A review by j_tracksbooks
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This was a challenging, yet gripping read. Whenever I had to take time away from reading the book, I'd think about it non-stop. This being said, the first part of it was definitely better than the second one.

By the time we started following the five, I cared about them a lot, yet as soon as I heard from them directly, they seemed to be entirely different from how Leila saw them, and not in a good way. It's a powerful way of showing how we're more sympathetic towards our froiends, I guess... I also understand that the grave-robbing sequence is supposed to be another "fuck you" to the establishment that made these people suffer, but this arc still isn't enjoyable for me.

I struggle a bit with rating the prose in this. It was very yummy, so long as I was reading quickly but the longer I looked at sentences, the less I liked them.
It's still a good book, though, and it made me face some of my own biases, so I'd recommend it to people who want a bittersweet story, especially if they're interested in learning more about Turkey.