Khobar Book Club - 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World (Session 1)

For December, we're going to be shaking things up and focusing on a contemporary novel, **10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World** by Turkish-British author **Elif Shafak**. Shafak has been described as a "gentle rebel" for her peaceful demeanor and passionate sense of justice. Her works often feature themes of traditionalism vs progressivism, feminism, and human rights. While she writes with love and fondness of her homeland, her fearless criticism of the Turkish government has led her to live in self-imposed exile in London, as she has been persecuted for her writing multiple times (including for this novel!) In her words: *"What literature tries to do is to re-humanize people who have been dehumanized. I'm of course interested in stories, but I'm equally interested in silences—people who have been silenced. People whose voices we never hear. That's a big part of my work."* And this book is a testament to that, as we follow the story of a murdered sex worker in Istanbul as her friends desperately seek justice for her in an unjust world. For this session, we will be discussing the first half of the book. **I expect you to have read Part One: The Mind before attending.** Take care, and have fun! PS: This novel gets quite dark, so I encourage you to see the content warnings if you feel so compelled.