There are Rivers in the Sky
Author(s): Elif Shafak
THE TOP FIVE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
This is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives - all connected by a single drop of water.
In the ruins of Nineveh, that ancient city of Mesopotamia, there lies hidden in the sand fragments of a long-forgotten poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born at the edge of the dirt-black Thames. When his brilliant memory earns him a spot as an apprentice at a printing press, the world opens up far beyond the slums and across the seas.
In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a Yazidi girl living by the River Tigris, waits to be baptised. The ceremony is cruelly interrupted, and soon she and her grandmother must journey across war-torn lands in the hope of reaching the sacred valley of their people.
In 2018 London, broken-hearted Zaleekhah, a hydrologist, moves to a houseboat on the Thames to escape the wreckage of her marriage - until an unexpected connection to her homeland changes everything.
A dazzling feat of storytelling from one of the greatest writers of our time that spans centuries, continents and cultures, entwined by rivers, rains, and waterdrops.
'Elif Shafak is a unique and powerful voice in world literature' Ian McEwan
'An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives' Colum McCann
'Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it' Arundhati Roy
'One of the best writers in the world today' Hanif Kureishi'A brilliant, unforgettable novel' Mary Beard
Elif Shafak, a Nielsen bestseller of 2023
General Information
- :
- : Penguin UK
- : Penguin (General UK)
- : 500.0
- : 15 April 2025
- : books
Other Specifications
- : Elif Shafak
- : Paperback
- : English
More About The Product
'Elif Shafak is a unique and powerful voice in world literature' Ian McEwan
'Shafak makes a new home for us in words' Colum McCann
'One of the best writers in the world today' Hanif Kureishi
Gloriously expansive and intellectually rich... a magnificent achievement - The Spectator
Richly evocative. A fascinating stream of storytelling. - Financial Times
Engrossing. I turned the pages hungrily, carried by Shafak's energetic prose and confident that it was heading towards a coherent and rewarding ending. As ever, Shafak did not disappoint. - I Paper
An absorbing novel. Shafak is a novelist whose interest in mapping the intricately related world and its history goes beyond literary device. - Guardian
Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it - Arundhati Roy
It will surprise no one that this is a brutal, elegant and incredible book. Amazing what Elif Shafak has done here - again! Magic. - Evie Wyld
An odyssey, an epic, a lament, and a tale of redemption, There are Rivers in the Sky is a clarion call to honor the elemental forces that shape our memories, our histories, and our world. In short, a masterpiece. - Ruth Ozeki
A book that is astonishing, ingenious and beautiful. A modern classic. Elif Shafak is one of the great writers of our time - Peter Frankopan
A deep and satisfying sweep of a story combining intellectual pleasures with a transformative empathy. Particular, universal, with head and with heart in perfect balance, this is surely a landmark novel. - Laline Paull
A great, sweeping, enthralling novel. Elif Shafak's narrative vision is as remarkable and astonishing as ever. Wonderful. - Will Boyd
Literature on a grand scale, mythic and timeless - Nadifa Mohamed
Intricate, exhilarating storytelling that is a poetic reminder of how connected we are to one another and to the past. - Tracy Chevalier
A great epic novel, as swift as a torrent, as deep as an ocean. Elif Shafak at the height of her powers, sweeping us off our feet. - Leila Slimani
One of the best writers in the world today - Hanif Kureishi
Wide-ranging, eloquent and lavishly detailed, There are Rivers in the Sky expertly draws its various narratives to a powerful climax - Abdulrazah Gurnah
There's an elegance to Shafak's storytelling that always draws me, but it is her grit and substance that held me to the last page. Wonderful. - Bonnie Garmus
A brilliant, unforgettable novel, which raises big ideas of 'who owns the past' with nuance and complexity. Elif Shafak ties together diverse time periods and places in a way that seems both natural and wonderfully unexpected. - Mary Beard
Bright, vivid and timeless like rivers. - Philippa Gregory
Elif Shafak is a unique and powerful voice in world literature - Ian McEwan
Shafak makes a new home for us in words - Colum McCann
A writer of important, beautiful, painful, truthful novels -- Marian Keyes
Glorious, a journey across nature and history, memory and life, by our finest weaver of tales - Philippe Sands
