10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

I very much enjoyed this novel about a murdered prostitute from Istanbul and the friends who ultimately saved her. I'm always on board for a good friendship story, and this book had many; I was also hooked from the beginning by Elif Shafak's beautiful writing style.

The construction of the novel was quite unique, and I found it particularly effective. Science has come to understand that a person's mind can still remain active for up to 10 minutes after the body is dead. Shafak divides her book into two main sections, and in the first - “Mind” - our protagonist, Leila, is already dead. What we read is the ten minutes and 38 seconds following her death, in which her still active mind is remembering important events and people from her life. Each memory is sparked by a sense - the smell of a wood burning stove, homemade strawberry cake - and these memories allow the reader a glimpse of the joy and sorrow that made up Leila's remarkable life.

The second section - “Body” - starts where Leila's mind has finally stopped, and tells the story of her five closest friends and their efforts to give her the burial she deserves. This section of the novel veered just a bit into melodrama for me, but I still very much enjoyed the characters and their deep and evident love for their friend Leila.

Not a perfect novel, but certainly one I enjoyed. It's unique characters and structure will make it a story I won't soon forget. Definitely recommended.