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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A good book if you want to remind yourself why patriarchy is the worst, I guess?
Here's a girl from an increasingly religious family, riddled with misplaced guilt and unable to find justice after being sexually abused by a relative, who decides to run away from home to seek a better life in a big city - where she becomes easy prey to traffickers and sold into forced sex work. Her best friend, a trans woman who becomes a sex worker because that's one of the only career paths available to her. Another naive girl with no support from family who believes in lofty promises of work in a foreign country but ends up sold to a brothel instead. A woman who ran away from her abusive husband to start a new life elsewhere, the fear of being found (and brutally murdered) by him always casting shadow on her life. A dwarf trying to make a life in a world that'd rather not see her. Finally, two men: one a somewhat idealistic revolutionary, the other living a quiet life tinged with regret that doesn't feel like his own. As the backdrop to their stories, perhaps a seventh character of itself, is the tumultously changing Turkey of the second half of the 20th century.
Now, despite starting with a murder, this story isn't a detective novel, or even a crime novel, really. It is a character study: using Leila's death as a trigger point, Shafak delves into the lives of those six distinct characters, exploring how their experiences shaped them and how their lives eventually became intermingled. The writing is good, the whole book - entertaining, although I'd hardly call it outstanding or unique. Each individual story follows a path that's both believable and extremely predictable, even to a reader not very familiar with the Turkish, Middle Eastern, and African societies. I hesitate to call it a bunch of cliches because that sounds unnecessarily un-flattering, plus the characters are realistic - there are thousands of people just like Leila, Nalan, Sinan, Jameela, Zeinab, or Humeyra in the world - and calling something so close to real world experiences cliches doesn't sound right either. But I feel like I've read too many testimonies from people exactly like the ones in 10 minutes 38 seconds - to the point, perhaps, of becoming somewhat numbed to them, especially when a book has so little actual action-based plot that these character studies have to carry it from beginning to end.
Lastly, I'm not sure if this was an attempt to match the language to the times (the events of the book take place largely before the 1990s), but the terms transvestite and transsexual being used interchangeably definitely kept throwing me off.
Here's a girl from an increasingly religious family, riddled with misplaced guilt and unable to find justice after being sexually abused by a relative, who decides to run away from home to seek a better life in a big city - where she becomes easy prey to traffickers and sold into forced sex work. Her best friend, a trans woman who becomes a sex worker because that's one of the only career paths available to her. Another naive girl with no support from family who believes in lofty promises of work in a foreign country but ends up sold to a brothel instead. A woman who ran away from her abusive husband to start a new life elsewhere, the fear of being found (and brutally murdered) by him always casting shadow on her life. A dwarf trying to make a life in a world that'd rather not see her. Finally, two men: one a somewhat idealistic revolutionary, the other living a quiet life tinged with regret that doesn't feel like his own. As the backdrop to their stories, perhaps a seventh character of itself, is the tumultously changing Turkey of the second half of the 20th century.
Now, despite starting with a murder, this story isn't a detective novel, or even a crime novel, really. It is a character study: using Leila's death as a trigger point, Shafak delves into the lives of those six distinct characters, exploring how their experiences shaped them and how their lives eventually became intermingled. The writing is good, the whole book - entertaining, although I'd hardly call it outstanding or unique. Each individual story follows a path that's both believable and extremely predictable, even to a reader not very familiar with the Turkish, Middle Eastern, and African societies. I hesitate to call it a bunch of cliches because that sounds unnecessarily un-flattering, plus the characters are realistic - there are thousands of people just like Leila, Nalan, Sinan, Jameela, Zeinab, or Humeyra in the world - and calling something so close to real world experiences cliches doesn't sound right either. But I feel like I've read too many testimonies from people exactly like the ones in 10 minutes 38 seconds - to the point, perhaps, of becoming somewhat numbed to them, especially when a book has so little actual action-based plot that these character studies have to carry it from beginning to end.
Lastly, I'm not sure if this was an attempt to match the language to the times (the events of the book take place largely before the 1990s), but the terms transvestite and transsexual being used interchangeably definitely kept throwing me off.
this was a good read, but i feel that leila's perspective was strong enough to stand on its own. the story was divided into two parts: pre-death and post-death. the second half felt much weaker. considering so much of the story hinges on the friendship between leila and the five, it's a pity we don't see much of it — yes, we see the five in action, but i didn't feel invested because i didn't see how this motley crew got together. i don't know how deep their relationship goes. i found it hard to be interested in the five's shenanigans when so little is known about their bond.
but here's what i did like: leila's story was very well-elucidated, and i felt so strongly for the leila-centric sections. they were truly the best parts of the book.
but here's what i did like: leila's story was very well-elucidated, and i felt so strongly for the leila-centric sections. they were truly the best parts of the book.
dark
emotional
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
Elif Shafak’s writing is incredible. Lots of really beautiful reflections about the world. Heartbreaking. I found her reflections on communism and sex work very interesting. I can’t wait to read more from her.
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ik vond de ideeën uit dit boek nog steeds bijzonder, en prachtig om te lezen. Maar wat ik normaliter met haar boeken heb, miste ik hier.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
Elif Shafak is a goddamn brilliant writer for creating a story so fictional yet so palpably real. Every page took me on a journey of its own, and each line delivered to me the thought and emotion of a character so fictional yet so palpably real.
I must say, at some point, I found that the writing contained one too many similes, which would then bolster their meaning and place in the sentence with metaphors. I loved it, but seeing "as...as" or "like a" multiple times was somewhat distracting. Or maybe I was too deep into the story that every nuance revealed itself to me in a manner that was difficult to ignore.
The characters were brilliantly designed, and I sympathised with every one of them in a way. I hated Leila's self-righteous killer, and I hated Leila's father and uncle even more. I loved D/Ali and I felt sad for Sabotage Sinan, only because I imagine someone I know feels the same way he felt towards Leila. The yearning never ends.
All in all, like the books Hello Beautiful and Anxious People, I will read this again sometime in the future, hopefully with less tears in my eyes.
I must say, at some point, I found that the writing contained one too many similes, which would then bolster their meaning and place in the sentence with metaphors. I loved it, but seeing "as...as" or "like a" multiple times was somewhat distracting. Or maybe I was too deep into the story that every nuance revealed itself to me in a manner that was difficult to ignore.
The characters were brilliantly designed, and I sympathised with every one of them in a way. I hated Leila's self-righteous killer, and I hated Leila's father and uncle even more. I loved D/Ali and I felt sad for Sabotage Sinan, only because I imagine someone I know feels the same way he felt towards Leila. The yearning never ends.
All in all, like the books Hello Beautiful and Anxious People, I will read this again sometime in the future, hopefully with less tears in my eyes.