10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

🕰️ 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak – Paperback Edition

A hauntingly beautiful meditation on memory, identity, and the meaning of life.

In the mesmerizing novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, Elif Shafak invites readers into the final moments of Tequila Leila, a woman whose heart has stopped — but whose mind remains vividly alive. In the mysterious ten minutes and thirty-eight seconds after her death, Leila’s consciousness drifts through a cascade of sensory memories, bringing to life a vibrant mosaic of Istanbul and a life lived on the margins.

Through the taste of spiced goat stew, the smell of cardamom coffee, and the touch of friendship, Leila remembers her five closest friends — outcasts like herself — who are determined to rescue her from being forgotten. Shafak’s rich, poetic language blends the sacred with the profane, the tragic with the tender, offering a powerful story of female friendship, resilience, and social injustice.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, this novel is both a love letter to Istanbul and a searing portrait of a society that often silences its most vulnerable voices.

📘 Why You'll Love This Book:

• Explores death, memory, and identity in a fresh, humanizing way

• A deeply emotional tribute to friendship and resistance

• Set against the complex, richly textured backdrop of Istanbul

• Written by one of the world’s most acclaimed contemporary authors

📖 Product Details:

• Format: Paperback

• Language: English

• Pages: Approx. 320

• Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Feminist Fiction

• Ideal for: Fans of thought-provoking literature, stories about women's lives, and readers who love Istanbul-set narratives

🔖 “A dazzling feat of storytelling. Elif Shafak turns the moment of death into an unforgettable celebration of life.” — The Guardian