(Ebook) 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World by Elif Shafak ISBN 9780241293874, 0241293871, B07P199T7R

(Ebook) 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World by Elif Shafak ISBN 9780241293874, 0241293871, B07P199T7R

'Haunting, moving, beautifully written - and based by an extraordinary cast of characters who capture the diversity of modern Turkey. A masterpiece' - Peter Frankopan

Longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize

'In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore. Her brain cells, having run out of blood, were now completely deprived of oxygen. But they did not shut down. Not right away...'

Our brains stay active for ten minutes after our heart stops beating. For Leila, each minute brings with it a new memory: growing up with her father and his wives in a grand old house in a quiet Turkish town; watching the women gossip and wax their legs while the men went to mosque; sneaking cigarettes and Western magazines on her way home from school; running away to Istanbul to escape an unwelcome marriage; falling in love with a student who seeks shelter from a riot in the brothel where she works. Most importantly, each memory reminds Leila of the five friends she met along the way - friends who are now desperately trying to find her. . .

In the pulsating moments after she has been murdered and left in a dumpster outside Istanbul, Tequila Leila enters a state of heightened awareness. While the Turkish sun rises above her and her friends asleep soundly nearby, she contemplates her mortal existence before eternal rest. Tequila Leila's memories bring us back to her childhood in the provinces, a highly oppressive milieu where a loving mother is no match for a strict, unforgiving 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 they who bring her story to a buoyant and breathtaking conclusion.

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

An intensely powerful new novel from the best-selling author of The Bastard of Istanbul and Honour
'In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore. Her brain cells, having run out of blood, were now completely deprived of oxygen. But they did not shut down. Not right away...'
For Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory: the taste of spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the long-awaited birth of a son; the sight of bubbling vats of lemon and sugar which the women use to wax their legs while the men attend mosque; the scent of cardamom coffee that Leila shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each memory, too, recalls the friends she made at each key moment in her life - friends who are now desperately trying to find her. 

Booker Prize Nominee (2019), 

Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nominee for Fiction (2020), 

The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize Nominee for Shortlist (2020)