There Are Rivers in the Sky Audiobook By Elif Shafak cover art

There Are Rivers in the Sky

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There Are Rivers in the Sky

By: Elif Shafak
Narrated by: Olivia Vinall, Elif Shafak
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

This audiobook is read by Olivia Vinall, and Elif Shafak reads the Note to Reader at the end of the story.


This is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives – all connected by a single drop of water.

In the ruins of Nineveh, that ancient city of Mesopotamia, there lies hidden in the sand fragments of a long-forgotten poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.

In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born at the edge of the dirt-black Thames. Arthur’s only chance of escaping poverty is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a printing press, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, with one book soon sending him across the seas: Nineveh and Its Remains.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a Yazidi girl living by the River Tigris, waits to be baptised with water brought from the holy sit of Lalish in Iraq. The ceremony is cruelly interrupted, and soon Narin and her grandmother must journey across war-torn lands in the hope of reaching the sacred valley of their people.

In 2018 London, broken-hearted Zaleekhah, a hydrologist, moves to a houseboat on the Thames to escape the wreckage of her marriage. Zaleekhah foresees a life drained of all love and meaning – until an unexpected connection to her homeland changes everything.

A dazzling feat of storytelling from one of the greatest writers of our time, Elif Shafak’s There are Rivers in the Sky is a rich, sweeping novel that spans centuries, continents and cultures, entwined by rivers, rains, and waterdrops:

‘Water remembers. It is humans who forget.’

*****

Elif Shafak is a unique and powerful voice in world literature’ Ian McEwan

'An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives.' Colum McCann

'Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it' Arundhati Roy

'One of the best writers in the world today' Hanif Kureishi

'A brilliant, unforgettable novel' Mary Beard


©2024 Elif Shafak (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Heartfelt England War
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What listeners say about There Are Rivers in the Sky

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Where history, world conflicts and environmental issues met.

I have always loved Elif Shafak’s writing ever since The Forty Rules of Love. The way that she tells her story, you can’t differentiate the fine line between fiction and real events. And this book also leave a great impact on me as a reader, where I become a bit knowledgeable on those three important topics of history, humanity issues and environment sustainability.

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A fascinating story , lacklustre Characters.

The book is written by a master story teller at the height of her powers. I flows beautifully dealing with a range of related topics all sewn into a big tapestry. It covers too many human aspects and themes to be easily summarised but basically it has a single uniting commonality that weaves it together. I don’t believe in spoilers so I’ll let the reader find out for themselves.

There is plenty of information to learn and psychological commentary to fascinate. However, there is for me one major flaw, albeit not a fatal one: The characters are dreary they are all unhappy all depressed and all living in a glum state. Which becomes irritating and eventually boring given that they all live in lively exciting worlds with opportunity always knocking.

This must have been a deliberate choice by the author. I found it wearying but the story and the their world was fascinating enough to make me want to continue.

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Brilliant storytelling.

Three stories, equally intriguing, intertwine. Beautifully crafted imagery brings all three stories to vivid life. History, myth and storytelling woven together brilliantly, with some ancient wisdom to treasure.

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Fascinating

Extremely good read. Writer did extensive research which enhanced the enjoyment. Will highly recommend this book.

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My favourite author!

Elif Shafak is a poet and artist, and I am always captivated from her first sentence to last fullstop.

What a beautiful, heartbreaking, mesmerizing tale.




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Poetical narration of complex subjects

The book beautifully weaves the tales of nature and ecology, a recent genocide, the complexity of family, feelings of belonging, divide, hope and desperation, the topic about art in museums that were created by different cultures, rather than the museums they are in. All wrapped in a poetical narration that both soothed, saddened and put smiles in my spirit.

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