A review by lghrndn
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak

Did not finish book.
I made it about a third of the way through this book. I found the premise of three women from different backgrounds meeting in Oxford so charming, but the first third of the book is a slow walk through the childhood of the protagonist, Peri. I loved the first few chapters' descriptions of Istanbul and staging of the issues of the city and of Peri's upbringing, but the pacing was so slow, especially when the dynamic that hooked me in the book isn't introduced until nearly half way through. I love books that explore themes of religion and mysticism, but I felt like I was being hit over the head with the binary of Peri's mother, a pious Muslim, and her father, a nationalist skeptic. I was hopeful that my experience would turn around once she arrived at Oxford, but I found the chapter where she and her parents tour the university so insufferable that I decided to cut my losses. I think there was so much potential in that scene--a worldly young Iranian woman showing a new arrival around the city, with lots of interesting observations to be made about culture clashes, the history of faith in English universities, and the experience of leaving home for the first time. However, all of these thoughts came out through painfully expositional dialogue, with each character directly stating how their perspectives conflict with the others'. I was hopeful about this book, but in practice couldn't get into it.
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