There Are Rivers in the Sky

[Shruti morethanmylupus]

Ohh I have this one, but am in the midst of a few books. Will try to catch up if I can.

[Lilisa]

Thanks for setting up this thread Dr. B!

I love Elif Shafak books - her range is amazing and her language beautiful and so poetic.

Great if you can join us Shruti!

(view spoiler)[I love the concept of everthing/story starting with a single raindrop. I love history and being taken back to olden times and the ancient city of Nineveh on the River Tigris and the reign of King Ashurbanipal kept me riveted. (hide spoiler)]

I’ll pause my reading to go back to the beginning so I can post some comments maybe later today or tomorrow.

[Tasha]

This one sounds really, really good. I don't have it but it's going on my list to read this year. I will be following your thoughts!

[Tasha]

Good to know! I did love The Island of Missing Trees so I'm happy to hear this one is good so far as well.

[Elyse]

I'm still trying to read The Island of Missing Trees but I want to listen to the audiobook and it's not available on Hoopla or Libby. ☹️

[Lilisa]

The Island of Missing Trees is one of my all-time favorites. Elyse - is the audiobook just not available for you at the moment on Libby because all copies are checked out? I did listen to the audiobook on Libby (as well as read the ARC) and I enjoyed the audio a lot.

I agree about the writing and (view spoiler)[it’s quite remarkable that the author is connecting the stories by the drop of water to Nineveh and the two rivers - Tigris and the Thames. (hide spoiler)]

At the 10% mark (view spoiler)[We’re at the third location - Turkey, one of my favorite countries. I’ve read some about the Yazidis and it’s so interesting learning more about the culture and beliefs. I enjoyed Grandma’s storytelling and I like her character and her relationship with her granddaughter Narin, who sadly is losing her hearing 🙁. I wonder at what point in the book she will lose all hearing and not be able to hear her grandma’s voice😢. (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

At the 15% mark (view spoiler)[Arthur encounters the lamassus arriving at the British Museum and is fascinated by the creature that has “the head of a human, the body of a bull and the wings of a mighty bird.” The thread has been connected - Arthur is learning where the lamassus came from - Nineveh and he title of the book he’s seen earlier by Austen Henry Layard. So I’ve added to my TBR a book on AHL - he discovered the lost world of Nineveh! (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

At the 19% mark (view spoiler)[the 4th thread in the book - Zaleekhah in the year 2014. I worry about Zaleekhah - mentally she’s not in a good place. Wow, her tear was a snowflake once…connecting back to thousands of years ago. “Water is the consummate immigrant, trapped in transit, never able to settle.” An amazing sentence it conveys so much. This is why I think Elif Shafak is a brilliant
writer! (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

At the 23% mark, so interesting (view spoiler)[ in the Narin/Grandma storyline, there’s reference to Shamaran - the snake queen who has a woman’s head and a snake’s body. I watched the Turkish series - Shamaran - on Netflix a few weeks ago ago, which is about Shamaran - a snake/man who lives among humans who is prophesied to fall in love with a particular human woman, and thereby bring about peace and understanding between humans and the Mar - snake people. I enjoyed the series and hoping for a season 2. (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

At the 32% mark (view spoiler)[Uncle Malek is genuinely fond of Zaleekhah and we’re seeing the connection here with the book on Nineveh he’s reading to research an upcoming auction - a tablet from King Ashurbanipal’s library. And he had five. Zaleekhah a little lamussus. The links are getting tighter and tighter among the mini storylines. With the Arthur mini storyline - it’s so. Ommendable that Mr. Bradbury takes Arthur under his wings but so sad he what happens to him. Btw, love that the birds are named Lapis and Lazuli! (hide spoiler)]

[Shruti morethanmylupus]

wow you’re flying through this one Lilisa! I’m hoping to start tomorrow.

[Lilisa]

At the 36% mark (view spoiler)[Narin sees the tombstone of the Englishman, which turns out to be Arthur’s, in the cemetery where her great, great grandmother Leila is buried. I an enjoying the sense of community and shared activities of the Yazidi people. In the Arthur storyline, I like how the author sets her stories against interesting historical times - here, it’s when cholera is raging, so sad about Arthur’s young brother. (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

Shruti morethanmylupus wrote: "wow you’re flying through this one Lilisa! I’m hoping to start tomorrow."

lol, I started this book awhile ago and I’m actually at the 78% mark, but paused to go back to the beginning to buddy read and post. Looking forward to your comments!

[Elyse]

The e-book is the only format available through Libby for my libraries. No audio offered at all.

[Lilisa]

Elyse wrote: "The e-book is the only format available through Libby for my libraries. No audio offered at all."

That’s too bad, Elyse 🙁! I’m wondering whether there’s another library network close to you where you can sign up and maybe that network would have access to the audiobook. Where I am, I belong to two different county networks, the county I don’t live in has access to a wider range of audiobooks, e-books and print books. I only figured that out last year and it’s reduced my “have to purchase” option! Just a thought. Anyway, hope you get to listen to the book somehow. Cheers!

[Elyse]

I have 3 library cards and I checked on all 3. lol. I tried!

[Lilisa]

Elyse wrote: "I have 3 library cards and I checked on all 3. lol. I tried!"

You definitely have 🤣! Too bad!

[Trisha]

I have this but I'm prepping for a big big test so I'm trying to squeeze it between all the books I've gotten behind in. So I might be starting this one after you guys are done but I'm excited to read your spoilers!

[Lilisa]

Yes, re: your spoiler, unfortunately…but it’s early yet, so hoping…

At the 45% mark (view spoiler)[It’s rather fun that Arthur meet Charles Dickens, who visits and moves his business to the publishing house! The Arthur mini storyline is the one that I’m a bit skeptical about - he was kicked out of school and it seems he’s so easily soaking up everything like a sponge - even though I know he has a photographic memory. It just feels a bit unrealistic. I’m still enjoying the book though but getting a bit impatient wondering how all the pieces are going to come together! (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

At the 50% mark (view spoiler)[I think this was shared earlier in the book - interesting, legend has it that Yazidis are descendants of only Adam, not Adam and Eve and Eve wasn’t involved in the creation of Yazidis. I know I’m going to spend time researching Yazidis after I finish this book. Arthur is now working at the British Museum! Grandma has in her chest of treasures among other items, a qanum and a “slab of clay with wedge-shaped symbols on both sides” given to great-great grandmother Leila. I’m seeing the connection with Arthur coming to light! Whaat, Arthur is being able to decipher the symbols in the tablets??? (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

At the 61% mark (view spoiler)[Interesting that Zaleekhah’s houseboat owner’s name is Nen, short for Brennen, which means teardrop in Irish interpreted here as “little drop of water.” Elif shafak does a nice job connecting threads together. Zaleekhah’s line of work is the study of water too. So sad that Arthur’s mom is mentally so unwell and he leaves the little lamassu he has made with her to protect her while he’s away at Nineveh- very touching - also knowing he’s probably never going to see her again because he has deteriorated so much. I like Nen - she is so interesting and I think has many layers - her tattooing, how she tattoos in the script, and her knowledge of the Epic of Gilgamesh. (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

At the 77% mark (view spoiler)[Arthur is in Nineveh and is now on the village of Zerav living in the Yazidi community, which is close to the excavation site, and he is warmly welcomed and hosted. Arthur meets Leila, Narin’s great-great grandmother! Leila’s “firman” is ominous. With the grandma and Narin mini storyline - this is not going well for the Yazidi community - the water is being poisoned and the trees are being burned. I’m beginning to see there’s beginning to be a parallel beteeen the Arthur/Leila and the Grandma/Narin threads - bad things are going to happen to the Yazidis - it’s happening today in the real world… (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

At the 87% mark (view spoiler)[Zaleekhah’s young niece needs a kidney transplant and I’m guessing Uncle Malek is going to play a role somehow - it’s his grandkid and besides, he has great connections and wealth. In the Narin/Grandma mini storyline - so sad, the young boys fetching water are massacred and Grandma and Narin are captured. In the Arthur mini storyline Leila splashes a glass of water for Arthur - “Go like water, come back like water - freely and easily.” I love this Turkish belief - when I was in Turkey, one of the hotels I stayed in does this for its guests. When we were leaving they splashed water behind our vehicle to wish us a smooth and safe journey. Zaleekhah reveals her secret to Nen - that she was with her parents when they died - that explains everything, including her perpetual mental state - the anguish she carries. (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

Agree with you, Dr. B - Elif Shafak’s books are always laden with meticulous research that she weaves so intricately throughout the book!

[Lilisa]

Finished. My review (view spoiler)[ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (hide spoiler)]

[Lilisa]

@ Dr. B - Thanks,looks like you enjoyed it too, but just a tad less than me 😊.

@Shruti - hoping you’ll enjoy it too!

[Shruti morethanmylupus]

Dr. B wrote: "It is really good so far, Tasha. Her writing is so beautiful!
7%
"

(view spoiler)[
YES! I love when I find a book that I just know is going to to forever change the way I perceive things, especially the simple things in life.
(hide spoiler)]

[Shruti morethanmylupus]

Lilisa wrote: "At the 50% mark [spoilers removed]"

Loved when I got to this point and (view spoiler)[ a lot of the pieces started to finally come together for me. It was starting to feel disjointed with only the water to connect it all.

(hide spoiler)]

[Shruti morethanmylupus]

Finished!

This was so beautiful (view spoiler)[ in the way that it showed the full gamut of human emotions from heartbreaking to hopeful to ecstatically happy. It did drag for me in a few places where I was struggling to understand how the threads would fit together, but Shafak is so good at making it all work.

(hide spoiler)]

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lilisa]

Great you enjoyed it too, Shruti, and nice review!