10 minutes and 38 seconds in this strange world

Expect vivid, vibrant, and stunning descriptions of life in the Middle East driven by a tender story, all in Shafak's moving, beautiful, and thoughtful prose. - Vanity Fair

"Sensual, poetic, and incredibly sexy" Pandora Sykes

"Hugely inspiring... truly beautiful writing" Nicola Sturgeon

“In the first minute after her death, Tequila Leila’s consciousness began to ebb, slowly but steadily, like a tide receding from the shore…”

For Leyla, every minute after her death summons a sensory memory: the spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the birth of her long-awaited son; the tubs of lemon and sugar boiled to wax women's feet while men prayed; the cardamom coffee she shared with a handsome student in the brothel where she worked. Each fading memory brings to mind the friends she made in her bittersweet life—friends who are now desperately trying to find her... 'Simply brilliant, a truly captivating work, of immense power and beauty, about the essence and end of life.' - Philippe Sands 'Elif Shafak brings into the world of writing what many wish to leave outside. Spend a little over ten minutes and thirty-eight seconds in this world of alienation.' Shafak makes a new home for us in words - Colum McCann "Elif Shafak's extraordinary 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World is a work of brutal beauty and masterful tenderness." - Simon Schama "A rich, sensual novel... This is a novel that gives voice to the invisible, the outcast, the abused, the damaged, and weaves their haunting songs into a thing of beauty." - Financial Times "One of the best writers in the world today." - Hanif Kureishi "Moving, moving, beautifully written. A masterpiece." - Peter Frankopan "Extraordinary." - The Guardian "A life-affirming style." *Elif Shafak's latest novel, *Island of Lost Trees*, is available now.*