Book review: 10 minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, Elif Shafak

10 minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World is an extraordinary book. But that’s no real surprise as I think it’s author Elif Shafak is an extraordinary person.

I’ve seen Elif Shafak speak a few times and on each occasion I’ve been totally captivated and come away thinking she’s an exceptionally intelligent and brave woman. A bravery and willingness to stand up for those marginalised by the Government of her homeland Turkey that mean she’s no longer welcome there.

Her fiction is very welcome by me and 10 Minutes 38 seconds is a pretty unique way to tell the story of Tequila Leila. It’s the length of time her brain is still working after her heart stops beating in a dumpster where her murdered body has been abandoned.

Each chapter ticks down those minutes and describes the thoughts that flood back to Leila as her life ends. A life that started in a small village but ended in Istanbul. A life where she suffered the worst sort of abuse as a child and found a sort of refuge in Istanbul’s street of brothels.

10 minutes 38 Seconds is certainly eye opening. It shines a light on an Istanbul that isn’t seen on tourism ads. Little wonder its author isn’t welcome there. But the book also shows what real friendship looks like. And how those friendships can show up in the most unlikely of forms.

Leila’s ragtag band of five friends include a transgender woman, a dwarf and her oldest friend who’s living a lie whilst also harbouring a secret but blindingly obvious love for her. As Leila’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds ebb away she remembers how she met each the Five and their own stories while they are all safely at home and oblivious to their friend’s fate.

Leila’s other memories are wide ranging and evocative. There are smells and noises as well as people and occasions. Her father and uncle both loom large in childhood, while in later years Bitter Ma, the madam of Leila’s brothel, is a force to be reckoned with. Real life events are woven in too, like the 1977 massacre of left leaning protesters at a march in Istanbul’s Taksim Square.

The last part of the book, once the Five are aware of Leila’s death, takes a different tone which is almost farcical at times. Some might find it a little jarring after the sensuous hypnotic prose that goes before it. But I thought it was fitting for such an eclectic group to have one last crazy adventure with their beloved Leila.

I was given 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World as a gift, but you could support your local library by borrowing it from there. Or try an Oxfam shop or the charity’s online store.

For more book reviews visit the Books section of my blog.