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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
even better than i remembered it !
dark
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
Hartverwarmend en verscheurend relaas over leven, dood en vriendschappen van mensen die de samenleving er eigenlijk niet bij wil hebben: hoeren, travestieten, vreemdelingen en andere losers.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
challenging
emotional
sad
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:
No
challenging
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
sad
fast-paced
I absolutely adored this book and its format. If you haven’t heard about this book, it is written by the wonderful Turkish author, Elif Shafak, and the first part follows the 10 mins and 38 seconds before our protagonist’s brain dies.
As each minute ticks by, we get a glimpse into a different part of Leyla’s life and there were some truly heartbreaking moments. I loved the cultural references and historical background, and all of this mixed into beautifully written prose was exactly what I needed.
Elif Shafak beautifully depicts the struggles of the women of Istanbul in terms of culture, equality and sex. Her harrowing depiction of the impacts that religion, faith and shame have on families is one that will stick with me forever. Not that Elif Shafak shuns religion or Turkish culture in any way, she simply shows how dangerous and detrimental the most extreme versions can be, especially during a time of political turmoil.
The only thing criticism I have is that after Leyla’s chapters, I lost interest a little and kind of just wanted it to go back to Leyla…but overall the story itself was magnificent!
As each minute ticks by, we get a glimpse into a different part of Leyla’s life and there were some truly heartbreaking moments. I loved the cultural references and historical background, and all of this mixed into beautifully written prose was exactly what I needed.
Elif Shafak beautifully depicts the struggles of the women of Istanbul in terms of culture, equality and sex. Her harrowing depiction of the impacts that religion, faith and shame have on families is one that will stick with me forever. Not that Elif Shafak shuns religion or Turkish culture in any way, she simply shows how dangerous and detrimental the most extreme versions can be, especially during a time of political turmoil.
The only thing criticism I have is that after Leyla’s chapters, I lost interest a little and kind of just wanted it to go back to Leyla…but overall the story itself was magnificent!
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Murder