Leila, having been murdered and thrown in a dumpster in Istanbul. Before her brain completely dies, she thinks back on her short life—as a sexually abused teenager, as a prostitute, as a friend, and as a wife. The second half of the book focuses on her five special friends who proceed to honor Leila in death. Several themes are at work here, but the one that struck me the most was that of the contradictions within any religion’s set of beliefs. Hypocrisy among religious zealots apparently is common there as well. For example, Leila’s father has two wives, but Islam prohibits polygamy. In Turkey, corruption and reactionary laws reinforce the limitations placed on the lives of Leila and her misfit friends, including a transgender woman and a dwarf. A character who surfaces near the end of the book is a gay young man being forced into an arranged marriage. His outcome is one of the few bright spots in this novel, and, although it is beautifully written, this novel does not offer hope for Turkey’s progress. Leila’s friends mount sort of a minor rebellion against the treatment of Leila’s corpse, but it will have no impact on the country’s modus operandi, in which the deaths of prostitutes are not really cause for concern by law enforcement or by the general public. When it becomes clear that a serial killer is on the loose, targeting prostitutes, the authorities advise “normal” women not to panic. If a society is judged by its treatment of women, this novel indicates that Turkey has much room for improvement.

For more than half of this book I was engrossed. The writing is fabulous, the subject matter is both brutal and beautiful. Here is an author who has a deep understanding of the human condition. The second part of the book is diappointing as it degenerates into low farce. You cannot reconcile the two parts of the book as they appear to be by different authors. It is not until the final few pages that the lyicism of the first part returns. The final images will stay with me for a long time.

buena, cruda,

Das Leben eines kleinen Mädchens, das von ihrem Onkel sexuell missbraucht wurde, von ihren Eltern im Stich gelassen wird und einer Zwangshochzeit entflieht, endet als Prostituierte. Ein Buch über die Grausamkeit der Gesellschaft und der Religion und zugleich über die Kraft und Liebe von Freunden. Eine traurige story und zugleich amüsant. Absolut empfehlenswert!

Many pages aren’t printed, never experienced anything like it before

Un très beau livre par cet auteur. Je ne suis jamais déçue par ses livres.

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