There Are Rivers in the Sky

Whenever I think about this book, I find myself having trouble articulating what this book is about. It's about people, about history in Mesopotamia, about relationships, about the Yazidi people, about the visible and invisible connections between people, about love in its many forms -even ones that harm-, about surviving despite your circumstances and the deep scars that they cause, about prejudices and brutality, about the Epic of Gilgamesh, and it's about a single drop of water.

Elif Shafak is great at teaching me bits of Turkish history I hadn't heard much about. The more brutal and ugly parts of it. But she does so beautifully. My heart broke again and again reading this book, for the characters, for the story, for the people in history who actually lived it. It's also sadly a very apt time for a book involving a genocide, one that is not widely known.

If you're not familiar with Elif Shafak's writing, you're truly missing out. Her writing is always so beautiful and somehow very educational, it borders magical realism at times. She writes about strong characters and weaves a story like a tapestry, once finished, forcing you to take a step back to take in the full picture.

This is no different, a story spanning centuries, cultures and countries. There are three main characters across time. Only by reading will you see if and how they're connected.

This is not a book you will read in one sitting. You'll take your time with it, and it'll steep within you, until you're ready to dive back in.

I read this as a mixture of audiobook and ebook, and really enjoyed the narration as well.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC!