Istanbul means different things to different characters in Elif Shafak's novels. In 2013's The Architect's Apprentice, the protagonist regards the city as "a wen of opposites", a place that "gave generously and, with the same breath, recalled her gift". In her latest book, it is "a liquid city" where nothing is permanent. It is a "schizophrenic city" where "the old and the new, the factual and the fictitious, the real and the surreal amalgamated". It is "a city of wilful amnesia", "a city of scars", "a city where all the discontented and all the dreamers ended up".
In her dedication – "to the women of Istanbul" – Shafak describes it as "a she-city". As with her 2016 novel, Three Daughters of Eve, women take centre stage in her latest book, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World, which was published last month. However, the Istanbul these characters call home is more of a man's world. One woman in particular flounders in it, ending up victimised and brutalised. Shafak traces her plight in a thoroughly original way, and the result is a cleverly crafted and immensely powerful tale, featuring an unforgettable heroine.
She is Leila, and when 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World opens, she is dead, with her body in a rubbish bin on the outskirts of Istanbul. Shafak wastes little time in revealing the ingenious conceit within the book's unwieldy title. Rather than have Leila's life flash before her eyes prior to her death, Shafak allows the character to reflect on all her experiences in the moments after her demise.
That character was born Leyla in the city of Van, a child of the young, illiterate and superstitious Binnaz, and the overbearing and increasingly devout Haroun. Immediately after Leyla is born, Haroun decides that his other wife, the older, childless Suzan, should bring up the baby. Relegated to "Auntie", Binnaz watches helplessly as Leyla is nurtured by another woman. As she grows up, Leyla is rendered equally incapable, first by her father, who insists she stay at home "packaged and preserved", and later at the hands of an abusive uncle.
But as plans are being made for a sickening marriage of convenience to tame what is perceived to be Leyla's wayward temperament, she runs away from her family home and heads for Istanbul. But once there, the kindness of strangers proves deceptive, and she is tricked and sold to a brothel. So begins a new phase of her life, one that brings a change of scene, fresh ordeals and a modified name, Leila, as well as the same old predicament of men calling the shots and determining her fate.
Over the years, five special friends provide a valuable safety net for the woman. All are like-minded cast-offs and outsiders who have sought refuge and kindred spirits in Istanbul. There is Sabotage Sinan, whose tough name belies a feeble nature; Hollywood Humeyra, a singer who fled a violent husband; Zaynab122, a dwarf from Lebanon who works as a part-time fortune teller; Jameelah, who was trafficked from Somalia and exploited; and Nostalgia Nolan, who has endured a character-defining crisis of identity.
Support also comes from a loyal and loving partner. Artist and revolutionary D/Ali rescues Leila from servitude and romance blossoms between them. But then tragedy strikes and Leila is forced to lean more heavily on her five saviours. Those friends aren’t there to catch her when she finally falls, but they rally round to pick up the pieces and give her a fitting send-off.
The second half of the novel moves the spotlight from Leila to her friends. They don’t hunt her killer, but instead search for her body, which has been buried among other “undesirables” in the Cemetery of the Companionless – “the loneliest graveyard in Istanbul”. Shafak alternates between farce and profound tenderness and largely succeeds.
But the novel is at its strongest when Leila is on the page. The first half showcases Shafak's talent as a storyteller, and her ability to make the reader empathise fully with her main character. Each of her early chapters revolve around one of Leila's memories, and each memory is triggered by a scent or taste. The combined smell of lemon and sugar is redolent of the house in Van, cardamom coffee returns her to Istanbul's street of brothels and single malt takes her back to the day of her death. It is a clever trope, at once creative and evocative.
As Leila makes her way in Istanbul, veering ever further off the tourist track, the city emerges as a character – or rather characters. "There were multiple Istanbuls struggling, competing, clashing, each perceiving that, in the end, only one could survive," Shafak writes.
But there is only one Leila and she doesn’t survive the story. Not that it matters. Leila’s heart may have stopped beating, but Shafak ensures she is brilliantly alive.
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak is published by Viking
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Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Zayed Sustainability Prize
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
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Match info
Uefa Champions League Group F
Manchester City v Hoffenheim, midnight (Wednesday, UAE)
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'Ashkal'
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Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
