REVIEW: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World (Elif Shafak)

Book: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World

Author: Elif Shafak

Premise: For Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory. Each memory, too, recalls the friends she made at each key moment in her life - friends who are now desperately trying to find her.

This was a book of two halves for me. The first half I really enjoyed and was really sad actually. The idea is Leila is a prostitute dying in Istanbul and each chapter is a flashback of Leila's life. We follow the hardships she faced and meet her friends, who are essentially a bunch of misfits. It was heartbreaking to read as you know her life has been unfairly cut short.

The second half follows her friends as they try to deal with their grief but also try to get her body for a proper send off. I found this section over dramatic and the humour a bit jarring given how heavy and serious the first half was. I must admit Iost interest a bit as we'd moved on from Leila's life and I wasn't as invested in her friends.

So a brilliant first half but let down by the second half.