#54 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World, by Elif Shafak




Booker Prize:  Shortlisted 2019

Plot Time and Place:  Istanbul, present day.

Opening sentence:  "Her name was Leila."

Plot summary:  Leila has been murdered and lies in a dumpster, but the brain still works for 10 minutes after death, so she remembers scenes from her life and her friends.

Review:  Great. This book is a sensitive and beautiful portrayal of life for women and girls in a conservative society; a love letter to the city of Istanbul; and an ode to friendship.

Rating:  4/5




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#47 The White Hotel, by D. M. Thomas

Image
  Booker Prize:   Shortlisted 1981 Plot Time and Place :   Vienna, Kiev, Palestine; 1920's and 1940's Opening sentence :  "Dearest Gisela, I give you a warm bear-hug from the new world!" Plot summary :  This story follows the life of Lisa Erdman, an Austrian opera singer treated by Sigmund Freud for psychosomatic pain. Lisa, who possesses prophetic abilities, shares her erotic hallucinations with Freud, which hint at her future, rather than her past trauma.  Blending fictional narratives with Freud's real case study techniques, the novel delves into Lisa's complex life, and eventual fate. (from supersummary.com) Review : I had never he ard of this book before, and I went into it without knowing anything about it. So at first, I thought it was just a badly wriiten piece of erotic fiction, mixed with a fictionalization of Freud's life. (The erotic parts are not particularly well written). Then I read some reviews on Goodreads and I still couldn't un...
Read more

#38 James, by Percival Everett

Image
  Booker Prize :   Shortlisted 2024 Plot Time and Place : 19th century Missouri, USA Opening sentence :  "Those little bastards were hiding out there in the tall grass." Plot summary :  This book is a reimagining of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", by Mark Twain (published in 1884), but this time the story is told from the point of view of the enslaved Jim (the titular character). Review :  This book should be read after reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain. I found it very easy to read, and very interesting to see things from Jim's perspective. However, I found some elements of the story, like the way that Jim talks, and the fact that he can read and write, totally unrealistic.  Rating :   4/5
Read more

#6 Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood

Image
  Booker Prize:  Shortlisted 2003 Plot Time and Place :  In the future / North America Opening sentence:    "Snowman wakes before dawn". Plot summary :  Oryx is a mysterious woman, recognized by Jimmy and Crake as the girl from a child pornography site. Crake hires her for sexual services and as a teacher to the Crakers, but she secretly becomes Jimmy's lover as well. After the Catastrophe, her memory continues to haunt Snowman. Review:  The whole trilogy ( Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, Maddaddam)  is brilliant. This book makes us think about the future, the state of this planet, what it means to be human, personal responsibility, the dangers of tinkering with genetic engineering.  It's unforgettable and pretty disturbing, like most stuff from (The Literary Goddess) Atwood.  Rating:  5/5
Read more