A review by xandrarama
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak

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.