10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

Reviews

Shafak writes with vision, bravery and compassion . . . a stunning portrait of a city, a society, a small community and a single soul. A deeply humane story about the cruel effects of Turkey’s intolerant sexual attitudes . . . Shafak is a master of captivating moments that provide a sprawling and intimate vision of Istanbul . . . Ultimately, “10 Minutes” isn’t really about death, but the persistence of love . . . Leila’s ragtag friends, scorned and mocked by polite society, can’t possibly triumph over the forces of religious and political corruption, but they — and Shafak — manage to create something truly subversive: a community of devotion beyond the reach of state or mosque. A beautifully written tour de force of exemplary storytelling . . . Its powerful insights into Turkey’s past and present challenges and the world today make it highly recommended. Extraordinary . . . a piercing, unflinching look at the trauma women’s minds and bodies are subjected to in a social system defined by patriarchal codes. Ever-courageous Turkish writer Shafak creates another resilient woman protagonist at odds with Turkey’s repressive society . . . [A] seductively imaginative, rambunctiously humorous, complexly tragic, and lyrically redemptive tale . . . Shafak's motley and compassionate cast embodies both the brutal consequences of tyranny and the power of individuals to undermine it in a full-tilt novel set in a fabled city, a swirling microcosm of human complexity and paradox. Gripping . . . Through flashbacks to [the protagonist's] life in modern-day Turkey, minute by minute, you’ll feel her wonder, her joy, her pain. You’ll feel empathy for a girl whose life is upended from the day she is born. It’s companionship with other Istanbul transplants that saves Leila from complete despair. And as you get to know Leila’s other friends on the margins of society, you find yourself rooting for them in the unlikeliest of endeavors. Shafak portrays Istanbul in all its glorious chaos against the backdrop of civil unrest that culminated in the Taksim Square Massacre of 1977. Despite being harassed by Turkish authorities for her depiction of sexual violence, the author uses the megaphone of her 12th novel to further expose female exploitation and sexual abuse. In this way she succeeds in giving a voice to the voiceless. This is a vividly realized and complicated portrait of a woman making a life for herself in grueling circumstances, and of the labyrinthine city in which she does so. Lyrical and often magical . . . a love-letter to Istanbul. A bold step forward by Turkey’s most significant woman writer . . . Elif Shafak is enormously gifted. Elif Shafak's audacious, dazzlingly original storytelling brings Istanbul's underworld to life via the vivid recollections of sex worker Tequila Leila, recently dumped for dead in a rubbish bin . . . A work of fearless imagination, the story takes the reader into the vertiginous world of its irresistible heroine, whose bloody-minded determination and fierce optimism make her an unforgettable character whose death, albeit foretold, still comes as a shattering blow. Courageous and utterly captivating, this telling novel is a testament to the power of friendship and of the human spirit. A heartbreaking meditation on the ways in which social forces can destroy a life. Elif Shafak can be unsparing, lyrical, political, intimate... Several novels live in this one, and all of them are moving, generous and elegantly written. Elif Shafak brings into the written realm what so many others want to leave outside. Spend more than ten minutes and 38 seconds in this world of the estranged. Shafak makes a new home for us in words. Haunting, moving, beautifully written—and based by an extraordinary cast of characters who capture the diversity of modern Turkey. A masterpiece. [Elif Shafak is] one of the best writers in the world today. Simply magnificent, a truly captivating work of immense power and beauty, on the essence of life and its end. A work of brutal beauty and consummate tenderness A vivid carnival of life and death, cruelty and kindness, love, politics and deep humanity. A rich, sensual novel . . . that gives voice to the invisible, the untouchable, the abused and the damaged, weaving their painful songs into a thing of beauty. Beneath the lush scene-setting and romantic storytelling . . . are strident calls to challenge fundamentalism and misogyny in the Middle East. Lush, evocative and compassionate. Expand reviews