by Members of MWN Hub Book Club

This year’s last book club read was 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak. Conversations with members of MWN Hub Book Club described the novel as moving and memorable. The word 'resilience' was mentioned a few times to demonstrate the strengths of the characters in never allowing their circumstances to overwhelm them.  Despite it being a heart-breaking read that explores societal prejudices against those who live on its margins, it also does well in highlighting human compassion and connection in the unlikely places. 

 

If you’re not sure about this novel, the views shared by members of the book club may influence you to add it to your New Year’s reading list.

 

Aida writes:

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak is a quietly powerful novel that lingers long after you finish it. Shafak portrays marginalised communities with empathy and dignity, allowing voices that are often silenced to be heard in their full humanity. Rather than defining characters by society’s judgment, she gives them depth, humour, loyalty, and tenderness.

 

Laila’s life is marked by a heart-breaking chain of loss, violence, and rejection, yet what stands out most is her endless kindness and uplifted spirit. Despite everything she endures, she remains compassionate and open-hearted, which makes her story both devastating and deeply moving. Shafak refuses to let suffering erase Laila’s humanity; instead, it highlights her resilience.

 

The idea that memories linger for 10 minutes and 38 seconds after death allows the story to unfold through fragments of smell, taste, and sound, making Laila’s life feel intimate and alive. This sensory storytelling emphasises the novel’s message about memory, belonging, and the human need to be remembered.

 

Overall, the book is a moving reflexion on love, friendship, and dignity in a world that often denies all three to the most vulnerable. Shafak reminds us that even in the strangest and cruellest of worlds, kindness and connection can still endure. 10 out of 10 😊

This sensory storytelling emphasises the novel’s message about memory, belonging, and the human need to be remembered. 

Sham writes:

Leila.

I felt the need to say her name before beginning my review of Elif Shafak’s Booker Prize–shortlisted 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Before reading, I wanted to understand why this title had been chosen, and then I began my journey into Leila’s world—into her vivid memories triggered by the sensory echoes of a life lived. As I read, I found myself drifting into my own memories, wondering which ones would fill the final 10 minutes and 38 seconds of my strange world.

 

The title comes from scientific research suggesting that the brain remains active for several minutes after the heart stops beating—specifically, that consciousness might continue for up to 10 minutes and 38 seconds. It’s a clever device that allows each chapter to unfold as a precious minute, a flashback of meaning and memory.

 

During the book club discussion, I realised that I didn’t see Leila as a broken or tragic woman, despite the trauma she endured or her undignified death in a dumpster. I wasn’t particularly focused on discovering who killed her either. In fact, I envied her in some ways. Leila lived a colourful life—full of hardship, abuse, neglect, and pain—but from those experiences emerged a resilient, compassionate, lovable, dynamic woman who cherished her “water family,” her chosen friends.

 

I could sit here and write about how awful her life was, and many of her final memories were distressing. Yet I found that each chapter held its own: every hardship was met with a moment of strength, a small positive, something I could take away. Her ability to bounce back, to strive for happiness—or at least for contentment—felt commendable. We all crave happiness, but do we ever truly achieve it? Or is being content and humble enough? Often, we have unrealistic expectations of the world, constantly moving the goalposts whenever we reach fulfilment. So, what is happiness? What makes a good life? Hardship is relative; each person’s crisis is their own. And ultimately, it’s how we move through these hardships that shapes who we are. If you’ve never known sadness, can you ever measure happiness?

 

As you can tell, I tend to approach life philosophically, and this book reminded me that sometimes we look for happiness in the wrong places. Leila found it in her friendships, in fleeting moments with those who crossed her path.

 

There are genuine laugh‑out‑loud moments in the book—perfectly placed to re‑engage the reader—and Shafak’s portrayal of Istanbul was eye‑opening. I’ve only ever seen the tourist version of the city, so learning about the graveyard of the unaccompanied was devastating. I looked it up and was saddened that such a place exists—especially in a Muslim country. We all have Allah, don’t we? He is the One and Only, and surely He judges us, not people.

Lastly, my favourite part: the moment Leila is finally free. It was beautiful. I lived with Leila for a long time—in my mind and in my heart—and I didn’t want to let her go. I still think about her, wishing her peace. That is a talent only Elif Shafak could achieve.

Shafak’s portrayal of Istanbul was eye‑opening. I’ve only ever seen the tourist version of the city, so learning about the graveyard of the unaccompanied was devastating.

Rizwana writes:

I’d come across Elif Shafak’s work before but hadn’t actually read her writing until now. This novel is deeply politically charged in the way it centres lives that society tries to bury. You can also feel Shafak’s own voice pressing against constraint - shaped by the reality of how Turkey treats dissenting writers and by the personal cost of exile, including being unable to visit her grandmother in her final days.

 

Leila’s friends - each punished for their identity and marked by displacement, gendered violence, LGBTQ+ realities, faith and survival - carry their own lessons, showing how chosen family becomes a form of resistance when systems fail. Shafak is drawn to the stories of people who have been “excluded, forgotten, abandoned, and sometimes systematically suppressed and silenced,”. This novel listens to those voices and refuses to let them disappear. 

 

 *MWN Hub Book Club is held every four months, if you would like to be part of it, please email member@mwnhub.com.