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In One Brief Moment All Eternity
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Expected 15 Oct 26In One Brief Moment All Eternity is an astonishing new novel by the bestselling, prize-winning novelist Elif Shafak. Spanning decades and continents, from revolutionary 19th century France to Istanbul, Egypt and Beirut, it is a profound meditation on creativity in times of political crisis and war, asking what literature can hope to offer when the world feels broken. Building a fascinating bridge between Western prose and Eastern poetry, this story offers a luminous portrait of the life of an iconic writer, Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, told through the lives of the women – both real and fictional – who shaped him.
'Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it' ARUNDHATI ROY
'A unique and powerful voice in world literature' IAN MCEWAN
'Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it' ARUNDHATI ROY
'A unique and powerful voice in world literature' IAN MCEWAN
Kindle Edition
Expected publication October 15, 2026
About the author
Elif Shafak
69 books36.1k followersElif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and the most widely read female author in Turkey. She writes in both Turkish and English, and has published seventeen books, eleven of which are novels. Her work has been translated into fifty languages. Shafak holds a PhD in political science and she has taught at various universities in Turkey, the US and the UK, including St Anne's College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow. She is a member of Weforum Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy and a founding member of ECFR (European Council on Foreign Relations). An advocate for women's rights, LGBT rights and freedom of speech, Shafak is an inspiring public speaker and twice a TED Global speaker, each time receiving a standing ovation. Shafak contributes to major publications around the world and she has been awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. In 2017 she was chosen by Politico as one of the twelve people who would make the world better. She has judged numerous literary prizes and is chairing the Wellcome Prize 2019. www.elifshafak.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Want to Read
May 13, 2026OMG, give it to me now!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
One of the best reads of 2026!
" When he thinks of his solitude, his strangeness, he is convinced that life is only tolerable if you have a passion, which does not mean you have to be successful, only sincere, otherwise you would die."
A new Elif Shafak novel is always something to look forward to and this book is fictional writing of the highest quality. Gripping, meticulously plotted and weaving history with a magical surrealism. I was hooked from page one and devoured the novel over a few days.
One hundred and seventy years ago saw the book publication of Gustave Flaubert's 'scandalous' story of Emma Bovary - a woman who follows a path of affairs and extravagance to escape the monotony of a dull marriage - ultimately leading to suicide by arsenic. The book resulted in a famous court case.
This was a powerful story written by a man exploring the life of a woman but what would happen if the tables were turned and the story of the author's life was written from the perspective of and told by the women in his life; not just one woman. but thirty different characters he encounters during his life- some family and close friends or others he meets through circumstance and his insatiable curiosity to understand the human condition.
Elif Shafak takes us on a journey through the life of Gustave Flaubert- from his turbulent childhood living in a hospital and close to a morgue where as a boy he connected to the world around by observing life through a very different lens of understanding; onto teenage years in a boarding school where his sense of isolation or disconnection became an inner strength; his adult life of exploring Paris and travels to Egypt, Turkey and Beirut experiencing and witnessing different lives and his years as an author developing and building his craft drawing upon the events and encounters he had made especially in relation to women. and people who are hidden beneath the veneer of bourgeois life.
" He despises 'the champions of law and order' with their claims of moral superiority. As far as he is concerned, the outsider is more genuine and much more lovable than. the so-called 'respectable citizens'.
The stories of his life are full of beautiful detailed observations capturing the inner thoughts of all around Flaubert and the author's own personal challenges and reflections. Elif Shafak research weaves wonderful descriptions of the world in which Flaubert exists and observes. Chapters are often titled using a colour palette of hues, tints and shades that highlight the way in which Flaubert observed the world - the small details that he relished and from within his own personal health.
This isn't just a fictional biography but something much more intense and important. This is a recognition and plea to all of us to cherish the world of literature; the art of the writer; the need for books ; the power of the written word; the power of being different and not just accepting the world us. In a world where AI is hijacking the works of others and diminishing the capacity to question, be imaginative or just dive into book, this novel sounds the alarm of what we could lose if we don't let individualism flourish in fictional writing.
Flaubert at one point says to his niece, " Do not read, a children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, my dear, read in order to live." In one sentence so much is encapsulated,
Elif Sahfak is the consummate novelist and this is a wonderful novel. The stylistic device of moving between perspectives ( with small vignettes of a character's life brought to mind the earlier works of Garcia Marquez and Allende. Hypnotic, beguiling and powerful.
One of my favourite books of 2026 without a doubt - storytelling that goes beyond superlatives.
Highly recommend .
Thank you to Viking Books/penguin random House and net galley for the advance copy for an honest and unbiased review.
" When he thinks of his solitude, his strangeness, he is convinced that life is only tolerable if you have a passion, which does not mean you have to be successful, only sincere, otherwise you would die."
A new Elif Shafak novel is always something to look forward to and this book is fictional writing of the highest quality. Gripping, meticulously plotted and weaving history with a magical surrealism. I was hooked from page one and devoured the novel over a few days.
One hundred and seventy years ago saw the book publication of Gustave Flaubert's 'scandalous' story of Emma Bovary - a woman who follows a path of affairs and extravagance to escape the monotony of a dull marriage - ultimately leading to suicide by arsenic. The book resulted in a famous court case.
This was a powerful story written by a man exploring the life of a woman but what would happen if the tables were turned and the story of the author's life was written from the perspective of and told by the women in his life; not just one woman. but thirty different characters he encounters during his life- some family and close friends or others he meets through circumstance and his insatiable curiosity to understand the human condition.
Elif Shafak takes us on a journey through the life of Gustave Flaubert- from his turbulent childhood living in a hospital and close to a morgue where as a boy he connected to the world around by observing life through a very different lens of understanding; onto teenage years in a boarding school where his sense of isolation or disconnection became an inner strength; his adult life of exploring Paris and travels to Egypt, Turkey and Beirut experiencing and witnessing different lives and his years as an author developing and building his craft drawing upon the events and encounters he had made especially in relation to women. and people who are hidden beneath the veneer of bourgeois life.
" He despises 'the champions of law and order' with their claims of moral superiority. As far as he is concerned, the outsider is more genuine and much more lovable than. the so-called 'respectable citizens'.
The stories of his life are full of beautiful detailed observations capturing the inner thoughts of all around Flaubert and the author's own personal challenges and reflections. Elif Shafak research weaves wonderful descriptions of the world in which Flaubert exists and observes. Chapters are often titled using a colour palette of hues, tints and shades that highlight the way in which Flaubert observed the world - the small details that he relished and from within his own personal health.
This isn't just a fictional biography but something much more intense and important. This is a recognition and plea to all of us to cherish the world of literature; the art of the writer; the need for books ; the power of the written word; the power of being different and not just accepting the world us. In a world where AI is hijacking the works of others and diminishing the capacity to question, be imaginative or just dive into book, this novel sounds the alarm of what we could lose if we don't let individualism flourish in fictional writing.
Flaubert at one point says to his niece, " Do not read, a children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, my dear, read in order to live." In one sentence so much is encapsulated,
Elif Sahfak is the consummate novelist and this is a wonderful novel. The stylistic device of moving between perspectives ( with small vignettes of a character's life brought to mind the earlier works of Garcia Marquez and Allende. Hypnotic, beguiling and powerful.
One of my favourite books of 2026 without a doubt - storytelling that goes beyond superlatives.
Highly recommend .
Thank you to Viking Books/penguin random House and net galley for the advance copy for an honest and unbiased review.
Review of advance copy
I love a fictional biography and judging it just as that this is an excellent book, but it is much more than that. Not only do we get to see key moments in Flaubert’s life, but also overlapping telling from the female voices around him. Women who were his family, lovers, literary creations, passing acquaintances, or passing strangers, get to tell their story of Flaubert and often tell different stories.
The book acknowledges the impossibility of truly portraying the authors life by making the story work too well. characters return to tie up loose ends or we finding out about connections between seemingly unconnected individuals. Sometimes I felt that the telling of Flauberts life was being written at the end when it could be made to make sense or some stories rewritten by him for more impact. This is always done with a nod, and knowing smile to the reader, and added a lot to my enjoyment. This is set to be one of my favorite books I read this year.
The book acknowledges the impossibility of truly portraying the authors life by making the story work too well. characters return to tie up loose ends or we finding out about connections between seemingly unconnected individuals. Sometimes I felt that the telling of Flauberts life was being written at the end when it could be made to make sense or some stories rewritten by him for more impact. This is always done with a nod, and knowing smile to the reader, and added a lot to my enjoyment. This is set to be one of my favorite books I read this year.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
5.0. I have liked Ms. Shafak’s other novels, but this one really hit it out of the ballpark. A remarkable historical fiction on the French author, Gustavo Flaubert, along with the turbulent times in France, woven together through the voices of various females, human and otherwise. It was not an easy read but the writing was breathtaking. Although Flaubert was clearly a troubled soul, he had a lot of interesting qualities and sensitivities to the plight of the poor, dispossessed, and those who were not of the bourgeoisie or privileged class though he himself was raised in a well to do family. A very well researched novel. Ms Shafak did an excellent job in conveying his tortured and reclusive personality while also showing his unique insights into the human condition. An extremely engaging novel. Makes me want to read Madame Bovary. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest and candid review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for an eARC of In One Brief Moment All Eternity by Elif Shafak. My introduction to Shafak was her previous novel, There Are Rivers In The Sky, which I absolutely loved. Both novels are historical literary fiction epics that follow characters over a length of time that glides by. In One Brief Moment All Eternity focuses on Gustave Flaubert and the creation of Madame Bovary, specifically on how the real and fictional women surrounding Flaubert influenced him. I love how the novel feels like an intimate coming of age novel from Flaubert's perspective, however on top of that we also get additional commentary from the women mentioned concerning these pivtal moments in Flaubert's life. It is a mesmerizing meditation on art and how impactful it can be in tough times.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews