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

Brought to you by Penguin.

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

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

In the ruins of Nineveh, that ancient city of Mesopotamia, there lies hidden in the sand fragments of a long-forgotten poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.

In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born at the edge of the dirt-black Thames. Arthur’s only chance of escaping poverty is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a printing press, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, with one book soon sending him across the seas: Nineveh and Its Remains.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a Yazidi girl living by the River Tigris, waits to be baptised with water brought from the holy sit of Lalish in Iraq. The ceremony is cruelly interrupted, and soon Narin and her grandmother must journey across war-torn lands in the hope of reaching the sacred valley of their people.

In 2018 London, broken-hearted Zaleekhah, a hydrologist, moves to a houseboat on the Thames to escape the wreckage of her marriage. Zaleekhah foresees a life drained of all love and meaning – until an unexpected connection to her homeland changes everything.

A dazzling feat of storytelling from one of the greatest writers of our time, Elif Shafak’s There are Rivers in the Sky is a rich, sweeping novel that spans centuries, continents and cultures, entwined by rivers, rains, and waterdrops:

‘Water remembers. It is humans who forget.’

*****

‘Elif Shafak is a unique and powerful voice in world literature’ Ian McEwan

'An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives.' Colum McCann

'Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it' Arundhati Roy

'One of the best writers in the world today' Hanif Kureishi

'A brilliant, unforgettable novel' Mary Beard


© Elif Shafak 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

 Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking 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 epic tale set alongside the rivers Thames and Tigris, following the lives and struggles of three characters in the 19th century and today, all connected by water.
The novel was scrupulously researched and fascinating in its details but for me, there was just a little too much to take in and I would quite like the stories to have been set across two books to better encompass the content, which included climate change, poverty, cultural appropriation, depression and mental health, trauma, generational misogyny, historical religious aggressions and possibly more that I cannot now recall.
The characters and storyline were incredible and beautifully intertwined, I will miss Arthur, Narim and Zaleekhah, and would love for them to be revisited in some way in the future.

An epic tale, with an admirably entwined storyline

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I was captivated by the poetic mastery of this book exploring the interconnectedness of humanity through water in all of its pain, tragedy and profound love .

Incredible authorship

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Initially wondering if I would be able to keep up with the massive time leaps, I found myself thoroughly immersed in the story.

Knitted together beautifully

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I appreciated this novel more than Eli Shafak’s other work (that I’ve read x 3). There was good fiction, of universal quality, layered upon a stunning historical backdrop and linking with the present; all with a genuine and humanitarian quality.
It developed into an experience…Googling maps, Gilgamesh and the Yezidis…..and I was impressed with the research and ES’s personal afterword.

An absorbing experience

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I have been so utterly moved by this novel and am appreciative of the enormous amount of research it has taken the writer to put together with the intertwining stories of characters and circumstances through the ages.
Shafak creates such vivid settings for her wonderful characters you really do feel that you are an observer and are actually present and watching many of these scenes as they unfold.
I noted whilst reading it due to my own limited historical & factual awareness that several characters and events are indeed accurately researched and presented in such vivid detail, especially the recent ethnic cleansing events in the Middle East around the time of the Gulf wars.
I particularly loved the introduction of Charles Dickens into the story as I recently read his biography and was delighted with the Inclusion of his character, which according to my sources is entirely authentic.
I would highly recommend this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it, although it is desperately sad towards the end, it is a tale which should be shared widely and much thought upon.

A fascinating and deeply moving novel & so thoroughly researched. I highly recommend it.

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