Reviews

10 Minuten 38 seconden in deze vreemde wereld by Elif Shafak

xandrarama's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I appreciated this glimpse into the lives of marginalised women in Istanbul during times of rapid social change, and the structure of Part 1 of the book was innovative (beginning with the death of the protagonist and progressing to flashbacks of her life over the 10 minutes and 38 seconds before her brain activity ceased). Part 2 seemed kind of pointless, though, and the five supporting characters it foregrounded never felt like real people to me. No matter how harrowing things got, I felt emotionally detached throughout the whole book; maybe this was a deliberate choice by the author, but it didn’t make for a particularly engaging read. 

hanzy's review against another edition

3.0

When starting this tale, I found myself hooked almost instantaneously. This book felt like it was written with the right intentions but sadly, a lot of prejudiced and skewed interpretations made its execution, poor. I liked the premise, the big picture that was drawn upon, and the message, but the nitty-gritty details alluding to misrepresentations is what put me off.

laura_jayne's review against another edition

Beautiful writing, but I forgot to check the trigger warnings. I might try something else by the author instead

moody_alloy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

cerstin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

alliekcav's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

mscarbie's review against another edition

not vibing with it 

illiteratewench's review against another edition

4.25

 I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, but I really enjoyed Elif Shafak's 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. I really appreciated the themes of friendship and found family. As someone who has a negative and strained relationship with family, I was able to relate to this more than, say, books like Pachinko that focus on biological family.

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World focuses on Leila, a recently murdered prostitute. The title comes from a study that found brain activity 10 minutes 38 seconds after a body was declared dead, leaving Shafak to explore what might be happening in the brain in that time as the body dies. This makes the book a twist on the "life flashing before my eyes before death" troupe, as Part I of the book follows Leila as she looks back on her life and the five dearest friends she held. When each friend is introduced, we get a chapter following them, making this a kaleidoscopic sort of book. For me, this really worked to paint a realistic picture of a time and place otherwise foreign to me. Especially by following people on the margins of society (sex workers, trans characters, disabled characters), I felt like I could really understand the culture of Istanbul of the time. I also appreciate the real historical events depicted.

 

pierry's review against another edition

4.0

Wow.

j_the_bibliophile's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0