There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak is a beautifully written novel that spans different times and places, all connected by water and the stories of those who rely on it.

The book takes us from ancient Mesopotamia, along the Tigris River, to 1850s London, and finally to modern-day Turkey and London. Arthur is a young man with a troubled past who discovers the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest poem in the world while working at the British Museum. Dr. Zaleekhah Clarke is a hydrologist in present-day London, struggling with the climate crisis and personal issues. Narin is a Kurdish girl whose life is torn apart by war and the construction of a dam that will flood her hometown to create a reservoir, erasing it from the map.

Shafak’s writing is lyrical and poetic, which makes the book a joy to read, even though it has a slow, melancholy feel. The way she writes about water, as something more than just a resource, really made me appreciate it in a new way. However, the book does rely on a lot of coincidences that might be a bit hard to believe, and the slow pacing might not be for everyone.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
Publication date: 8 August 2024
Thank you to Viking Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives – all connected by a single drop of water.

I finished reading this ARC a couple of days ago and I do not feel entirely recovered from it. This was pure beauty; Elif Shafak's writing is nothing short of stunning and I do not feel I can do it justice. The way she weaves the stories of those three characters (Arthur in the second half of the 1800s, Narin in 2014 and and Zaleekhah in 2018) is masterful. It is clear so much research has gone into this book, and I highly recommend you read the author's notes for some very interesting context.
This is epic historical fiction, mixed with more recent historical and political events, mixed with current climate science, mixed with poetic prose about the memory of water, and it is seamless and utterly perfect.
The book touches on poverty, depression, colonialism, terrorism and genocide amongst other themes, and Narin's story which highlights the persecution and massacre of the Yazidi people at the hands of ISIS only a decade ago is eye-opening and heartbreaking in equal measures.
I didn't think anything would be able to topple Ordinary Human Failings from the top spot of my favourite reads of the year list, but this book did. I pre-ordered a finished copy as soon as I finished reading my ARC, and this is a story that is going to stay with me for a long, long time. I cannot recommend it enough; for me, it is a masterpiece.

I love Elif Shafak and was so pleased to be given the opportunity to review her latest book. I was not disappointed.

There are three strands to this epic novel - Arthur in Victorian London, Narin in 21st century Turkey and Zaleekah in 21st century London - all revolving around the ancient city of Nineveh and the story of water droplets. I loved every single character and their separate narratives wound together beautifully. I was previously unaware of the Yazidi people and their shocking history of oppression, so I was pleased (and heartbroken) to be informed.

A highly recommended read.

Elif Shafak is an amazing author and this could be her best yet.

Set across three time zones, locations and protagonists, this could be confusing, but instead Elif Shafak magnetically fuses the different stories together with the story of water and the ancient poem of Gilgamesh.

I was absolutely engrossed and in awe of how she is able to transport me so fully to different times and locations with such detail and ease.

One to add to your wish lists!

There Are Rivers in the Sky is the new novel by booker- shortlisted author Elif Shafak. It spans centuries and continents, connecting 3 characters with themes of water, loss and memory.

I found some chapters to be particularly hard-hitting and those will stay with me. Each character was transformed by their journey. I particularly enjoyed the 19th century chapters and the connection to historical Mesopotamia added a rich layer to the story.

At times the language was too flowery for me. The use of obscure vocabulary was awkward to read and distracted me from the otherwise engaging plot.

It grew on me, and by the end, I appreciated the way Shafak brought together the characters and timelines.

Thank you to NetGalley for the gifted e-ARC.

I have read and loved several of Elif Shafak's previous novels. I think There are Rivers in the Sky may have just nudged 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds from its position of my favourite of her books.

I have just finished reading and I somewhat bereft. This book is magical, it is unlike anything I have read before. The novel spans centuries and countries and this story unfolds through three narratives all tied together by a drop of water.

I knew nothing going in to this book and I would recommend all readers do the same. I went in confident I would enjoy this book, knowing I was in the safe hands of one of the best storytellers today but I never expected to be so hypnotised by this novel, these lives and this story.

Wonderful, beautiful, thought provoking, I could list superlatives all night and still not do this book justice. An incredible distraction from the real world and a joy to read. I want to reread it already and I am looking forward to buying a copy for my shelves and returning to this book again.

Loved it.

4.5 stars.

Normally I adore Shafak and was really looking forward to this release.

However, I am sad to say this was not for me. Characteristic of Shafak it contains her usual blend of culture, storytelling and philosophy.

But there were two aspects to the flow of this novel that meant I felt removed from the characters and prevented me from connecting with the story -

1. The blend of historical and scientific fact which constantly wove around the story made me feel like I was reading an encyclopedia and disrupted the flow of the plot and the character development. It was like there could have been endless footnotes in this novel but they were contained in the prose but none the less still felt like asides all the time to me. I could see how they related but felt like interruptions which distracted me constantly.

2. I really dislike plotlines that have the kind of pacing where an event in someone's life is introduced and then we see the development and effect of this within the next few paragraphs. I prefer a slower more convoluted plot development that feels more nuanced.

I'm so disappointed and DNFd at 50% but I will still follow Shafak in the future as I think she is intelligent and insightful.

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Elif Shafak is such a gifted storyteller, it seems effortless how she combines stories into a thematic whole.

'There Are Rivers in the Sky' is all about water and follows a single raindrop, falling first in the beard of the Assyrian king Assurbanipal and then on each of three main characters of the novel: Arthur Smith, a 19th century Assyriologist at the British Museum, Narine a Yezidi girl just before the arrival of IS, and Zaleekhah a London-based hydrologist. We jump back and forth between these three equally engaging storylines.

As the stories are quite straightforward this is perfect for listening in a relaxed way. I wouldn't say I was deeply touched by it (perhaps it is all a bit too smooth?), but I was constantly invested and engaged and definitely impressed by Shafak's ability to say everything she wants to say and still give it a natural flow.

Spread across space and time, There Are Rivers In The Sky tells the story of three characters connections to ancient Mesopotamia and real life poem Epic of Gilgamesh. Water is fundamental to telling the stories of Victorian Arthur ‘King of the Slums’, and modern day Yazidi, Narin, and hydrologist, Zaleekhah; starting with a single drop that leads to a flood that impacts them all. The novel discusses important and dark themes to tell the plight and persecution of the ‘devil-worshipper’ Yazidi people throughout the ages.

This novel is well-written, with the high concept of water flowing through and connecting the storylines of the characters. Elif Shafak cleverly weaves together their narratives with connections and pace building as the story progresses.

The book is loosely based on real life events and features historical figures, which was interesting to contextualise the story. The themes are challenging and the difference between characters backgrounds allows exploration of difference cultural perspectives and social attitudes.

Shafak has researched this book really well and it shows. I found the intricacies of the history and pace overwhelming at times. I would say patience is key to really enjoy this novel, and an interest in the history of the Mesopotamia and its cultural heritage, to get the most out of it. I found the pace quite slow moving at first as I struggled with the stark differences in the characters back grounds and stories the plot as the pace built.

Having read 10 minutes and 38 secinds... as well as The Island of Missing Trees, I was looking forward to reading There are Rivers in the Sky. This novel has far surpassed my expectations- in fact I would go as far as to say it has followed me around during the day and haunted me at night. When I wasn't reading about it, I was thinking about it and when I was asleep, I was dreaming about it. Absolutely one of my top 5 for this year!

Novels structured using multiple narratives, especially those shifting in time and place can make the story feel disjointed or there is a preferred character and I find myself skimming through the rest but not in this case. Each narrative perspective had so much to offer, from Arthur in 1840 in Victorian England to Zaleekhah in 2018 modern Britain to Narin on 2014, a Yazidi, in Turkey.

Shafak uses water to explore the connections between culture and time, creating a mythical almost otherworldly atmosphere. The language used adds to this almost fairytale feel, although perhaps fairytale is not quite the right word, perhaps, oral tradition of storytelling, is more appropropriate. Where The Epic of Gilgamesh plays such a fundamental role in the plot, the word 'epic may be even more fitting - There are Rivers in the Sky is an 'epic' novel.

Finally, I want to comment on the extensive research that has gone into this novel: Shafak's passion and attention to detail is unquestionable and adds dramatically to the overwhelming success of this unforgettable story.

This is a glorious novel in which to submerge yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Three stories in three different times intertwine. Arthur, a genius from the London slums in the 1800s. Narin a young girl in the middle east in 2014. And zaleekhah in London in 2018.
They are all linked by water and history. I wasn't sure where it was going as a story and the more I read the more I wondered about how much was true. It seemed so real.
I was pleased the author added a note about their research. And it was a massive amount of research. I think that's what made it such a good read. The fiction seemed lightly done and so it's interesting, moving and devastating.

An outstandingly written novel that manages to be poetic, but accessible, rousing and humbling, and essentially a wonderful read.

I was blown away by Elif Shafak's Island of Missing Trees, so I was super excited to read 'There are Rivers in the Sky'.  However, I wanted to manage my expectations as I loved that one so much.  I just didn't need to. Elif Shafak writes stories that dig into humanity and how we are connected.  The use of water to connect people, cultures, and time is astounding storytelling.  Shafak 'weave[s] poems, songs and stories out of every breath' to give us readers the ability to see other lives with such clarity and empathy.

The settings are completely encompassing,  the food inviting, the history compelling, and the people authentic and complex.

I am so pleased I haven't read all of Elif Shafak's work because what wonderful work I have yet to discover. May storytellers continue to help us to see through other's eyes.

Happy publication day to Elif Shafak's 'There are Rivers in the Sky'.

"Even after centuries have passed, a trace of this moment will remain embedded in its
elemental form.
As ripples of heat rise into the air, the
raindrop will slowly evaporate. But it won't
disappear. Sooner or later, that tiny,
translucent bead of water will ascend back to the blue skies. Once there, it will bide its time, waiting to return to this troubled earth again ... and again.
Water remembers.
It is humans who forget."

'There are Rivers in the Sky' is a captivating novel following multiple timelines and perspectives, all connected to ancient Mesopotamia in some way.

Our three main characters, Arthur, Narin and Zaleekhah, are all connected by the same drop of water, and throughout the novel we follow their heartbreaking stories along the Rivers Tigris and Thames.

Arthur is a young Victorian man, from 1840s London, raised by an alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother. He has an incredible talent for decyphering patterns and Assyrian tablets.

Narin is a young Yazidi girl, from 2014 Turkey, who suffers from a disorder that will soon leave her deaf. ISIS is rapidly gaining control in their region and they're faced with the destruction of the Yazidi heritage and culture.

Zaleekhah is a water scientist, from 2018 London, dealing with depression and a failed marriage.

The prose in 'There are Rivers in the Sky' is captivating, and the narrative is haunting. The novel explores themes of love, trauma, climate change, genocide, immigration, and modern day slavery with the theme of water running through it.

I can't even begin to imagine the amount of research that went into writing an ambitious novel like this one.
It was masterfully done!

Looking forward to her next novel.

Huge thanks to @netgalley and @vikingbooksuk for the free advanced copy of 'There are Rivers in the Sky' in exchange for my honest review.

H I J K L M N O

What links a young man with perfect recall, born on a London riverbank into 19th century poverty and squalor, a nine-year-old girl in 2014 afflicted by the onset of gradual deafness, being forced to leave her home beside the River Tigris and unwittingly caught up in the horrors of a brutal annexation by ISIS, and four years later, a female scientist whose marriage is falling apart and who seeks refuge and finds solace in a houseboat on the River Thames?

The answer in Elif Shafak’s There are Rivers in the Sky is water. A single raindrop in 7th century Mesopotamia initiates this part historical fiction, part contemporary story, and reappears in different forms as we follow the non-linear timeline tale of these three initially disparate but ultimately connected protagonists. Shafak reminds us throughout her sprawling saga that water is both a provider of life and a precursor of death. Rainfall, rivers and irrigation channels nurture. Floods, dam building, the pollution of water and water-borne disease overwhelm and destroy.

There are other recurring themes in the book: the role of literature and storytelling in society, the importance of the preservation of a people’s history through its cultural artefacts and who should be their curators and stewards, the human race’s capacity to contaminate and blight the environment and the susceptibility it lays itself open to as a consequence, and the prejudice against and persecution and displacement of ethnic minorities, a theme sadly once again frighteningly topical.

Elif Shafak has written a highly entertaining, engaging and richly informative story that ebbs and flows between vividly and sensorily described times and places.

With a central theme of water, this story follows three main characters - Arthur, who we follow from his birth on the River Thames in 1840, Narin who we meet as a young girl in Turkey in 2014 and Zaleekha in 2018 who is living in a houseboat on the Thames.

This was a beautiful story that, even with some difficult topics, was so easy to read. It was obviously very well researched but, despite all the information in there, in never become overwhelming. The characters were individually very well-rounded and the three stories were woven together perfectly.

Also, that cover... 🔥

I tried so hard to make There Are Rivers in the Sky last longer, but I couldn’t actually put it down. I kept finding myself utterly lost in the worlds of King Arthur of the Sewers and Slums in the late 1700’s, Narin’s experiences as a Yazidi child in 2014, and Zaleekah’s life post-marriage-breakdown.

Water is a central theme: the two rivers, the Thames and the Tigris, run throughout, as does the memory of water. A single drop that first exists as a raindrop on the head of King Ashurbanipal, then a snowflake on the tongue of a newborn on the mudflats of the Thames, and in to the future of a thirsty Yazidi child and a woman living on the Thames.

These stories were interwoven, and I was completely immersed in their lives.

There’s much to think about in this: the morality of archaeology during the British Empire, where artefacts were ‘kept safe’ (stolen) from their original countries; the treatment of ethnic minorities, in this case the Yazidi people. This was the part that affected me the most. Their treatment in the name of someone else’s God has been, and continues to be, horrific. Mental health is also a central theme: the fact that we may all need help and understanding at some point.

And bringing all of this together is Elif Shafak’s beautiful writing. It’s poetic when looking at the beauty of the world, knowledge, and the care that people can have for one another. At times it was graphic when describing the horror of what humans can do to each other.

This book is perfection, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Elif Shafak is a word wizard. She has the magical ability to pull a reader across different times, places and circumstance and make you really care about characters and their outcomes. I loved Arthur's story, and all the characters, but there was something so alive about being born next to the Thames in the 1850s. How all the characters stories weave together is so clever, all submerged in the fascinating theories about water. There is a definite touch of magic with this book.

I have read a few of Elif’s previous books and have loved them all. Based loosely on historical events, There are Rivers in the Sky is told in three different timelines and involves three main characters, all linked in some way to water/rivers/Nineveh.
Of all of the eras and characters, I feel my favourite was those surrounding “King” Arthur.

I have learned a great deal about the hidden and forgotten rivers and water from this book. It really is food for thought.

I loved this book. It’s one of my top reads of 2024. A truly emotional read - the easiest 5⭐️ rating

An absolutely stunning cover for an absolutely stunning book by Elif Shafak. This novel follows three seemingly disparate characters. Arthur is born into poverty on the banks of the River Thames in 1840. He has a phenomenal memory, becomes fascinated by an Abyssinian tablet he sees at the British Museum, and goes on to become a self-taught scholar, travelling to Constantinople in search of the tablet's missing fragment. In Turkey in 2014, Narin, a young Yazidi girl, and her grandmother are making a risky pilgrimage along the River Tigris so she can be baptised in a sacred Iraqi temple. And in 2018 Zaleekha, a newly separated hydrologist, is living in a houseboat on the Thames but contemplating suicide. Shafak seamlessly links their stories via a single drop of water, Assyrian poetry, and sometimes a little bit more. There's lots of factual information in here - water, Assyrian history, the genocide of the Yazidi, cultutral approporation and colonsiation in the context of museums, loss of homelands to development, human trafficking of live organ donors - which may turn off some readers but for me it enhanced the story rather than taking me out of it.This book was clearly impeccably and deeply researched but never felt info-dumpy. I love it when a book leaves me with lots to think about, and this book delivered in spades while never letting the issues take priority over the story. Characters and settings were all richly realised and while I had a soft spot for Arthur and his very Dickensian start to life I never felt regret when shifting to another character and timeline; rather it was a welcome reacquainting with old friends. There was plenty going on plotwise, and in some hands it could have felt too much, but Shafak balanced it all beautifully, deftly weaving all the different strands together. As in her previous novel The Island of Missing Trees Shafak draws strong links between humans and the natural world, and highlights the idea of nature remembering the human past, although here with the drop of water it felt a little more real than it did for me with the fig tree. She also demonstrates how we humans are connected to each other and the commonalities we share. A beautifully written novel, replete with many rich layers; one I loved and can wholeheartedly recommend.

In this captivating novel, three seemingly disparate lives intertwine against the backdrop of ancient Nineveh. Arthur Smith, inspired by Assyriologist George Smith, is a man of exceptional memory who becomes fascinated with Nineveh after encountering lamassu sculptures at the British Museum. Zaleekah, recently divorced and living on a houseboat, rekindles her interest in cuneiform after meeting a tattooist. Narin, a young Yazidi girl, embarks on a spiritual journey to be baptized in the Valley of Lalish.

The author masterfully blends the rich history of Nineveh, a city destroyed by fire after civil war, with the personal stories of these characters. The novel tackles heavy themes such as the rise of ISIS and the destruction of cultural heritage, yet remains beautifully told and emotionally resonant. A must-read that leaves you inspired to delve deeper into history.