There's a thin thread connecting now to then and that thread is made of water. In my favorite read of 2024 so far, There Are Rivers in the Sky, Elif Shafak masterfully uncovers the intersection of the past and the future through the examination of our rivers and the people they give life to.

It all starts with a single rain drop. That drop travels hundreds of years connecting three central storylines in this book, revealing the main premise that water has memory. We travel from "olden times" in ancient Ninevah to the shores of the Thames where a boy named Arthur is born in the slums. More than century later, we meet a young Yazidi girl named Narin and her grandmother on the banks of the Tigris River. Separated by hundreds of miles buy only a few years, a hydrologist named Zaleekah is coming to terms with her parents' watery deaths. Seemingly unconnected, it is that little raindrop that ultimately brings them all to the same page.

I LIVED through this book. Like the raindrop, I was transported across millenia, sometimes forgetting where in time I truly stood. Shafak has a remarkable way of creating atmospheric moments. I could hear flowing water. I could smell the nagile smoke in the bazaar. I could feel mud squelching around my feet. Her ability to highlight the natural and ever-changing world through her tales of humanity is effortless and powerful. I fell in love with a river in this book the same way I fell in love with a fig tree in Island of Missing Trees.

I absolutely loved Arthur and Narin's storylines. They were painful and exciting and overflowing with passion, love and devastation. I wanted to be Arthur. I wanted to hold Narin. Zaleekah's storyline was interesting but I found myself loving her at a distance. There was some disconnect there for me and occasionally, the connection to the other stories felt forced. She's also the only character I felt I didn't get closure on (her former flame, her science hypothesis). I think this is why, without giving any spoilers, the ending wasn't as satisfying as I wanted it to be (I still absolutely loved the ending but I wanted more!).

The breadth of this sweeping novel reminded me of Anthiny Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land. It spanned so much time, so much but remained so flawlessly rooted in the rivers. It was poignant, meaningful, moving. I will not miss a single word Shafak ever writes.

Story premise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ending: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This story is as fluid and moving as its title. None of the peoples stories within it are anymore inticing than the others as they each feel real, important, and as desperate as the need for water to a starving soul. You wonder how these timelines and tales are going to come together, but they do in such a beautiful way. I highly recommend this book. A true work of litrary fiction and a glimpse into cultures many do not get to see.

Three Rivers in the Sky is a beautifully written and ambitious novel by Elif Shafak. A single drop of water connects three separate characters and stories which are separated by almost 100 years. Each storyline itself could have been its own book and the author does connect them by the end, some more obviously linked than others. The book covers many themes including the environment, religion and man’s inhumanity to man. The author takes us through multiple time periods from Mesopotamia to Dicken’s London to modern Turkey and London.. This does make it somewhat challenging to the reader but well worth the effort to switch back and forth. As a reader, I felt an immediate connection to the characters and the loved the complexity of the stories as well as the beautiful prose. This clearly is a brilliant work and I plan on following new works by this author. Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for allowing me to be an early reader of this fascinating book!

3.5 ⭐️s. The majority of the book follows 3 points of view and timelines, along with a prologue of a 4th, all tied together by water and an ancient Mesopotamian culture and language. I enjoyed how each story and perspective tied together, and how each character’s events led into the other’s chapter. It weaved together beautifully.

I also liked that I learned a lot about Nineveh, Mesopotamia and their cultures, as well as the Yazidis and how they were consistently marginalized and persecuted. While I remember hearing about ISIS and the Kurdish people, I didn’t know enough context to understand what was going on and how horrific it was specifically, even knowing how incredibly evil ISIS is.

However, the book itself was just really slow and often repetitive in the poetry and sort of proverb-like sections. While it allowed for the 3 timelines and characters to not be confusing or jolting, it also made the book drag. I really enjoyed Arthur’s and Narin’s stories but I just didn’t care for Zaleekah’s. I get that she was struggling with depression and the whole book had a melancholy feel, but hers really was just a very depressive, sort of wallowing compared to the other 2. I think I would have rated at 4 if not for her sections.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

Beautiful writing and concept of a single drop of water connecting several people across centuries. The story features three major storylines and characters and I found myself more compelled by Arthur in 1840 London than the others. This is an impressive and accomplished work that I think will delight fans of literary and historical fiction.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for this advance readers copy, in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited to read this book; I’ve read several of Elif Shafak’s other books and have yet to be disappointed— I’m happy to say this still holds true after finishing her newest one.

There Are Rivers In The Sky follows three separate characters, separated by nearly 100 years timespan— Arthur, Narin, and Zaleekah— who we come to find out are all connected through a single drop of water. This is the essential premise of the story and this drop of water, along with water in general, is the true lifeline and star of this story. I was so interested to see where Shafak would take this, especially after seeing what she did with The Island of Missing Trees.

The way Shafak uses nature as a character in this book and in her other works is truly novel and unique. All of the individual settings within this book came alive for me and the descriptions provided really helped the story come to life; nature as an element felt alive within this book. This was a powerful, epic tale and one that you could sink your teeth into; I very much enjoyed taking my time to read this book. I quickly became invested in the characters and truly cared what happened to them. Once I was in this book, I was definitely in for the whole ride. At times, it did feel a bit long but the characters kept me reading above all else and it was easy to keep going. In my reading experience, it felt like the plot almost came second to what the author’s musings and commentary about the role of water in humanity, the role of culture, and morality.

There was a great deal of research, folklore, and current events suffused into this work; I learned a great deal but, at times, it was a bit difficult to follow the many legends introduced throughout the story, especially between timelines. However, I did appreciate the clear appreciation and homage that Shafak paid to Mesopotamian culture within this book. This is another book that I think would merit a reread in order to better appreciate the many connections within the stories.

While this book was not perfect, it was a big win for me and I wholeheartedly recommend it. I look forward to continuing to picking up Elif Shafak’s work and can’t wait to see what others think of this when it comes out!

Thank you for this eARC in exchange for an honest opinion. Elif Shafak is one of my absolute favourite authors, so I was very happy when I got approved!

To me, the story started a bit slow and it took time for me to get into it because of the extensive world-building. However, it soon became a great journey across continents and time.
In this historical fiction, the reader follows three timelines: In the 19th century, a boy with a brilliant memory named Arthur is born in the slums of London along the Thames River. In 2014, a Yazidi girl in Turkey called Narin travels up the Tigris River to Iraq with her grandmother to visit their ancestral village. In 2018, a hydrologist named Zaleekhah battles depression and moves to a houseboat on the Thames.
I loved that the characters were all connected to Mesopotamia and the Epic of Gilgamesh in some way and that water was used as a unifying element. I found all three characters' stories equally captivating, but the actual main character was water. The raindrop's pov was very interesting and added to the already beautiful writing.
The story was deeply touching and emotional. Reading about the Yazidi genocides, ethnic cleansing, destruction of nature and stealing of Middle Eastern artefacts, and thus loss of cultural memory broke my heart.
I'll think about this book for a very long time and can recommend it to everyone. It is definitely one of the most important and powerful books of our time!
Thank you, Elif Shafak, for writing this and sharing it with the world.

Wow! I'm writing this just after finishing Elif Shafak's new book "There Are Rivers In the Sky", and I'm literally still catching my breath! I honestly cannot remember the last time that, upon finishing a book, I felt so emotionally wrung out, and spent, yet in that way that anyone who reads fiction to escape can thoroughly appreciate.
When I discovered that the very first chapter takes place in ancient Nineveh, and the then ruling king had a library full of fables, proverbs, elegies, and his most cherished poem, "The Epic of Gilgamesh", that this book was going to totally consume me.
The novel is told in three storylines, and in three different time periods. A single drop of water becomes two separate rivers that run through these stories, linking them together in a way that is at first subtle, yet becomes more complex as time goes on.
Taking us from Mesopotamia, to Dickens era London, to modern Turkey, then back to current day London–the author weaves in a love of poetry, with "The Epic of Gilgamesh" it's focus. We become involved in the lives of a class of people in Turkey who have been persecuted, tortured and massacred for the mistaken belief that they are nothing but 'devil worshippers'. And always, and throughout, there is water. Whether that original raindrop we encountered in Nineveh which we follow across storylines, or the rivers Tigris and the Thames–it is a constant theme, and by the end of the book becomes distinctly brilliant.
I've long been a fan of Elif Shafak, but this novel has blown me 'out of the water', and I've no doubt, even at this early date, that this book of hers will be my #1 pick of 2024!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for allowing me to be an early reader of this wonderful book!

An incredible undertaking ! This past Booker Nominee has created a story that encapsulates the idea that a single drop of water can tie together people through the span of 100's of years.

First, we are taken to Nineveh, in ancient Iraq during the time of King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia. A man who builds the first great library. in the early 1800's we meet Arthur who hopes to rise above abject poverty in London and comes across a book that focuses upon Nineveh. In 2014 we meet a Yazidi girl in Turkey. Narin's parents hope to baptize her in a sacred temple but are threatened by the growing power of ISIS.
Finally, in 2018, Londoner Zaleekah, is a hydrologist living on the Thames and near suicidal in her sadness.
She suddenly comes across a very unique book and the the drop of water is passed.... I do not know how a genius like Shafak can juggle and weave so many stories so seamlessly, but There Are Rivers In the Sky is a work of art. Traveling through time, tumbling through war and poverty and sickness, I never once doubted her! #knopf #Pantheon #thereareriversinthesky #ElifShafak

There Are Rivers in the Sky
By Elif Shafak

I must preface this review by saying that my late husband was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq. Therefore there was much in this book that was of more than average interest to me.

This book, which begins with a drop of rain falling on Ashurbanipal, king of Nineveh in ancient Mesopotamia. The theme of water as a symbol of continuity is there throughout the book.

After this opening sequence we are introduced to three different characters from three different places, times and backgrounds. First is a boy in 19th century England, the product of the slums and the poverty of the times, who nevertheless has a mind that never forgets anything and sees patterns in everything. His name is Arthur Smyth, known to his friends as King Arthur of the Sewers and Slums.

The second in a nine year old Yazidi girl named Narin, who is losing her hearing. She is part of an insular community and culture which has been subjected to repeated genocide. Yazidis are hated and reviled and called – unjustly – Devil Worshippers. Her story begins in 2014.

The third is a young woman named Zaleekhah Clarke, a scientist who lost her parents in childhood to a flash flood. Her field of study is hydrology and she is trying to prove a theory that water has memory. Her story is in 2018.

All three of the alternating stories are interesting, though I admit that I was far into the book before the correlations among the three became apparent. I was beginning to fear that the stories would not come together. But then, in a manner that was totally unexpected, they did!

This book grabbed my heart and at times left me in tears at the horrors that humans inflict upon each other, justifying them in the name of religion. There is much to be learned in the book about what was once a beautiful and flourishing area of the world – and what men have done to bring it down. But once again water, in the form of rivers, goes on in spite of us. It is a sad story, wonderfully written, with much for us all to learn.

There Are Rivers in the Sky is a powerful and ambitious novel tackling themes of poverty, religion, genocide, human trafficking, colonialism, and the many ways water impacts generations.

There are three main storylines in There Are Rivers in the Sky. The main connection between the three stories is a single droplet of water that we follow throughout the novel.
Arthur’s character and storyline was by far the most developed. I learned a lot about various points in history that I hadn’t known about prior to this book. Arthur was an extremely likable main character, and his quirks, passion, and heart made his point of view even more emotional than the subject matter already lead it to be.
However, my favorite storyline was Narin’s! I learned so much about the Yazidi religion and their culture. I also absolutely loved the conversations Narin had with her grandma. My only complaint is that I wish we were able to follow them for longer, as we did with Arthur. My heart was not prepared for the way Narin’s story concludes, and will continue to think about her and the girls in our world that she represents.
The last storyline follows Zaleekah, and while her storyline feels the most modern, it also felt the least fleshed out.

While there were small details throughout the novel that connected our three storylines, such as water and pieces of culture, I was waiting for it to all come together at the end. For how much depth and detail the author provided, especially on Arthur, I was anticipating a much larger connection between the three, and was ultimately left disappointed and unsatisfied.

Elif Shafak writes beautifully, and her prose often feels like poetry. The writing is by far my favorite part of this book, and I have many lines highlighted throughout.

I think readers who enjoy history, culture, a melancholic tone, and stunning prose will be fans of this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Publishing Group for the eARC to read and review!

This is an effortful epic, ambitious and sincere-seeming. At times, Shafak reaches the heights to which she aspires, in this story of water, history, civilization and loss. The book ends with a sense of achievement and tragedy. And at times, mainly in the story threads of Smyth and contemporary London, there’s a narrative which holds and intrigues. At other times, the research is rather too close to the surface. Lists, blocks of historical fact and opinion occur regularly. And after all, Shafak is no Dickens. Her ability to evoke Victorian London or even the seaports of the East can seem pedestrian, more committed than ethereal.
Nevertheless, I admire her for the range and concept of this book. Its heart is in the right place and its integrity deserves respect. She comes across as a truthful writer. Bravo.

This novel is ambitious, epic. Told from the perspectives of three characters separated by time and distance who seemingly have nothing to do with one another, it is the story of how we all came from the same place, a place that has been pillaged and largely forgotten. People don’t use the term ‘citizen of the world’ anymore and there’s probably good reason for that, but this book is an excellent reminder that we all live on this planet, share resources and passions, and have more in common with one another than not. Sometimes literature makes you a better person, and this is one of those times.

The book was beautifully, powerfully written, and I learned so much from it that I’m shocked I didn’t know. I will now proceed to do a great deal of research to educate myself. In style it reminds me of Homegoing and a touch of All the Light We Cannot See, but it is very much a force of its own.

I almost DNFd this multiple times. The writing style was beautiful and I was really intrigued by the topic especially with the way it started. It just ended up feeling too long, had too many characters that didn’t really fully connect and was trying to address too many issues including global warming, genocide, human trafficking, colonialism and religious extremism. While I understand that all of these affect the Middle East, trying to address all of them just dragged down the story.

Finally, I did not know anything about the Yazidi genocide so I would like to thank the author of bringing attention to what is happening.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for an advanced copy.

If you read one book this year, read this one. It is about two rivers - the Thames and the Tigris, and the civilizations near these rivers that flourished, decayed, and either disappeared or were reborn. This book spans thousands of years, from ancient Mesopotamia to London in the 19th century to the present day. The characters include ancient kings, a boy with a phenomenal memory born into dire poverty in 1840's London, a girl in 2014 Turkey whose grandmother wants her baptized in an ancient temple, and a woman in 2018 London who lives on a houseboat. Water connects them all.

I received an e-arc of this book from publisher Knopf via Netgalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

There Are Rivers in The Sky, byElif Shabaka, is an unusual book. It is part history, part storytelling, and part environmental manifesto. It looks at the importance of water in the story of civilization through the eyes of an ancient king of Nineveh, a line of Yazidi women who have a gift of healing, a poor boy with an extraordinary gift to read cuneiform tablets at the British museum, and a hydrologist in London whose family ties go back to Mesopotamia. He finally ties all these threads together using a drop of water.
If I had not recently been to the British Museum and seen the reliefs from Nineveh, I would not have finished the book. It is not an easy read. I found it difficult to tell what part of the book is based on facts and what is the author’s imagination. I’m sure this will be praised as a great literary work, but it was difficult for me to finish.

So many thought-provoking themes and ideas run through this marvelous novel. These are just a few:
*Memory, in both nature and people, should be valued and heeded. Arthur is the only character that spans the entirety of the book and he has the gift of remembering everything from his birth onward. A solitary man, he is born in abject poverty and ends up devoting his life to translating THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH from cuneiform on clay tablets recorded centuries BC.
* Ethical dilemmas appear throughout involving the theft of ancient artifacts from digs in Iraq and buying of human organs. Both seem to benefit those with money and harm/cheat those who don’t.
*Ethnic cleansing occurs regularly in history. In this novel it deals with a religious minority in Iraq with mentions of current dictators in the Middle East.
*Climate change is not new but this author incorporates it and pollution into the novel to demonstrate the peril facing our waterways today.

The language is very poetic. The land and its history come alive and the author’s message is powerful. This is truly a book deserving of awards and a wide readership.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC to read and review.

"If the spoken word is a trick of the gods, the written word is the triumph of humans."

Elif Shafak has the gift of language. Her extensive vocabulary is impressive . She writes with eloquence and it reads like poetry. I look forward to reading more of her books.

The novel involves three remarkable lives living on the banks of two great rivers, The River Thames and The River Tigris – all connected by a single drop of water and the lost sacred flood tablet from Ancient Mesopotamia from the Epic tale of Gilgamesh. The central theme being the importance of water as a source of life and a reminder of our earth’s finite resources and our role in preserving our environment and history.

I learned a lot about Mesopotamia, nineteenth century London, and the atrocities ISIS inflicted on the Yazidis, a religious minority found primarily in northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, and northern Syria. Their storyline is heartbreaking and brutal, but necessary to tell.

Shafak does a great job connecting the storylines but I would have liked a little more of an "aha" moment. I also thought it was a bit too long, still, I enjoyed the reading experience and will recommend.

<i>‘Water remembers. It is humans who forget.’</i>

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on August 20, 2024.

There Are Rivers in the Sky is a beautiful, however complicated story. I enjoy reading Elif Shafak for her ability to seamlessly weave timelines together. This is the telling of three story lines, all interconnected with a drop of water. Her characters are well developed, her story lines full and complete. When you finish a book of this quality you feel as though you have really accomplished something. I would recommend this highly.

Elif Shafak’s "There Are Rivers in the Sky" is a masterpiece that beautifully intertwines the lives of three characters across different generations, creating a narrative as fluid as a river. Shafak's writing is nothing short of phenomenal, drawing readers into a world where past and present merge seamlessly, and every sentence flows with grace.

The novel follows three distinct yet interconnected characters, each living in a different era. Shafak’s ability to weave their stories together, despite the generational divides, is a testament to her storytelling prowess. The characters are richly developed, and their journeys are compelling, each one offering a unique perspective on life, love, and human connection.

What stands out most in "There Are Rivers in the Sky" is how thought-provoking it is. Shafak’s writing prompts deep reflection on themes such as identity, memory, and the passage of time. The narrative’s fluidity mirrors the ebb and flow of a river, carrying readers along on an unforgettable journey.

The book’s structure and pace make it incredibly difficult to put down. Each chapter unfolds with a sense of mystery and discovery, keeping you eagerly turning the pages. Shafak’s lyrical prose and vivid descriptions create a mesmerizing reading experience that stays with you long after the final page.

"There Are Rivers in the Sky" is more than just a novel; it’s a profound exploration of the human experience. It’s a captivating read that showcases Shafak’s extraordinary talent for crafting stories that are both intricate and accessible.

If you’re looking for a book that will engage your mind and touch your heart, look no further. Elif Shafak’s "There Are Rivers in the Sky" is a must-read that will leave you contemplating its beauty and depth long after you’ve finished.