[BWF] 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak – 4 Stars

[Hannah]

I’ve read a few of Shafak’s books now, and this is one of my favourites of hers. Although it deals with some very heavy topics, there is an undercurrent of humour running throughout in how the main characters approach things and interact with each other. The book opens with a woman dying having been brutally murdered in the street, who we later find out worked in a brothel. As the story unfolds, we see the women of the brothel come together to recall a key moment that Leila, the murdered woman, played to come into their lives. We also get a glimpse into her background and how she came to work in the brothel, and the structure of the novel allow us to understand Leila’s life and how she ended up being murdered. In the present day, we see Leila’s friends come together as they plot to give Leila the proper burial that she deserves. This book shows us the challenges that women, and indeed anyone who is different, face in Turkey, and how these challenges are intwined with Turkish history and culture. I also really liked the focus on the friendship and links that developed between people who were outwardly very different, and how these friends would step up to become a family when one’s blood relatives were missing, through choice or otherwise.

Team: Sassy Sisterhood. Extra read for “S”. Matches tag x 9