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Soft pick - 3/5
Alia, librarian in Basra, Iraq, does her best to save the books of her library from being destroyed by the raging war.
Why soft pick? Not a fan of the illustrations and of the writing style.

#WhereAreYouMonday

Mesopotamia 631 BC
London 1840
Turkey 2014

How else could I experience theses places in these times if it weren‘t for stories? How bereft my life would be without books. How thankful I am to be a reader!

@Cupcake12

Another beautifully written novel by Elif Shafak. Humanity is united by water as this story illustrates in the telling of Arthur who lives near the River Thames in the 1840s, Narin who lives by the River Tigris in 2014, Zaleekhah who lives in a houseboat on the River Thames in 2018.

I loved this one. It‘s about how one drop of water can connect us. It‘s told via the unique voices of three people. Arthur who born very near the Thames, Narin who lives near the Tigris and Zaleekah who is renting a houseboat on the Thames. Beautifully written and very moving at times, I was very immersed in these characters‘ lives and found it a page turner.

As with all short story compilations, I enjoyed some more than others, but each one was unique. Each took place 100 years after the US and British invasion and it was eye-opening and thought-provoking to see how each author processed this and chose to represent the future — some shining light on the after effects of the war through speculative fiction while others leaned heavily into science fiction.

3⭐️

#Iraq #ReadtheWorld2025

A library book. I loved The Island of Missing Trees by this author so looking forward to this one.

#ReadTheWorld2025

In March and April I‘ve read 7 books set in or written by author from places around the world: #Italy #Switzerland #Iraq #France #Iran #Denmark #Mexico #Argentina

I have the #InternationalBooker to thank for most of these books!

#roll100 another absolutely beautiful novel from Elif Shafa - she has such a talent for description and drawing you into the lives of her characters. Heartbreaking that so much of this is based on true events.

#Denial. #DynamicDs

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs

Loved this story. Human connection through water. Told through 3 perspectives, set on the banks of the River Thames and the Tigris in 2014, 2018 and 1840 (and a bit beyond). My favorite character was King Arthur of the Sewers and Slums. Not one I‘ll soon forget!