Three Daughters of Eve

By: Elif Shafak

Narrated by: Alix Dunmore

Peri, a wealthy Turkish housewife, is on her way to a dinner party at a seaside mansion in Istanbul when a beggar snatches her handbag. As she wrestles to get it back, a photograph falls to the ground - an old Polaroid of three young women and their university professor. A relic from a past - and a love - Peri had tried desperately to forget. The photograph takes Peri back to Oxford University, as an 18-year-old sent abroad for the first time and to her dazzling, rebellious professor and his life-changing course on God. It also takes her to her home with her two best friends, Shirin and Mona, and their arguments about Islam and femininity and, finally, to the scandal that tore them all apart.

©2017 Elif Shafak (P)2017 Penguin Audio

A book that you can't stop listening to

It is a great story of getting lodged between two words from a feminine perspective: the impossibility to leave home whole-heartedly on the one hand and returning home whole-heartedly on the other hand. Although I got hooked by the story I felt a slight imbalance between the first and second half of the book as plenty of the subjects, conflicts, themes raised in the first part remained unsolved by the end of the novel. Many subjects grew dim to give space to the theme of love.

I still could not decide whether I like it or not that the narrator talks with accent when Turkish characters speak. It felt a bit weird, nevertheless it makes the reading more animated.

"ENLIGHTENING"

Shafak's novels are captivating, enlightening, and 'euphoric' in the sense she creates this ultimate unbreakable bond between man, mind, and the search for Truth. It makes us infatuated with God, not as that fearful power but as that TRUTH within us. She delves into the tiny corners we crave to discover in ourselves. As for the narrator Alix Dunmore, great reading and interesting plus the pronunciation of words which are not English was quite right. Thank you and highly recommended.

very beautifully narrated.

Liked the book as I do with all books of Elif Shafaq. The beginning is wonderful! however lacks the depth and magic of forty rules of love or architects apprentice. Doesn't do much justice to exploring its theme of Muslim women and their dilemmas either. No closure.
and yet because I like the politics of Elif Shafaq I found the book engaging.

A spellbinding reading of a beautifully told story

In her 2010 TED talk, Shafak says, "I love writing in Turkish which to me is very poetic and emotional, and I love writing in English which to me is very mathematical and cerebral." Well, this English novel is certainly intelligent and reasonable, but it is also a most moving and poetic piece of prose.

Alix Dunmore's performance is spellbinding. Thank you both.

A story worth reading

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Shafak weaves a story of 3 characters each dealing with the identity of being Muslim. All come from different background but dealing with the same problems. She shows in a remarkable way that being Muslim is not a homogenous idea. She exhibits superbly that people have multiple moving identities.

What other book might you compare Three Daughters of Eve to and why?

Mmm I don't think I have come across a book quite like it. It would be in the range of Paul Coelho meets Rumi.

Which character – as performed by Alix Dunmore – was your favorite?

Shirin. The Iranian Feminist.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me think. It made me wonder about things we don't say and things we do say. It helped me to realise that the idea of being Muslim can dominate a persons life like a wild fire taking over a forest. However, Muslim people too have lives that are relative and intersecting with many other demands.

Any additional comments?

You would do yourself a good favour by reading this book