There Are Rivers in the Sky

A Novel

By: Elif Shafak

Narrated by: Olivia Vinall, Elif Shafak

From the Booker Prize finalist, author of The Island of Missing Trees, an enchanting new tale about three characters living along two great rivers, all connected by a single drop of water.

"Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it."—Arundhati Roy, winner of the Booker Prize

In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign. From its ruins, however, emerged a poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, that would infuse the existence of two rivers and bind together three lives.

In 1840 London, Arthur is born beside the stinking, sewage-filled River Thames. With an abusive, alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother, Arthur’s only chance of escaping destitution is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a leading publisher, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, and one book in particular catches his interest: Nineveh and Its Remains.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl, is diagnosed with a rare disorder that will soon cause her to go deaf. Before that happens, her grandmother is determined to baptize her in a sacred Iraqi temple. But with the rising presence of ISIS and the destruction of the family’s ancestral lands along the Tigris, Narin is running out of time.

In 2018 London, the newly divorced Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband. Orphaned and raised by her wealthy uncle, Zaleekah had made the decision to take her own life in one month, until a curious book about her homeland changes everything.

A dazzling feat of storytelling, There Are Rivers in the Sky entwines these outsiders with a single drop of water, a drop which remanifests across the centuries. Both a source of life and harbinger of death, rivers—the Tigris and the Thames—transcend history, transcend fate: “Water remembers. It is humans who forget.”

©2024 Elif Shafak (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"An odyssey, an epic, a lament, and a tale of redemption, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a clarion call to honor the elemental forces that shape our memories, our histories, and our world. In short, a masterpiece."—Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness

"Flows like rivers from ancient Nineveh to present-day London with characters of the distant past as bright and vivid as those of today.” —Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl

“Walt Whitman said that a blade of grass contains the journey work of stars. William Blake wrote that we can see the world in a grain of sand. Toni Morrison said that we never shape the world, but the world shapes us. And so Shafak finds the world in a drop of water. She discovers the epic in the tiny, the global in the local, the love in the loss, the history in the momentary. An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives.” —Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin and Aperignon

I am 81 years old. Profoundly moved from this book. Plan to get my first tattoo.

The breath of information was staggering. I am deeply grateful for the author’s scholarship. I was changed by this this experience.

New favorite author

The most amazing characters. My favorite part of reading has always been meeting and learning about the characters. I know the writer is exceptional when I’m thinking about what the characters are doing or where they are when I’m no longer reading.

Fascinating Middle Eastern History

Story is mesmerizing and all consuming (as are most of Shafek's novels). Told from multiple views and timelines which is usually not a positive thing for me but this novel is spot on from the first paragraph. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read or listen - Elif Shafek is an extraordinary storyteller!

Beautiful interwoven characters

The story mixes historic and current events, creating a very personal account of people impacted by conflict and power in the Middle East. The story is beautifully written with wonderfully interesting characters.

King Arthur and his search for truth

It is kind of difficult to hear all about the robberies of peoples special, spiritual statues end up in
wealthy houses in England. There is no excuse for something like this.
betrayed people are difficult to hear about

Gripping and beautifully written

Fascinating story tied together by water. Excellent story telling with beautiful details that bring you right into the story. Highly recommend

Beautiful story

I never read novels until I was introduced to 1540 rules of love. Since then, I have listen to Islands without trees and finally this book. I cannot stop listening to these stories. They’re so amazing.

Beautiful story telling

Follow a drop of water through time and people. I couldn’t stop listening! And I already want to listen again. It’s one of those books that you never want to end

Story of water

An outstanding book with brilliant narration! I was captivated by how the author seamlessly blends historical details into a story that’s both heartbreaking and beautiful. I highly recommend it.

Very Memorable Characters

This was an excellent recounting of a unique story. I was entranced by the tales of King Arthur. Narin, and Zaleekah, and the water that interconnects their fates. I was not familiar with this author before, but plan to enjoy more of her books.