There are rivers in the sky : a novel / Elif Shafak.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shafak, Elif, 1971- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Middle East--Fiction.

Middle East.

Nineveh (Extinct city)--Fiction.

Nineveh (Extinct city).

Gilgamesh--Fiction.

Gilgamesh.

Apprentices--Fiction.

Apprentices.

Voyages and travels--Fiction.

Voyages and travels.

Rain and rainfall--Fiction.

Rain and rainfall.

Hydrologists--Fiction.

Hydrologists.

Rivers--Fiction.

Rivers.

Genre:

Novels.

Historical fiction.

Epic fiction.

Physical Description:

443 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First American edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2024.

Summary:

"Sweeping across centuries, and stretching from Mesopotamia to London, this is an enchanting new novel by Booker Prize finalist Elif Shafak that conjures a trio of characters living in the shadow of one of the greatest epic poems (The Epid of Gilgamesh) of all time"-- Provided by publisher.

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.

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 city 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.

Notes:

"This is a Borzoi book." -- title page verso.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Schneidman Fund bookplate.

Other Format:

Online version:

Shafak, Elif, 1971- There are rivers in the sky

Online version: Shafak, Elif, 1971- There are rivers in the sky

ISBN:

9780593801710

0593801717

9780241435021

0241435021

OCLC:

1419080582