November 3, 2019
10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
Tequila Leila, a sex worker in Istanbul, has been murdered and her
body thrown into a dumpster near the waterfront. Although her heart has stopped, her brain
continues to work for 10 minutes and 38 seconds. During that time, she recalls her life,
mostly through memories of taste and smell.
She remembers her dysfunctional family and the uncle who molested her repeatedly as a child, and how
her family disowned her when she ran away to Istanbul. But mostly, she recalls her five close
friends who would do anything for her.
When they learn of her death, the five friends resolve to give Leila a
decent burial.
Shafak’s descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells of Istanbul
make the city just as much a character as Leila and her friends. I quickly became absorbed in Leila’s story in
the first section of the novel. The
second part focuses on Leila’s friends, with a much-needed injection of dark
humor. The last section winds in the
final threads and lets the reader know that Leila will never be forgotten by
her friends.
Highly atmospheric with wonderfully drawn characters and expressive
writing, this novel was shortlisted for the 2019 Man-Booker Prize, and rightly
so. Elif Shafak is a Turkish novelist
who is an advocate of freedom, equality and free speech for women. I highly recommend this for readers of
literary fiction.
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