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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Readers say *There Are Rivers in the Sky* by Elif Shafak is a richly woven, beautifully detailed novel connecting characters across time and place thr...
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.
“ Life is full of the unexpected, my friend. As if we are walking in a river of mud, and we dare to dip our hands every now and then, searching for a button of hope, a coin of friendship, a ring of love. We are mudlarkers, all of us.”
I absolutely loved Elif Shafak's "There Are Rivers in the Sky", and highly recommend it. The extensive research she conducted shines through, particularly in her portrayal of the three main characters, Arthur, Zaleekhah, and Narin, whose unique connections with water are truly captivating. Before reading, I wasn't familiar with topics such as Thames toshers, water-dowsers, subterranean streams, and historical references like Nineveh, Lamassu, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Still, Shafak sparked my curiosity to explore these subjects further.
One of the aspects I found most powerful was how she intertwined stories and characters from various timelines and cultures, creating a beautifully cohesive narrative. A quote that resonated with me was, “How can anyone assume they will please the Creator by hurting His Creation,” which highlighted the tragic inhumanity faced by the Yazidis, particularly in the context of the atrocities committed by ISIS in 2014.
This book will have a lasting impact on me. I have learned so much and felt even more. Several stories tie together beautifully at the end. Don’t skip the Reader’s Notes section.
“ Life is full of the unexpected, my friend. As if we are walking in a river of mud, and we dare to dip our hands every now and then, searching for a button of hope, a coin of friendship, a ring of love. We are mudlarkers, all of us.”
I absolutely loved Elif Shafak's "There Are Rivers in the Sky", and highly recommend it. The extensive research she conducted shines through, particularly in her portrayal of the three main characters, Arthur, Zaleekhah, and Narin, whose unique connections with water are truly captivating. Before reading, I wasn't familiar with topics such as Thames toshers, water-dowsers, subterranean streams, and historical references like Nineveh, Lamassu, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Still, Shafak sparked my curiosity to explore these subjects further.
One of the aspects I found most powerful was how she intertwined stories and characters from various timelines and cultures, creating a beautifully cohesive narrative. A quote that resonated with me was, “How can anyone assume they will please the Creator by hurting His Creation,” which highlighted the tragic inhumanity faced by the Yazidis, particularly in the context of the atrocities committed by ISIS in 2014.
This book will have a lasting impact on me. I have learned so much and felt even more. Several stories tie together beautifully at the end. Don’t skip the Reader’s Notes section.
A slow burn, disjointed at the outset, redeemed by the second half. I felt I had to work too hard to get there.
The Yazidi feature in the story - you might be interested Ania.
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