Book description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019
'Expect vibrant, vivid and eye-opening descriptions of Middle Eastern life propelled by a tender storyline, all in Shafak's haunting, beautiful and considered prose' Vanity Fair
'Incredibly sensuous and poetic and evocative' Pandora Sykes
'Richly uplifting... truly beautiful writing' Nicola Sturgeon
'In the first minute…
Why read it?
1 author picked 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
The protagonist of this beautifully written, heart-rending book is the wonderfully-named Tequila Leila, a sex worker from Istanbul who, as the book begins, is dying in a rubbish bin on the outskirts of the city.
As her brain begins to shut down, Leila goes back in time to trace her story, while her friends, who she remembers in those ‘in-between’ moments between life and death, desperately look for her.
Leila, for me, is ebullient, larger than life, and intensely lovable. Despite being brutalised and living much of her life in danger, her humanity shines through. Leila has heart and soul…
From Susanna's list on The best books that feature a feisty female.
If you love 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World...
Wild Freedom
Wild Freedom is a smart, vulnerable, and metafictional fairy tale. While celebrating self-authentication and reclamations of name, desire, and agency, it also explores the important Jungian psychoanalytical themes of toxic family dynamics, entanglement, and individuality.
When someone experiences tremendous loss or betrayal, an important way to navigate that hurt is…
Want books like 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.
Browse books like 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World
Share your top 3 reads of 2026!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
183
readers submitted
so far, will you?
