Elik Shafak's beautiful story that interweaves characters across centuries and continents has moved me so much. The book has a complex narrative arc that moves seamlessly between storylines, and builds characters that are vibrant, deep, flawed, and living life as best they can while seeking some degree of happiness and fulfilment. It is a book about what it is to be human, and I cared for each and every character.

Water, so crucial to our existence, is given a central role in the telling of the story, which is interwoven around a drop of water that connects everything. It illustrates the cycle of life and over the course of centuries, observes aspects of human existence.

As well as being totally engrossed in the story and feeling connected with the protagonists, I found the context and setting both informative and interesting, I learnt so much about life in different times and parts of the world, and it made me reflect on the political and social impacts of our actions. Despite being rich with well-researched and intricate historical information, Shafak tells the story in way that is easy to read and absolutely compelling. The writing is lyrical and gorgeous. I enjoyed every minute and this will be up there with my favorite books of 2024.

With thanks to NetGalley, Penguin and Elik Shafak for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited when I heard of the new book by Elif Shafak, and she didn’t disappoint. When it comes to reading her books, one can be sure to be in for a treat. Her novels are always ambitious, complex, made of different storylines and characters that are masterfully interwoven into the main narrative. The same happens with this new novel; the story starts in Mesopotamia (which is in itself a very fascinating idea), and it moves on to 19th-century England, where one of the main characters, Arthur, was born, and then to modern day Turkey and back to modern day London. It might sound like a lot, but Shafak’s writing is able to guide the reader through all these different storylines and places, and to allow them to see the full picture, all the connections between the stories, and the beautiful fabric that results from them. I absolutely recommend this book, together with other two books that are my personal favourites: The Bastard of Istanbul and The Island of Missing Trees.

•thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for the #ARC in exchange for an honest review•

A beautifully written novel with multiple timelines, each one compelling and engaging. It is a story with wonderful characters and an interesting central theme which threads its way throughout the story. Highly recommended. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I have read all of Elif Shafak's novels and have loved each and every one of them. Never has an author had the ability to take you to a far away land and make you feel like you are there. Such a wonderful description of some beautiful places

The writing in this book is beautiful and elegant, as you would expect from Elif Shafak. The stories are woven masterfully and you can tell that the author did her research and is very knowledgeable about many subjects, especially language, history and culture. I had heard the word Yazidi but I had no idea who the Yazidi people were and how they have been treated for centuries. Among all of the knowledge I have gained from this book, the story of the persecution of the Yazidis is what will stay with me and what I will research further. Its truly horrifying, it is still happening and Yazidi women are still missing today.
There is a lot of historical detail and some lovely illustrations in this book, all of which is very interesting to me. I have been to the British museum and seen the things mentioned in this book and I realise that I didn't truly appreciate what I was looking at. I didn't appreciate how these things were made, lost, found, transported, essentially stolen. The fact that these objects are thousands of years old is obvious but I had never considered where they had been throughout the centuries. Who had them, who moved them, how they were damaged, the stories of the people around these items. All of this is richly told in this book.
My absolute favourite thing in this entire novel s the relationship between Narin and her grandma. It is so beautiful how much these two souls loved each other, more than anything in the World. It did make me cry and I wanted to protect them.
Each atrocity, each war crime, every bit of persecution around the World affects children like Narin and mothers and Grandmothers, fathers, husbands. Ordinary, innocent people. They are not just the numbers given on the television, they are not just a collective group of people, each victim is an individual with a story, dreams and hopes. They could have had a different future if it had not been taken from them by those with more power and this book helps to remind us of that beautifully.

This is, without doubt, one of my books of the year. The stories, interwoven and based on three main characters, are engrossing and offer great contrasts. The latter part of the book is really dynamic as the three storylines become more and more intense and, to be honest, quite challengingly upsetting at times.

The ending is beautiful, returning to the lyrical early part of the writing.

I really enjoyed this novel. Reading it very slowly and stopping frequently to think over what I had read.

Thank you so much.

Wow, what a book ! I hardly slept while reading this fabulously immersive book , I just could not put it down. The narrative is just faultless, I will read this book again.

Elif Shafak writes beautifully and never fails to interest and engage. I loved the water theme that runs through the book, focusing on three tributaries in different times and countries, finally joining the sea by the end. I found her central character, Arthur, to be the most intriguing because of his passion for Messopotamia and his quest to search for its secrets, overcoming his shockingly poor start in life. I'm not sure the other two strands were as well drawn or understood, and may have been a little contrived in places. Although the background and detail were fascinating in general, I did feel that some of the factual sections felt rather didactic and overblown in places, slowing down the pace and detracting from the intimate tone of the individual stories. However, with a little judicious skimming, I managed to immerse myself in the diverse plots and get carried along with the flow. An absorbing and unusual read.

Thank you to the publishers for an advanced copy. Wow what a read! 5 stars. Elif Shafak is one of my favourite authors of one of my favourite books ever (The Island of Missing Trees) and I was so happy and looking forward to reading an advanced copy of this. I learnt so much history about places and topics I have never heard about before reading this. I was so invested and touched by this book that 60 per cent of my way in reading this I went to London to the British Museum to see the artefacts discussed in this book. Seeing these in the flesh was something I can't even really put in to words. It was amazing. This book absolutely fascinated me. The story begins in Nineveh back in 640 - bc alongside the River Tigris with King Ashurbanipal , the story of the Epic of Gilgamesh on inscribed tablets in Cuneiform symbols where later on in the 1800's we meet Arthur who was actually born alongside the River Thames. Poor but very clever he is taken in by the poem and starts working at the British museum where he is gifted enough to be able to decipher the symbols and work out that the tablets are actually a poem with parts missing which are still buried in the middle east. I loved the different generations and stories interwoven in this book with Narin and Zaleekhah bringing the present and past together. There was a lot of truth in this book of fiction which made this seem more real and devastating. There has been so much history of horror, destruction pain and suffering with unnecessary killing , war and terror which still happens all these centuries later. The writing as ever was immersive and I just loved the whole water and rivers link throughout. Elif has done an outstanding job of bringing the stories together. I will be recommending to others and looking for more books from this author.

What an interesting book. At once moving, compelling and a subtle dive into emotion and human motivation, but set in a world, or rather several worlds that most of us wouldn't normally inhabit. Elif Shafak has a lovely turn of phrase and several times I had to stop reading to simply wallow in the words. There were other times, when I felt a little overwhelmed by the amount of description and I wanted to float over it. I didn't think this detracted from the book, and as a reader, it's my choice. Be aware, there is violence. People do unspeakable things to other people, but Elif Shafak manages to both acknowledge and present it to us, with enough distance that I'm able to stand to the side and honour those people who suffered. Would I recommend it. Yes. Absolutely. I couldn't say you'll enjoy the book, because it's not that sort of book, but you are likely to be enthralled. There's something mystical and captivating about it.

A Journey Through Time Woven with Water

Elif Shafak weaves a spellbinding tapestry in “There Are Rivers in the Sky.” This isn’t just a novel, it’s an experience that transcends time and cultures, this book transports you with its intricate narrative and unforgettable characters.

The story follows three individuals, each living in a different era, yet connected by a single drop of water and the mighty rivers Tigris and Thames. Shafak’s prose is both clever and powerful, drawing you into the lives of a Victorian orphan with a prodigious memory, a disillusioned hydrologist seeking solace on a houseboat and a young Yazidi refugee, with links back to an ancient Mesopotamian library housing a lost poem.

As their narratives intertwine, themes of love, loss, memory, and the enduring power of stories emerge. Shafak reminds us, like water, stories have a way of persisting, carrying echoes of the past into the present. The novel is a moving testament to the human spirit’s ability to find connection and meaning even across vast stretches of time.

If you enjoyed the intellectual and emotional depth of Orhan Pamuk’s “My Name is Red,” then “There Are Rivers in the Sky” is a must-read. Shafak’s masterful storytelling will leave you pondering the mysteries of life, the significance of the past, and the enduring magic of rivers that flow not just through landscapes, but also through time.

There are Rivers in the Sky is a book that I was highly anticipating having enjoyed previous books by this author. I can safely say I was not disappointed and this may even be one of my favourite books of the year so far. The book follows three main characters across three timelines exploring ancient Mesopotamia to modern day London. I really enjoyed how this book was laid out and the journey that took place to link the characters and timelines. This is an emotive and thought provoking read that I'm sure will stay with me long after finishing reading. A truly beautifully written story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Highly recommend.

This month, I really enjoyed reading Elif Shafak’s “There are Rivers in the Sky”. The novel hasn’t yet been released but I was lucky to be given an advance review copy to read. I’ve had this novel on my TBR list since it was announced and I knew that I would love it because her writing style is just fantastic. Not only is her writing intelligent and well-researched but her style is beautifully rich and lyrical. This feels particularly apt in this novel, which centres around the search for a long-lost poem from ancient Mesopotamia.

The novel moves between three different narratives that run concurrently throughout the novel: London, Narin in 2014 Turkey and Zaleekhah in 2018 London. From the outset, the motif of water pulls the strands of each narrative together; however, as the novel progresses, we see that each story is interconnected in other ways too.

The novel is fairly standard in length but feels epic in stature as it explores issues around love, loss, identity, grief and genocide to name but a few. I have a feeling that we’ll see this one nominated for various awards.

I love the way this book was set up and having such different POVs felt refreshing. There were lots of parts in this book that felt overly descriptive almost to the point of it feeling like just reading a list but the world building was really good.

It takes a lot for a fantasy book to rank highly for me as I'm quite picky but I did love how the theme of water ran throughout the book so clearly. It really felt like the string that held the book together. Not my favourite fantasy read and there were some scenes that felt really cruel to read but definitely still a good read.

Elif creates three universes where it feels like even the story is bigger than the characters. The theme of being temporary amongst a much bigger system was also executed really well.

There Are Rivers In The Sky follows three characters across three timelines. From modern day London to Ancient Mesopotamia, Shafak effortlessly takes the reader across time and place. Weaving historical fact with fiction, I found myself learning a lot through this novel (the Author’s Note is very interesting). With Shafak’s writing as stunning as ever, this is a hard book to put down and even harder to forget!

The beautifully conceived story that unfortunately runs out of steam somewhere around 3/4 of the book. Ancient Mesopotamia has been a long time interest of mine, and George Smyth, who discovered Epic of Gilgamesh and served as a prototype for one of this book's characters, is one of my favourite historical figures. His chapters were generally wonderful in the beginning, which made the other parts of the book look dull in comparison, because the other characters were neither interesting nor developed sufficiently. I think the book suffers for it, and ends up relying on emotional manipulation more than it should. It's a fine novel nonetheless, and I'd recommend it to my friends and family wholeheartedly, but it could've been so much better.

Elif Shafak never disappoints, a beautifully written story with such a deep meaning. There are Rivers in The Sky is for those who love stories, who love history, who love being transported and live a thousand lives while reading, it’s for those who love love itself.

A wonderful, tragic, moving. beautiful story of epic proportions.
By far the most accomplished and absorbing book by Elif, who has really surpassed herself here.
For me the outstanding themes were that water connects us through history and the tragedy of the Yazidi people.
To mention all the strands of narrative ( Gilgamesh, mesopatamia, archeology, organ trafficking, slavery, genocide, oral history, religion, persecution, identity, damns, rivers) here would make the review far too lengthy.

I knew very little about the Yazidis and this story deftly weaves their history and their tragedies through many eras.

The three main characters in the story, an orphan from the slums of Victorian London, a London houseboat dwelling modern day orphan from Turkey, and a Yazidi child a decade ago are all connected in many ways. Their stories are cleverly woven together in an inventive and satisfying way.
Reading about the author's research is recommended. It's at the end of the book.

This book will leave a lasting impression on me and I'm now going to research the poem Gilgamesh and visit the British Museum. This story has given me a lot to think about.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this marvellous book.

This is such a beautifully written book. Elif Shafak really does get to the crux of important matters in this one and the Author's Note detailing her research list makes for interesting reading. The book deals with global issues at local levels, ancient and modern; religion, heritage, looting amongst them. Interlocking stories of several characters across time, all linked by a single drop of water and ancient Mesopotamian poetry and clay tablets. I was absorbed from the very first page. And I do love her lists. With thanks for an Ee-ARC to read and review.

The narrative is formed around three interlocking stories, united by a single drop of water. In the After Note Shafak writes,
'there is no better space than literature, especially the novel as a literary genre, within which to explore the most complex issues of our time with nuance, depth, care and empathy.'

Within this novel she explores ideas around western museums and world cultural artefacts; the mistreatment of the Yazidi people; the importance of water and the impact of its disappearance as well as Yazidi myths and the tablets telling the Gilgamesh story.

There is no doubt that Shafak is an important political thinker and an excellent writer. The plot and narrative flow in this novel. At time the amount of research into the topics being conveyed to the reader by the characters weighed heavy and didn't fit naturally within the narrative.

Well worth reading and many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy.