10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World
Click to look inside
World of Books
The feel-good place to buy books
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 'Expect vibrant, vivid and eye-opening descriptions of Middle Eastern life propelled by a tender storyline, all in Shafak's haunting, beautiful and considered prose' Vanity Fair 'Incredibly sensuous and poetic and evocative' Pandora Sykes '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 women use to wax their legs while men attend mosque; the scent of cardamom coffee that she shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each memory, too, recalls the friends Leila made at each key moment in her life – friends who are now desperately trying to find her. . . 'Simply magnificent, a truly captivating work of immense power and beauty, on the essence of life and its end' Philippe Sands 'Elif Shafak brings into the written realm what so many others want to leave outside. Spend more than ten minutes and 38 seconds in this world of the estranged. Shafak makes a new home for us in words' Colum McCann 'A rich, sensual novel... This is a novel that gives voice to the invisible, the untouchable, the abused and the damaged, weaving their painful songs into a thing of beauty.' Financial Times 'One of the best writers in the world today' Hanif Kureishi *** PRE-ORDER ELIF SHAFAK'S NEW NOVEL IN ONE BRIEF MOMENT ALL ETERNITY NOW ***
A truly captivating work of immense power and beauty -- Philippe Sands
Haunting, moving, beautifully written -- Peter Frankopan
A rich, sensual novel.. This is a novel that gives voice to the invisible, the untouchable, the abused and the damaged, weaving their painful songs into a thing of beauty. -- Francesca Segal * Financial Times *
One of the best writers in the world today -- Hanif Kureishi
Shafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years * Irish Times *
A terrific book. Poetic, poignant, trenchant -- Ian Rankin on 'Three Daughters of Eve'
A thoughtful, charming book that offers a connection to other worlds, perspectives and possibilities * Sunday Times on 'Three Daughters of Eve' *
A brave and passionate novel -- Paul Theroux on 'Bastard of Istanbul'
A vivid carnival of life and death, cruelty and kindness, love, politics and deep humanity. This is only possible in the hands of a consummate storyteller. Elif Shafak's lyrical command of language and narrative is breathtaking. Brilliant! -- Helena Kennedy
Elif Shafak brings into the written realm what so many others want to leave outside. Spend more than ten minutes and 38 seconds in this world of the estranged. Shafak makes a new home for us in words -- Colum McCann
Elif Shafak's extraordinary Ten Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World is a work of brutal beauty and consummate tenderness, a wild shout of life from out of the lower depths of destitution and prostitution, indeed from beyond the grave itself. Every page throbs with unruly vitality, the sense- saturating colours scents and sounds of raw Istanbul, all registered with poetic sharpness. It's a book which for all its ordeals is a profoundly moving, at times lyrical, celebration of humanity's obstinate fight for life against the steepest of odds -- Simon Schama
A heartbreaking meditation on the ways in which social forces can destroy a life. Elif Shafak can be unsparing, lyrical, political, intimate... Several novels live in this one, and all of them are moving, generous and elegantly written -- Juan Gabriel Vasquez
Haunting, moving, beautifully written -- Peter Frankopan
A rich, sensual novel.. This is a novel that gives voice to the invisible, the untouchable, the abused and the damaged, weaving their painful songs into a thing of beauty. -- Francesca Segal * Financial Times *
One of the best writers in the world today -- Hanif Kureishi
Shafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years * Irish Times *
A terrific book. Poetic, poignant, trenchant -- Ian Rankin on 'Three Daughters of Eve'
A thoughtful, charming book that offers a connection to other worlds, perspectives and possibilities * Sunday Times on 'Three Daughters of Eve' *
A brave and passionate novel -- Paul Theroux on 'Bastard of Istanbul'
A vivid carnival of life and death, cruelty and kindness, love, politics and deep humanity. This is only possible in the hands of a consummate storyteller. Elif Shafak's lyrical command of language and narrative is breathtaking. Brilliant! -- Helena Kennedy
Elif Shafak brings into the written realm what so many others want to leave outside. Spend more than ten minutes and 38 seconds in this world of the estranged. Shafak makes a new home for us in words -- Colum McCann
Elif Shafak's extraordinary Ten Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World is a work of brutal beauty and consummate tenderness, a wild shout of life from out of the lower depths of destitution and prostitution, indeed from beyond the grave itself. Every page throbs with unruly vitality, the sense- saturating colours scents and sounds of raw Istanbul, all registered with poetic sharpness. It's a book which for all its ordeals is a profoundly moving, at times lyrical, celebration of humanity's obstinate fight for life against the steepest of odds -- Simon Schama
A heartbreaking meditation on the ways in which social forces can destroy a life. Elif Shafak can be unsparing, lyrical, political, intimate... Several novels live in this one, and all of them are moving, generous and elegantly written -- Juan Gabriel Vasquez
Elif Shafak is an award-winning British Turkish novelist, whose work has been translated into fifty-seven languages. The author of twenty books, fourteen of which are novels, she is a bestselling author in many countries around the world. Shafak's previous novel, THERE ARE RIVERS IN THE SKY, was the UK’s bestselling literary hardback novel of 2025, selling over 500,000 copies. Her work has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the RSL Ondaatje Prize and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, amongst others, and she is currently nominated for ‘Author of the Year’ at the British Book Awards. Elif Shafak was appointed President of the Royal Society of Literature in 2025. Her books have sold several million copies worldwide.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780241979464 |
| ISBN 10 | 0241979463 |
| Title | 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World |
| Author | Elif Shafak |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2020-08-06 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |