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There Are Rivers in the Sky: A novel
From the Booker Prize finalist, author of The Island of Missing Trees, an enchanting new tale about three characters living along two great rivers, all connected by a single drop of water.
"Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it."—Arundhati Roy, winner of the Booker Prize
In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign. From its ruins, however, emerged a poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, that would infuse the existence of two rivers and bind together three lives.
In 1840 London, Arthur is born beside the stinking, sewage-filled River Thames. With an abusive, alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother, Arthur’s only chance of escaping destitution is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a leading publisher, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, and one book in particular catches his interest: Nineveh and Its Remains.
In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl, is diagnosed with a rare disorder that will soon cause her to go deaf. Before that happens, her grandmother is determined to baptize her in a sacred Iraqi temple. But with the rising presence of ISIS and the destruction of the family’s ancestral lands along the Tigris, Narin is running out of time.
In 2018 London, the newly divorced Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband. Orphaned and raised by her wealthy uncle, Zaleekah had made the decision to take her own life in one month, until a curious book about her homeland changes everything.
A dazzling feat of storytelling, There Are Rivers in the Sky entwines these outsiders with a single drop of water, a drop which remanifests across the centuries. Both a source of life and harbinger of death, rivers—the Tigris and the Thames—transcend history, transcend fate: “Water remembers. It is humans who forget.”
"Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it."—Arundhati Roy, winner of the Booker Prize
In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign. From its ruins, however, emerged a poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, that would infuse the existence of two rivers and bind together three lives.
In 1840 London, Arthur is born beside the stinking, sewage-filled River Thames. With an abusive, alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother, Arthur’s only chance of escaping destitution is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a leading publisher, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, and one book in particular catches his interest: Nineveh and Its Remains.
In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl, is diagnosed with a rare disorder that will soon cause her to go deaf. Before that happens, her grandmother is determined to baptize her in a sacred Iraqi temple. But with the rising presence of ISIS and the destruction of the family’s ancestral lands along the Tigris, Narin is running out of time.
In 2018 London, the newly divorced Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband. Orphaned and raised by her wealthy uncle, Zaleekah had made the decision to take her own life in one month, until a curious book about her homeland changes everything.
A dazzling feat of storytelling, There Are Rivers in the Sky entwines these outsiders with a single drop of water, a drop which remanifests across the centuries. Both a source of life and harbinger of death, rivers—the Tigris and the Thames—transcend history, transcend fate: “Water remembers. It is humans who forget.”
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Community Reviews
Writer Elif Shafak’s novel, There Are Rivers in the Sky, is about how each character relates to rivers, particularly the Tigris and the Thames. Each character interacts with the ancient city of Nineveh, in present-day Iraq. Each character interacts with the Epic of Gilgamesh. The characters are interconnected, even though they live in different periods, spanning from the 19th century to the 21st Century. The characters are either from England, Turkey, or Iraq. The Yazid people feature prominently in the book. I learned a considerable amount about the Yazidi people. I also learned a substantial amount about rivers. I believe that Shafak wanted to raise awareness about the genocide of the Yazidi people by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in this novel (Shafak 478-480). I read the book on my Kindle. The title of Shafak’s book comes from the fact that the character of Arthur, who was born on the bank of the Thames River in 19th-century London, England. Baby Arthur is looking up at “the rivers in the sky. Mighty rivers that never cease to flow” (Shafak 468). As he was growing up, Arthur developed a deep interest in Ancient Mesopotamia. Shafak’s book, There Are Rivers in the Sky, is a readable novel about how rivers shape people.
I really enjoyed There Are Rivers in the Sky. The story weaves together different timelines, exploring love, loss, and the power of memory in a way that stays with you.
Arthur and Z were my favourite characters. Arthur’s journey from poverty to a life shaped by books was compelling, while Z’s modern-day story added depth and contrast. The way their lives connected across time was clever and engaging.
The writing was strong, with a real sense of place. The rivers felt like characters in their own right, shaping events and tying the story together.
A thought-provoking and well-crafted read. I’d highly recommend it.
Absolutely loved this book. The writing style. The hysterical details I had no idea about. The 3 stories interlinking. All the main characters.
This was an audiobook read for me with a great narrator who felt authentic. This book weaves the tales of several individuals across centuries by binding their stories using a single drop of water as a symbol. I learned so much about ancient Mesopotamia from this book as well as some of the atrocities committed in modern-day Syria, aming other things. This narrative historical fiction is a must-read for our generation, and I suspect many generations to come.
Although this isnt my favourite book by the author, it doesnt take away from the talent and the beautiful flow of the storyline. Seemingly confusing at first, the three main characters are commonly tied together by water and their Mesopotamian culture. The way the author grows each narrative arch to teach the reader about the culture, history and threat, is drawing. This would be a great book club read.
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