Meran Paul
Features editor
Elif Shafak’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World is a novel that begins with the end. Sensual in its descriptions of memories and visceral in its expression of deep-seated emotions, it tells the story of Tequila Leila, a girl who was repressed, misunderstood, and forced to feel like a misfit. As she lay dying, Leila, a sex worker in Istanbul, recalls the events that shaped her life and defined her existence. Each memory also recalls the friends she made during her life — friends who were desperately trying to find her as she lay dying in a trash can in one of the many back alleys of Istanbul.
In a society that frequently marginalizes those like Leila, Shafak illuminates the profound value of relationships forged outside societal norms. Leila’s friends — anarchists, transgender individuals, and fellow sex workers — become the enduring connections in her life. Shafak’s narrative brings these friendships to the forefront, revealing how they offered strength to Leila in an illiberal country that often shunned them. The novel compels us to reflect on what truly matters in life: the relationships we build and the love we share.
Shafak employs a narrative style rich in flashbacks and sensory details, drawing readers into the innate perspectives of her characters. Leila’s memories are vivid and immersive: each one linked to a particular taste, smell, or sound, transporting us through her tumultuous life. Her first memory, for example, is of salt—its feel and taste as she “left her mother’s womb and slid through a wet slippery passage, gripped by a fear wholly new to her, and here she was now in a room full of sounds and colors and things unknown.” Leila can see herself being born while she is dying and this sense of ambivalence pervades the entire novel.
As the narrative unfolds, the focus shifts from Leila’s sensory experiences to the group of friends who are desperately trying to find her. This group of outcasts, including Sinan the Sinner, Nalan the transgender woman, and Zaynab, who has dwarfism, are not merely supporting characters; they are the heart of the story. Their bond, forged in a world that frequently devalues their worth, is a powerful testament to the importance of chosen family.
Shafak’s narrative is not just a tale of Leila’s life and friends but a broader commentary on gender, sexuality, social marginalization, religion, and individual freedom. Istanbul, with its bazaars and brothels, becomes a distinctive character in its own right. The city captures the true duality of existence where beauty meets brutality and ancient meets modern. In both a cultural and geographical sense, the East meets the West. Calling Istanbul a dream that exists only in the mind of hashish smokers, Shafak observes that “there were multiple Istanbuls—struggling, competing, clashing, each perceiving that, in the end, only one could survive.” This portrayal of Istanbul reflects the novel’s exploration of a world full of contradictions, where different identities and realities are constantly at odds.
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World is a novel that lingers long after the last page, much like the memories that keep Leila alive for those crucial moments after her heart stops beating. Shafak’s ability to blend the personal with the political, the intimate with the universal, makes this a deeply resonant read. It’s a story that encourages us to reflect on our own lives, to question the societal norms that shape us, and to cherish the human connections that define us.
Shafak’s novel transcends a simple narrative about the end of life, instead offering a poignant celebration of love, friendship, and resilience. Yet this celebration is made possible not despite reason, but precisely because of it. Shafak contemplates “one of the endless tragedies of human history was that pessimists were better at surviving than optimists, which meant that, logically speaking, humanity carried the genes of people who did not believe in humanity”. Shafak doesn’t shy away from the darkness of humanity and it is evident from the fact that Leila’s life is marked by suffering, violence and marginalization. Yet even in this bleak reality, the bonds Leila forms give her — and by extension, us — hope, and this hope is in no way naive.
In conclusion, this book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of identity and the intricate dance between life and death. Shafak’s knack for storytelling and unflinching exploration of difficult themes make this novel both deeply moving and thought-provoking — a mirror through which we can reflect on our quest for meaning in a world that is as alive as it is dead.