Q: Why is it important to create such a vivid sense of place in your writing and what do you hope readers take away from their page-turning journey across centuries and continents? Q: Your latest novel, There Are Rivers in the Sky follows three characters living in different countries and times, with their stories connected through the element of water. In your work, nature is not only anthropomorphised but also serves as a central link between narratives. What unique insights can fig trees and rivers convey that people cannot? Q: How do you navigate the challenges of translating cultural nuances and maintaining authenticity in your work when writing across languages and cultures? Q: How do books contribute to and change your experience of a destination? Q: As someone who is bilingual and has had their work translated into 50 languages, could you suggest three favourite books by women in translation, and explain why you think these works are significant? The Tale of Genji Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter Sin: Selected Poems Why do book collections matter? Book a consultation with a ~personal curator Contact Quick Links Follow us @ultimatelibrary Join our community
Elif Shafak on her New Book, There Are Rivers in the Sky
1 Aug 2024
Elif Shafak, the renowned British-Turkish writer, academic, and activist, has captured the hearts of readers worldwide with her emotionally resonant and politically charged novels. Her works amplify the voices of the marginalised, unpicking themes of generational trauma, freedom of speech, feminism, and identity. Following the success of her
Sunday Times
bestseller
The Island of Missing Trees
and the Booker-nominated
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World
Shafak presents her latest novel,
There Are Rivers in the Sky
. In this epic narrative, a single drop of water bridges continents and centuries, connecting the lives of her three central characters. In our conversation, Shafak reveals the central role of place and nature in her work, the importance of reading while travelling and shares her three favourite books by women in translation.
For me, place is not simply a backdrop or passive scenery in the distance. Just the opposite. The places where we are born and become ourselves, the places where we learn to love, whether they are major cities or the countryside, shape us profoundly. We carry our motherlands within us, even when we are away from them, perhaps especially then. I have always been fascinated by how a landscape can have such deep effect on its inhabitants. Where is home? Can we one have more than one home? Do we have a single identity or multiple belongings? I care about all these questions about belonging, displacement, exile. I know many people feel the weight of these questions from time to time and I’d like my fiction to open up a free space where we can connect beyond borders.
As human beings, our relationship with nature today is mostly based on consumption. We have created a system in which we have turned ourselves into consumers of water, consumers of air, consumers of earth without realising that we are neither above nor outside nature. In truth, we are only a small part of a delicate and complex ecosystem. I sincerely believe we need to rethink our entire connection —or lack thereof—with the environment.
My latest novel is based on a single drop of water. I come from the Middle East, a part of the world where water scarcity is an urgent reality. Out of the most water stressed 10 nations today, 7 are in the Middle East and North Africa. Our rivers are drying. This has massive consequences—political, social and, economic. It also affects women more deeply. Women are water-carriers. When there is no water, women must walk longer distances and, often along the way, experience more gender violence. Everything is connected.
It is not easy. I am a commuter. I am a nomad. I am an immigrant. I am an exile. My work brings together different cities, continents and cultures. I also try to bridge the gap between written culture and oral culture. I deeply care about the oral storytelling traditions of Anatolia, the Balkans, the Middle East and, the Levant. I combine these with the Western canon of the novel. There are different rivers that flow through my novels. I am writing fiction in a language other than my mother tongue. English is my third language. So it is not easy at all, but I have one guide and one guide only: Love. I love the ancient and universal art of storytelling. I believe in the art of storytelling.
We live in a world that constantly puts us in boxes, creates dualities of “us” versus “them”. But inside literature, inside the vast realm of Storyland, there is no us versus them. There is no “I” versus “the Other”. When we read about other people, we connect with them. We realise how similar we are—our dreams, our hopes, our fears. We realise “the Other” is my brother, my sister. I am the Other. Literature has a fascinating ability to rehumanise those who have been dehumanised. To bring the periphery to the centre. Reading about a destination not only connects you with a landscape but brings you closer to its people. As a novelist I am not only interested in stories, but also silences. In my fiction I have always wanted to give more voice to those who have been silenced.
The Tale of Genji
by Lady Murasaki. This is an 11th century novel of utmost beauty and depth about the personalities and relationships in the Imperial Court during the golden age in Japan. This book has changed the history of world literature but it still does not receive the attention it deserves. I would also choose
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter
by Simone de Beauvoir. It is a powerful and thoughtou provoking memoir by one of the most important public intellectuals and writers of the modern era. I would definitely add to this list the brilliant and fearless Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad. I love her poerty. She wrote bravely about freedom, love, sexuality, and the plight of women in a patriarchal environment. When you read these remarkable female novelists and poets from different backgrounds, you can feel how words have liberated them, and today, through their words, we also feel inspired and empowered.
BY Lady Murasaki
Often hailed as the world's first novel, this intricate narrative questions ethical dilemmas and aesthetic ideals. Murasaki's work not only captivated contemporary audiences but also secured a central place in Japan's rich artistic heritage. Today, it stands as a celebrated masterpiece in global literature, revered for its timeless beauty and profound insight.
by Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir's memoir captures her evolution from dutiful daughter to determined young woman. From her birth in 1908 to her transformative years at the Sorbonne, where she met the kindred spirit and intellectual partner Jean-Paul Sartre, de Beauvoir’s story is a fascinating exploration of ambition, identity, and independence.
BY Forugh Farrokhzad
This collection faithfully preserves the essence, intent, and lyrical beauty of one of Iran's most pivotal female poets. Her writing, imbued with sensuality, challenged the confines of expression for women in 1950s and 1960s Iran. Farrokhzad's dedication to her art came at a great personal cost—facing societal and familial disapproval, the loss of her only child, and periods in mental institutions.
Thank you to Elif Shafak for discussing her work with us. Signed copies of
There Are Rivers in the Sky
will be available at South Kensington Books, London from 9th August. For more on Shafak's novels, visit her
website
.
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