There are Rivers in the Sky cover art

There are Rivers in the Sky

The beautiful Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Island of Missing Trees & BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick

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There are Rivers in the Sky

By: Elif Shafak
Narrated by: Olivia Vinall, Elif Shafak
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Summary

This audiobook is read by Olivia Vinall, and Elif Shafak reads the Note to Reader at the end of the story.

The new novel from the Booker-shortlisted, internationally bestselling author of The Island of Missing Trees and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

There Are Rivers in the Sky is a rich, sweeping novel set between the 19th century and modern times, about love and loss, memory and erasure, hurt and healing, centred around three enchanting characters living on the banks of the River Thames and the River Tigris – their lives all curiously touched by the epic of Gilgamesh.

FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION
WINNER OF THE GORDON BOWKER PRIZE 2025
WINNER OF THE INAUGURAL GOOD HOUSEKEEPING GOOD BOOKS SPRING COLLECTION

‘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

© Elif Shafak 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

 Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Tear-jerking England War Middle East
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Critic reviews

It will make you think, cry, rage – and hope. It is Elif Shafak at her best
Gloriously expansive and intellectually rich... a magnificent achievement
Richly evocative. A fascinating stream of storytelling.
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.
An absorbing novel. Shafak is a novelist whose interest in mapping the intricately related world and its history goes beyond literary device.
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)
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)
All stars
Most relevant

An extraordinary story, beautifully written by Elif Shafak and superbly narrated by Olivia Vinall. As a student of Assyrian history and in particular the epic of Gilgamesh that George Smith (Arthur Smith in the book) translated from Akkadian to English, I found all the author’s descriptions of events and the different peoples of Mesopotamia past and present, riveting. Elif Shafak writes with a passion and intensity that is highly contagious. You find yourself immersed in her narrative so deeply that you feel you know the people she is describing, they could be your neighbours, your friends. You share their emotions, their happiness, their sorrows. She introduces very serious issues, such as organ trafficking and genocide not as subjects you learn though the news but as events experienced first-hand by the protagonists. I am so excited to have been introduced to this author that I cannot wait to read or listen to her other works.

BRILLIANT. just BRILLIANT!!!!

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I have never reviewed an audiobook before but felt that I must on this occasion. I was enamored by the concept of a 'single drop of water' and how this was consistently followed through the whole of the book. I lost the thread of things from time to time but that was due to my inattention. The mystery of a part of the world which I've never truly studied held me in thrall. I last visited the British Museum shortly before I travelled to Egypt and may do again to see if a 'single drop' of inspiration might fall on me!

Extraordinary!

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An excellent and ambitious book clearly very well researched history. The characters bring the history to life and the tragedy of the Yazidis is difficult to read but we need to hear it to see the dangers of extremism.

Fascinating historia

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It's amazing how multiple stories can intertwine smoothly and beautifully laying out historical, environmental and psychological aspects, connecting ancient and modern Mesopotamia as well as 19th and 20th century London.

Amazing book

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Absolutely devoured this interesting informative novel…..stunning in its storytelling….thought provoking tale of 3 intertwined characters & water…..

Compelling beautiful writing..

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