10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World
by
Shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize Named a Best Book of the Year by Bookpage, NPR, Washington Post, and The Economist A moving novel on the power of friendship in our darkest times, from internationally renowned writer and speaker Elif Shafak. In the pulsating moments after she has been murdered and left in a dumpster outside Istanbul, Tequila Leila enters a state of heightened awareness. Her heart has stopped beating but her brain is still active-for 10 minutes 38 seconds. While the Turkish sun rises and her friends sleep soundly nearby, she remembers her life-and the lives of others, outcasts like her. Tequila Leila's memories bring us back to her childhood in the provinces, a highly oppressive milieu with religion and traditions, shaped by a polygamous family with two mothers and an increasingly authoritarian father. Escaping to Istanbul, Leila makes her way into the sordid industry of sex trafficking, finding a home in the city's historic Street of Brothels. This is a dark, violent world, but Leila is tough and open to beauty, light, and the essential bonds of friendship. In Tequila Leila's death, the secrets and wonders of modern Istanbul come to life, painted vividly by the captivating tales of how Leila came to know and be loved by her friends. As her epic journey to the afterlife comes to an end, it is her chosen family who brings her story to a buoyant and breathtaking conclusion.
The Online Reverse Book Club offers a novel approach where reading the book in advance is optional but not required! Instead, participants will engage in thoughtful discussions based on selected quotes from the book. This Fall the Anti-Oppression Book Club (AOBC) will discuss the book 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world by Elif Shafak.
Note: The book is set in Istanbul and explores the difficult lives of marginalized individuals. While the content is often dark and tragic, many readers also describe the book as a story of hope, friendship, and resilience. Content warning: This novel contains mature and potentially distressing themes. Reader discretion is advised, especially for those sensitive to graphic violence, sexual assault, and exploitation.
"Shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize *Named a Best Book of the Year by Bookpage, NPR, Washington Post, and The Economist. A moving novel on the power of friendship in our darkest times, from internationally renowned writer Elif Shafak" From the publisher's website.
Contact Mary Chipanshi at mary.chipanshi@uregina.ca for more information about the Anti-Oppression Book Club.
During three meetings we have a conversation based on paragraphs and quotes from specific chapters:
Thursday, October 30th, 2-3pm: Sign Up for Session #1
Chapters: The End - Six Minutes
Thursday, November 13, 2-3pm: Sign Up for Session #2
Chapters: Seven Minutes - The Manic Old City
Thursday, November 27, 2-3pm Sign Up for Session #3
Chapters: Grief - Epilogue
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World
by
Shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize Named a Best Book of the Year by Bookpage, NPR, Washington Post, and The Economist A moving novel on the power of friendship in our darkest times, from internationally renowned writer and speaker Elif Shafak. In the pulsating moments after she has been murdered and left in a dumpster outside Istanbul, Tequila Leila enters a state of heightened awareness. Her heart has stopped beating but her brain is still active-for 10 minutes 38 seconds. While the Turkish sun rises and her friends sleep soundly nearby, she remembers her life-and the lives of others, outcasts like her. Tequila Leila's memories bring us back to her childhood in the provinces, a highly oppressive milieu with religion and traditions, shaped by a polygamous family with two mothers and an increasingly authoritarian father. Escaping to Istanbul, Leila makes her way into the sordid industry of sex trafficking, finding a home in the city's historic Street of Brothels. This is a dark, violent world, but Leila is tough and open to beauty, light, and the essential bonds of friendship. In Tequila Leila's death, the secrets and wonders of modern Istanbul come to life, painted vividly by the captivating tales of how Leila came to know and be loved by her friends. As her epic journey to the afterlife comes to an end, it is her chosen family who brings her story to a buoyant and breathtaking conclusion.
"The book is structured in three distinct parts: mind, body and soul – with the first focusing on Leila’s memories, the second revolving around her friends’ efforts to give her a proper burial, and the final section briefly describing Leila’s journey into peace." (Facoony, 2024)
Session 1: Chapters: The End - Six Minutes
"It seemed to Leila that human beings exhibited a profound impatience with the milestones of their existence." eBook p.32 (The End)
"As the cramps intensified, one by one, all the caged animals in the house were released to facilitate the labour. The canaries, the finches... The last to be freed was the betta fish in the glass bowl, proud and lonely." eBook p.77 (One Minute)
"In her experience, getting through life as unscathed as possible depended to a large extent on two fundamental principles: knowing the right time to arrive and knowing the right time to leave." eBook p.113 (One Minute)
"The end of childhood comes not when a child's body changes with puberty, but when her mind is finally able to see her life through the eyes of an outsider". eBook p.209 (Two Minutes)
Session 2: Chapters: Seven Minutes - The Manic Old City
"No one can survive alone – except the Almighty God. And remember, in the desert of life, the fool travels alone and the wise by caravan". eBook p.585 (Zaynab's Story)
"In a land where justice often came late, if it came at all, many citizens sought their own revenge, reciprocating hurt with bigger hurt. Two eyes for an eye, a jaw for a tooth." eBook p.810 (The Morgue)
"Grief is a swallow... Sooner or later, it will return and perch in your heart again". eBook p.854 (The Five)
"In the absence of one, a good water family could wash away the hurt and pain collected inside like black soot". eBook p.859 (The Five)
Session 3: Chapters: Grief - Epilogue
"My mother - I used to call her Auntie - she often felt the same way, maybe worse. People always told her to fight depression. But I have a feeling that as soon as we see something as our enemy we make it stronger. Like a boomerang. You hurl it away, it comes back and hits you with equal force. Maybe what you need is to befriend your depression." eBook p.915-916 (The Apartment)
"There was something strangely comforting in the way different cultures had arrived at similar customs and melodies, and in how, all around the world, people were being rocked in the arms of loved ones in their moments of distress." eBook p.1253 (The Bridge)
"Water parted around her and the world came alive. It was unlike anything she had experienced before. Soundless. Boundless. Leila looked around, taking it all in, despite its immensity. Ahead of her she caught sight of a tiny shadow." eBook p.1275-1276 (The Blue Betta Fish)
"Pessimists are better at surviving than optimists, which meant that, logically speaking, humanity carries the genes of people who did not believe in humanity". eBook p.1288 (Epilogue)