This book revolves around three central characters: a young Victorian boy named Arthur who develops an obsession with decoding ancient tablets, a Yazidi girl living in modern day Turkey under religious persecution, and a hydrologist grappling with a rocky divorce. What these seemingly unrelated characters have in common is a special connection to rivers and the oldest known poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh from the lost civilization of Mesopotamia. The plot is also guided by the path of a single drop of water, which emphasizes an interconnectedness across space and time. It’s a story about legacy, fate, and the preservation of memory. 

Review

I love the way water is a character in itself, transforming along with the development of each point of view. While I enjoyed the first half of the book, I noticed some pacing issues in the second, which made the ending drag on. I also think the language is too verbose and could have done with another round of editing to omit extraneous vocabulary. I prefer Shafak’s other novel, 10 minutes 38 seconds in This Strange World, but both works are unique, original, and masterfully conceptualised.  There is something so special about books that celebrate other books, and this did that well. The imagery, especially the glimpses we see of Arthur traveling to different parts of the middle east were so vivid and engaging. The backdrop of Mesopotamia, Turkey, and London with their different political climates and cultures were fascinating to read about. Through reading this book, I learned a lot about the Epic of Gilgamesh, and its historical significance to early literature.