Excellent historical epic from an exceptional storyteller, beautifully drawing together ancient legends, religions and cultures, and spanning continents and centuries.

Fragments of an ancient poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, are discovered in the ruins of Nineveh; an ancient city of Mesopotamia, lost to flooding but which gradually re-emerges, revealing its secrets. These ancient tablets create bonds across centuries and continents, intertwined throughout by the water and its many memories.

In Victorian London, a remarkable child is born into abject poverty and against all odds becomes devoted to deciphering these ancient tablets.

In Turkey in 2014, Narin is only 9 years old. She carries a revered gift and affinity with water, passed down from her grandmother, but she is drawn into unimaginable horror by oppressive regimes.

In 2018, Zaleekhah is a water scientist, heartbroken and living in London where she moves to a houseboat while she considers ending it all. She has a great interest in quietly proving her colleague's ridiculed theory that water has memory, not least because of the tragic events which befell her as a 7 year old.

Many difficult subjects are covered, but the well drawn characters and skilfully woven storyline shine through.

Elif Shafak is such a great storyteller, I have loved everything I read. I love the way she weaves different stories together with different times and places, with the thread of water bringing the story together. Not only does she write beautifully but the history she brings to life makes reading her books a joy.

An astonishing, epic novel- the story of a drop of water and so much more: the power of religion to break apart communities and individuals; of family and enduring connections; of the continuous search for knowledge and enlightenment amongst artefacts from previous times and the people involved. Elif Shefak has researched widely gathering stories of water and The Epic of Gilgamesh and drawing the strands into this incredible book. Each story within the book was beautifully written with vivid protagonists that you immediately aligned yourself with- and rooted for as their stories took darker turns.

There is heartbreaking content within these pages and an important message to a world that never seems to listen- the need to live peaceably alongside those from whom we differ- and to try and avoid making the lives of others ( near and far) more difficult in travelling along our own timelines. To counterbalance there is love, compassion , connection , loyalty and kindness here too. The stories of Arthur, Narin and Zaleekhah will remain with me.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book. I would strongly recommend it to other readers.

There are Rivers in the Sky starts with a single drop of water and becomes an epic of a story. I've become a big fan of Elif Shafak and love the way she can write a line or phrase. I loved the story of Arthur and enjoyed the stories of Narin and Zaleekah and the way that their stories intertwined over the different periods. I was so interested in the Mesopotamia, the Lamassu and coniform I went to the British Museum to take a look for myself! I really enjoyed this book and was a bit sad once it ended. It has has an important story of the Yazidis and what happened to them and I think this will be a book that stays with me for some time.

Another absolutely stunning novel from Shafak, who beautifully weaves together history and nature to tell this mesmerising story of human connections.

Elif Shafak's writing is as stunning as ever, and this was a true epic of a book. Intertwining storylines of three main characters that means there's always someone you want to root for. In fact, there wasn't a stand out character between the three - the storylines felt very equal, which is hard to achieve. (Often with multiple PoVs, you're secretly wanting to get back to another character but this wasn't the case here.)

It's a hard book to describe; you really have to read it! The beautiful and ancient city of Nineveh is almost another character it is so central to the narrative. This ancient storyline is interwoven so successfully with the three characters' lives and journeys from the beginning and feels so natural.

Elif Shafak at her finest.

Follow the river as you go deep into the populations it runs past, twisting and turning, entwining itself with the people's lives of the past and the present. The book weaves together historical facts and storytelling like a tapestry of words that feed the mind.

The book is evocative, full of emotion on one man's journey to discover the meaning of a tablet. There's the question of antiquities that presents itself along with religion and different cultures. This is what the man sees and the river flows through. People's lives aren't all they appear and some are rather messy through relationships, wars, travel. The river is in contrast to human life. The river is the constant and giver of life in all that it runs past and its importance is apparent throughout this sweeping, scenic literary read.

Oh my goodness what a wonderful book. I honestly think Elif Shafak is one of the world's greatest contemporary writers; her writing is beyond beautiful, just exquisite and so moving. This is such a lovely and clever story, weaving together three characters from different eras / countries. Absolutely superb.

A beautifully crafted historical fiction, Elif Shafak is becoming one of my favourite writers. It did take me a little while to get into it and follow the connections but once I did I really loved each character's story.
She brings to life some fascinating times in history and most heart breaking the ongoing story of the Yazidi people as well as some modern ethical issues sensitively explored.
I am going to have to take a look at that section of the British Museum again...

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Elite Shafak writes in such a way, that my entire personality becomes what she shares.

I have previously read (and loved!) the island of missing trees, so I knew when I saw this I just had to read it.

Intriguing, inspiring, though provoking and endearing. There are rivers in the sky left me so connected to the characters - I have nothing but completely brilliant things to say. Make space on your shelf for this. It’s stunning.

Immersive, illuminating, inspiring, devastatingly evocative, and utterly breathtaking in vision, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a sweeping, triumphant blend of research, imagination and storytelling, the like of which I’ve never seen before.

Spanning millennia, from ancient Mesopotamia to Victorian London and on to modern times, from the banks of the Tigris to the banks of the Thames, this exceptional novel tells the story of the lost poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and one man’s mission to find and translate the missing tablets on which it was inscribed.

I found myself transported by the stories of the book’s three protagonists: Arthur, born into poverty next to the Thames in 1840, but with a brilliant mind that sees him become an expert on Gilgamesh; Narin, an 8-year-old Yazidi girl in 2014 Turkey; and Zaleekhah, a hydrologist, living on a Thames houseboat in 2018. I was invested in all of them.

Thoughout, Shafak’s prose is mesmerizing in its richness, her characters bold and vibrant, her research so compelling that I spent hours on Google trying to satisfy my curiosity about events and people I’d never heard of. It was this sublime weaving together of historical fact and fiction that made for such a spectacular read.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the book, however, is the multitude of topics it explores, from the preservation of antiquities and cultural heritage to religious conflict and the destruction of the planet, among others. It’s a lot to unpick, and Shafak shines a light on some horrific events, including the Sinjar massacre of 2014, of which I was ignorant.

The overarching theme, though, is that of water, as the giver of life and as the millennia-old constant that bridges both time and place. I loved the way Shafak ran this imagery like a silver thread through the narrative, even as it switched from one character to another.

It isn’t until the end that the stories of Arthur, Narin and Zaleekhah eventually come together, and they do so in a breathtaking final flourish of Shafak’s magic wand.

A novel of absolute perfection that stands head and shoulders above all my other five-star reads of the year.

I have read everything Elif has written so I could not wait to pick this up. Happy to say she has done it again! Elif is the queen of a historical epic fiction. Highly recommend and recommend her backlist also.

The most beautiful writing and stunning prose. The three pov’s were equally fascinating but I had a soft spot for Arthur’s and would have read a whole novel just about him.

I got the ARC of this from #netgalley, long before it was published in August, but it had mixed reviews so I wasn‘t really tempted. It‘s recently been announced as being one of the BBC Between The Covers books so I picked it up, and absolutely loved it.

It‘s really devastating though so be warned, with some CW. Following 3 different people in different timescales, all linked by water, I loved how it all came together in the end.

4.5stars, rounded up to 5

I attended an event where Elif Shafak noted that the three central characters represent the three components of water, and that level of genius and detail alone had me salivating to read this. 'There Are Rivers in the Sky' is nothing short of exquisite. An unforgettable story, told by one of the most talented writers of the 21st century.

“Water remembers - it is humans who forget”
An extraordinary story of history, myths and human experience
It’s ultimately a meditation on the life giving force of water
We journey from Nineveh to the Thames of Victorian London to the Tigris of modern day Turkey - telling the tale of three different characters who are all linked by their connection to water
Such a captivating and epic novel
Thanks @shafakelif @vikingbooksuk & @netgalley for the fascinating read

The Island of Missing Trees is one of my favourite books ever so of course when I saw a new Elif Shafak book on NetGalley, I had to request it. There are Rivers in the Sky did not disappoint and is firmly in my best reads of 2024! The interweaving of three stories from three different times, and overlapping places is done with such finesse, I was enthralled from start to finish, which is saying something for a book of almost 500 pages. I loved Arthur and Narin probably more than Zaleekah but all characters had something to offer the story. The idea of water having memory was fascinating, and the narrative following a drop of the same water was sublime. A fabulous read, highly recommend.

Shafak is simply one of the best storytellers of our time.
A simple raindrop flows through time; 3 different characters in 3 separate cities and timelines; 184o, 2014 into the future 2018. Separate, but joined by the nature of life sustaining water.
Shafak's prose felt like water itself, beautifully flowing throughout. The characters still feel alive to me, despite me reading this several months ago. How she brings the heart into her books is stunning, I felt for each of the characters' heartbreaking experiences.
Needed to keep a separate note of the characters and contexts, as the books moved around time, place, and people. But as Zadie Smith said, a good author wants a reader to pay attention and work to understand the meaning of a book. Shafak achieves this brilliantly every time, will read anytime she writes.

Five stars! For the full review please go to https://www.tumblr.com/joebloggshere/763756887294525440/there-are-rivers-in-the-sky-by-elif-shafak-a

This is my third Elif Shafak book and another beautifully written novel. I loved how the three different stories all came together, all the stories being connected. And the connection of water (something we take for granted) throughout.

My favourite part of the story was Arthur's story.
I learned so much from this book, as I didn't know anything about Mesopotamia or the Yazidi people. And it also makes you think about treasures being taken from their homes to be "protected" in European museums. The treasures belong to the people and the land they come from.