The narrative structure of this book is fantastically creative and hooked me on the storylines, the way they braided together and it was fun to look for all the connections between the plot-streams--reappearing objects and legends and history and lore. Some of it is deeply brutal and violent. Recommended but I couldn't read it voraciously at a stretch, instead had to ration it in smaller doses.

There are Rivers in the sky is Elif Shafak's best work. It expertly wove multiple stories across multiple generations with the theme of water throughout. The writing was rich with deep characterization.

I could not put this book down. It was a fabulous read. In her last novel, The Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak magnificently introduced a tree as a narrator. In this next novel she amazingly utilizes a drop of water to connect the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia to a contemporary timeline with a stop in the mid 1800s. This was brilliant. Although Shafak jumped from one timeline to the next, and back again, I had no difficulty following each story. And, I loved how she connected each by dropping little Easter eggs along the way. That technique really made me smile. The various timelines also provided a history lesson about the culture of the Middle East, particularly Iran. Shafak also included a storyline about climate change but not in a preachy way. I did not realize the length of the novel as I read it because the story held my interest throughout. I thank NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel. I’m sure it will be included in my book club groups after publication.

Man, I really wanted to enjoy this novel because I really enjoyed Elif Shafak's other works, but it didn't work for me.

There were moments that felt similar to Cloud Atlas, and that was a book I didn't enjoy. Elif Shafak's writing style is beautiful, but I don't think multi-generational novels are my thing. Bummer, because I did want to enjoy this. She had such a way with connecting her character to water, and that was the highlight for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an opportunity to read and review this book

This novel works on so many levels, it’s hard to know where to begin talking about it. This is a multilayered story that creates a cohesive whole. It is educational, emotional, and thought provoking. Where else can you find a story that begins in an ancient kingdom, threads through to a London of the 1800s and winds up in recent times? The theme naturally connects our history and knowledge of water as the source of life with power, class systems, religious war, family issues and the environment.

The story begins in Ninevah, an ancient city on the banks of the Tigris River. King Ashurbanipal is a ruthless leader but is also an intellectual. He built a great library that was believed to have been totally destroyed. A poem believed to have been lost in the library's destruction,, The Epic of Gilgamesh, is what binds together the lives of the novel’s three protagonists.

Arthur (referred to in his chapter headings as King Arthur of the Sewers and Slums) is born on the banks of a polluted Thames in 19th century London. His mother is mentally ill, his father an abusive drunk. But Arthur is born with a brilliant mind and infallible memory. This gift changes his life. He apprentices at a renowned publishing company. Once he finds the book, Ninevah and Its Remains, the course of his life is set

Narin’s story begins in 2014. She is a 10-year old Yazidi girl, born in Turkey. with a rare disorder that will result in deafness.. Narin is the last in the line of Yazidi healers. She is raised by a grandmother who cannot prevent the oncoming deafness but she teaches her Yazidi history and knowledge through stories. Yazidi life along the Tigris is being destroyed to make way for a new dam. Narin’s grandmother decides they will go to Iraq for her baptism in a sacred temple. Unbeknownst to the Yazidis who are being persecuted in Turkey, Isis is rising in Iraq.

The last character is a contemporary woman. It is 2018 and a newly separated hydrologist, Zaleekah, moves into a houseboat on the Thames. Her backstory is a sad one. Her parents are killed in a flash flood when she was seven and she was raised by a wealthy uncle. She is deeply depressed and is contemplating suicide when we meet her.

I was immersed in the stories of each character, particularly Arthur. His assent from impoverished to renowned is fascinating. But I could not imagine how or if these stories would eventually intersect. But it does in the hands of this beautiful and brilliant writer. The prose itself is spellbinding but more importantly, I came away from the novel with a better understanding of our environmental abyss and how we are all connected by a single drop of water.

It is a memorable story in the hands of a writer up to this daunting challenge.
Highly recommend.,
Many thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the opportunity to read this advanced reading copy and provide an impartial review.

I really wanted to like this book; I like Elif Shafak a lot, and the idea of reading a book that spanned across multiple eras was right up my alley.

Unfortunately, I really disliked this book, for two reasons:
1. I didn’t particularly like any of the three main characters. Moreover, their individual stories weren’t captivating; I found myself needed to reread the same page a few times because my eyes glazed over. Sometimes, if one character is stronger than the others, it’s okay, because you can speed read through the weaker characters’ chapters to get to the stronger character’s story. This was not the case with this book, where all the characters were weak.
2. The three characters felt disparate. I understand how they were supposed to connect, but it was a weak tie (or too subtle for my understanding). There was no “aha” moment where it all came together. Instead, every time the point of view changed, I felt as though I had been dropped into an entirely separate story.


I am disappointed, because I really was looking forward to this story. In some ways, I think this novel would have been better as three different novellas, not one story.

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story begins in Mesopotania- An ancient region of southwestern Asia in present day Iraq lying between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It is told through the development of early writing on clay tablets and the discovery of these tablets and the deciphering of The Epic of Gilgamesh. It is wonderfully written through the lives of King Arthur of the sewers and slums in London in 1840, Narin and her grandmother in Iraq in 2014 and Zaleekhah in London in 2018. It is very well written and offers much thought provoking and brilliant ideas and truths!!

I didn't like this novel nearly as much as her "10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World", but it was still really well done. I especially loved the way she intricately traces the life of water. I did, however, struggle with the ways in which the main characters were connected through history.

Elif Shafak is one of my favorite authors. Her depth of knowledge is remarkable. The book begins in ancient Mesopotamia with a drop of water and braids a story of three characters and two rivers with the one drop of water that starts the story. The reader travels from Iraq to London and back to Iraq. There is Arthur, born in poverty on the banks of the Thames in the 19th century, his passion is translating the ancient tiles of the epic Gilgamesh, Narin, a Yazidi girl who is to be baptized in the Tirgris in 2014 and is caught on her journey in a terrible, tragic genocide. Zaleekhah is a Hydrologist living on a houseboat on the Thames in 2018. The lives are complex, but the theme that there is no humanity without water is strong and consistent. Water is really the main character in this novel.
The writing is beautiful and some of the chapters feel like a fable. I learned a lot about Iraq and the Yazidi who I had not heard of. It is not a quick read and there were times I wished for more plot or that I felt more connected to the characters. That said, it's an amazing, one of a kind novel.
Thank you to Netgally and Penguin Random House books for an opportunity to read and review this book.

Elif Shafak's There Are Rivers in the Sky is a mesmerizing tale that spans centuries and continents, weaving together the lives of three individuals whose fates are intertwined by the powerful currents of history and literature.

The narrative begins in ancient Mesopotamia, where the legendary King Ashurbanipal's great library stands as a testament to human knowledge and ambition. From the ruins of this once-majestic institution emerges the Epic of Gilgamesh, a timeless poem that serves as a guiding force for the characters that follow.

In 1840s London, we meet Arthur, a young boy born into poverty alongside the polluted banks of the River Thames. Despite his harsh circumstances, Arthur possesses a remarkable memory that propels him into a world of books and learning. His journey intersects with the discovery of Nineveh and Its Remains, igniting a thirst for knowledge that transcends time and place.

Fast forward to modern-day Turkey, where Narin, a Yazidi girl facing a devastating illness, grapples with the looming threat of ISIS and the destruction of her ancestral homeland along the Tigris River. As she confronts the fragility of life, Narin's story converges with that of Zaleekah, a newly divorced hydrologist seeking solace on the houseboats of the Thames. Through a mysterious book about her homeland, Zaleekah finds herself on a journey of self-discovery and redemption.

Shafak's masterful storytelling effortlessly navigates across centuries and continents, seamlessly blending historical detail with poetic prose. Through the interconnected lives of Arthur, Narin, and Zaleekah, she explores themes of resilience, identity, and the enduring power of literature to shape our understanding of the world.

There Are Rivers in the Sky is a captivating exploration of the human experience, a poignant reminder that while our lives may be fleeting, the stories we leave behind have the power to transcend time and space. Shafak's novel is a testament to the enduring legacy of literature and the profound impact it can have on our lives.

This beautifully written and heart-piercing novel indeed flows like a river. It traces the anguished life path of three characters connected by their Yazidi heritage and a lapis lazuli tablet etched with a lost fragment of the Epic of Gilgamesh. One single raindrop cycles through the water table and touches their lives, beginning with the cruel reign of the Librarian King of Mesopotamia, Ashurbanipal. In turn the drop falls or is drunk by a neurodivergent genius foundling in 19th century London, named King Arthur of the Sewers and Slums; Narin, a modern Yazidi girl who turns nine years old during the 2014 Iraq war; and Zaleekhah, a climate scientist in 2018 who is breaking up with her husband and unsure of where her life is going next.

Shafak’s gorgeous writing addresses huge themes of female erasure, patriarchal violence, religious persecution, and broken relationships, but all in the non-preachy context of real human beings and their stories. Arthur is the first one to crack the code of Mesopotamian cuneiform by traveling to Iraq and meeting the Yazidis, but he fails to understand the basic codes of human interaction. Zaleekhah is all too aware of the perils of climate change while struggling to understand herself and her true identity, as well as reject the oppressive parts of her wealthy immigrant family system. And Narin’s story is another tragic incident of innocent minorities literally slaughtered at the hands of those who enjoy violence and rape in the name of religious orthodoxy.

I knew literally nothing about the Yazidis before reading this novel, including their fascinating religious system (including the Peacock Angel who shepherded the first humans in the world). But Shafak does a masterful job of introducing wide swaths of history through people I loved while being miles apart in our cultural identities. The last pages of the book literally made me gasp out loud and weep with their cruelty, but it still ends with a hopeful note as the drop of water slides back into the mighty river that never ceases to flow.

I so badly wanted to love this story intricately weaving water through time. Unfortunately, I felt like it could be easily 100 pages shorter and I really found myself bored often. Sometimes the book picked up pace, but it often lagged. I never got attached to any particular character and I constantly found myself wishing for the book to end. That being said, it is a very well written book with incredible concepts

What a strange, beautiful and complicated book. Interviewing the stories of four distinct narrators over millennia and continents united by a drop of water and connection to an ancient poem (the Epic of Gilgamesh). At times, the story was desperately brutal and sad, particularly the sections about religious persecution and the evil done in the name of God. At other times, it was sweet and hopeful, with a reminder of the importance of art and poetry to maintaining our humanity. Recommended. Well worth the read. I predict this will be a best seller and award winner.

Thank you @netgalley and @knopf for the eARC of There Are Rivers in the Sky by @shafakelifin exchange for an honest review.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 There Are Rivers in the Sky is one on those rare novels that you open and just know it is going to be a five star read. Immaculately written, powerfully poetic, and immeasurably spanning across time, Elif Shafak provides us with a stunning masterpiece. From the mighty banks of the Tigris, to the majestic banks of the Thames, ancient kings to modern men, these stories are intricately woven together like waters merging seamlessly in a current. An absolutely breathtaking read that will resonate to the very core.

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on Instagram well ahead of the publication date!

This author takes us across centuries and time . He writes in a lyrical and evocative way and keeps you engaged in his narrative. This would be a good one for book clubs

I thoroughly enjoyed Elif Shafak's "There Are Rivers in the Sky". The novel is a literary masterpiece that transcends conventional storytelling. With its poetic prose and intricate narrative, the book invites us into a world where every sentence is a brushstroke in a larger, mesmerizing picture. Shafak weaves a tale that is as engaging as it is profound, crafting characters that resonate with depth and authenticity, all linked beautifully through the constant presence of water. The plot, a stunningly beautiful puzzle, unfolds with such grace that each revelation feels both surprising and inevitable. As the final pieces click into place, we are left in awe of the journey we have taken, a testament to Shafak's skill as a storyteller.
"There Are Rivers in the Sky" is a celebration of the human spirit and the complexity of life, a reminder of the beauty and importance of water and how it is ever present in our lives and in our history, connecting all of us.

The several stories told within here span different times, and in turn have different core characters, different plots, and their own separate moments of intense tragedy and uplifting joy - but they also constantly cross one another, sharing imagery, history, and themes. It’s a bit like a single river carrying multiple different currents. And no matter which plotline I found myself in, there was never a moment where I wasn’t enjoying the reading experience to the fullest. Shafak’s characters were wonderfully real and complex, her writing was vivid and immersive, and I loved every little detail about ancient Mesopotamian history or the Yazidi people that richly permeated every single individual narrative. This is definitely an excellent addition to any library shelf (be it public, academic, or personal home collection), and honestly, it’s currently my favorite historical fiction read of 2024.

A powerful story, moving across centuries about the Yazhidi people who have been mistreated across cultures.

I received an email copy through Netgalley, but all opinions are my own.

Shafak's beautiful novel covers three main characters from different times and places, yet they are linked together through the novel. This novel is imaginative and historical. All the blurbs already cover the fascinating Mesopotamian themes which link the characters, something I found intriguing, and even more so, was how a drop of water was linked from the first page to the last. The novel makes you think about the people who are enslaved today, the brutal methods of killing used by ISIS, the strength of curiosity, and passionate love of others, of how we treat other humans, the soil, air, and water, and the power of memory..

When I was teaching the water cycle to elementary students we said things like a drop of water could be from a glass of water George Washington drank. This book expands wonderfully on the idea that water travels the world and we should appreciate it, while describing cultures in the Mideast, and helping us recognize the deep connection of climate change to all we hold dear. A new dam sounds like good progress until we realize how difficult it is for a population to relocate, and how emotionally costly are the disruptions to their lives. This text makes it painfully clear while lifting our awareness of beautiful cultures, especially the Yazidis (which helped me understand them). The pain people have to endure, the sufferings of the Earth, and ties between generations are brought to life with the impressive writing skills of the author. Many generic human truths applicable to any person anywhere are included. I preordered a book to enable highlighting when I reread There Are Rivers in the Sky, as I felt many statements should not be forgotten post reading. This is an important book to reread and savor.