Capturing the evocative recollections of Tequila Leila in the ten minutes after her death, Shafak's spellbinding novel extracts the value of a fully-lived life from its untimely ending.
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2019
An intensely powerful new novel from the best-selling author of The Bastard of Istanbul and Honour.
'In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore. Her brain cells, having run out of blood, were now completely deprived of oxygen. But they did not shut down. Not right away...'
For Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory: the taste of spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the long-awaited birth of a son; the sight of bubbling vats of lemon and sugar which the women use to wax their legs while the men attend mosque; the scent of cardamom coffee that Leila shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each memory, too, recalls the friends she made at each key moment in her life - friends who are now desperately trying to find her. . .
'One of the most important writers at work today.' - Independent
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241979464
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 227 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 19 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Misogyny, religious hypocrisy and nationalist tub-thumping all play a part in a scandalous pile-up of injustices that would be nigh-on impossible to read, were it not for the jaunty ebullience of Shafak's storytelling' - The Daily Mail
'Shafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years.' - Irish Times
'A terrific book. Poetic, poignant, trenchant.' - Ian Rankin on Three Daughters of Eve
'A thoughtful, charming book that offers a connection to other worlds, perspectives and possibilities.' - Sunday Times on Three Daughters of Eve
'A brave and passionate novel.' - Paul Theroux on 'Bastard of Istanbul'
Capturing the evocative recollections of Tequila Leila in the ten minutes after her death, Shafak's spellbinding novel extracts the value of a fully-lived life from its untimely ending.
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2019
An intensely powerful new novel from the best-selling author of The Bastard of Istanbul and Honour.
'In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore. Her brain cells, having run out of blood, were now completely deprived of oxygen. But they did not shut down. Not right away...'
For Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory: the taste of spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the long-awaited birth of a son; the sight of bubbling vats of lemon and sugar which the women use to wax their legs while the men attend mosque; the scent of cardamom coffee that Leila shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each memory, too, recalls the friends she made at each key moment in her life - friends who are now desperately trying to find her. . .
'One of the most important writers at work today.' - Independent
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241979464
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 227 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 19 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Misogyny, religious hypocrisy and nationalist tub-thumping all play a part in a scandalous pile-up of injustices that would be nigh-on impossible to read, were it not for the jaunty ebullience of Shafak's storytelling' - The Daily Mail
'Shafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years.' - Irish Times
'A terrific book. Poetic, poignant, trenchant.' - Ian Rankin on Three Daughters of Eve
'A thoughtful, charming book that offers a connection to other worlds, perspectives and possibilities.' - Sunday Times on Three Daughters of Eve
'A brave and passionate novel.' - Paul Theroux on 'Bastard of Istanbul'