Play Book Tag discussion

There Are Rivers in the Sky - Shafak
5 stars

Very definitely a 5 star book. There were aspects of the plot that I felt were forced. And, at least one character was awkwardly introduced and too conveniently placed in the contemporary storyline. In another book, that might have lowered my personal rating. But, I just can’t do it with this book. So much of the writing was beautiful. So much of the emotional impact was devastating.

This is a very ambitious book. Following a prologue set in ancient Nineveh, it connects three characters in three different timelines. Arthur is in 19th century London struggling to escape a dysfunctional family and abject poverty. Nine year old Narin, a Yazidi girl in 21st century Turkey and Iraq is struggling to survive the destruction of her homeland and the terror of ISIS. In 2018, Zaleekah, a British/Turkish doctor of hydrology, is living on the Thames in a houseboat while contemplating suicide.

I enjoyed the book’s 19th century storyline, including Arthur’s brief encounters with Charles Dickens. For all of his odd abilities and eccentric personality, Arthur is a completely believable character. Arthur’s story is sad, but sufficiently distant to still feel like a story. Narin’s 21st century tragedy is starkly realistic. Shafak does a good job of turning yesterday’s evening news into a personal gut punch.

I said the book is ambitious. Shafak touches on the political violence, social injustice, and environmental destruction of both centuries. Each of her major characters face overwhelming life challenges. The vast elements of their different lives are tied together by a mutual fascination with the myth of Gilgamesh. Shafak uses a touch of magical realism to inject a sense of renewal with the cyclical reappearance of a single drop of water; a drop of water that retains the essence of past events as it moves through the water cycle.

Given the hardship and loss in each of the storylines, this should have been a depressing book. It didn’t leave me that way. I feel a bit like that drop of water. I could return to this book many times and still find something else to think about.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed The Constellation of Vital Phenomenon and Birds Without Wings. It’s a great book for serious discussion.

So glad to see you loved it too! 5 stars from me as well.