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There are Rivers in the Sky: The beautiful Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Island of Missing Trees & BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick

There are Rivers in the Sky: The beautiful Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Island of Missing Trees & BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick

Author:
Elif Shafak
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Unabridged Audiobook

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Ratings
Book
35
Narrator
21
Release Date
August 8, 2024
Duration
16 hours 48 minutes
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.

This audiobook is read by Olivia Vinall, and Elif Shafak reads the Note to Reader at the end of the story.

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:

‘Water remembers. It is humans who forget.’

*****

‘Elif Shafak is a unique and powerful voice in world literature’ Ian McEwan

'An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives.' Colum McCann

'Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it' Arundhati Roy

'One of the best writers in the world today' Hanif Kureishi

'A brilliant, unforgettable novel' Mary Beard


© Elif Shafak 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024
Reviews
Profile Avatar Anonymous Nov 2025

Couldn't stop listening to this book. A wonderful journey through time and history. Thank you Elif for keeping me so captured in the stories and then making everything make sense right at the end.

Profile Avatar Anonymous Jan 2026

I thoroughly enjoyed this sometimes strange and enlightening book.

Profile Avatar Anna Y. Jan 2026

Beautifully woven book connecting protagonists across time and space. Gathered with a poet’s sensitivity and fed by a deep cross-cultural research. Definitely worth a listen.

Profile Avatar Anonymous Jul 2025

Extraordinary book, didn’t want it to end.

Profile Avatar Anonymous May 2025

There are rivers in the sky is a book of extraordinary depth. Depth of feeling depth of understanding of how our history shapes us and of course the depth of the rivers that carry our memories (if you know how to look for them). it is story that I never wanted to end and in some ways, I suppose, it doesn't because the rivers continue to flow and the desire to read about and see artefacts from Gilgamesh has only begun.Thank you ElifDave

Profile Avatar Margarida A. May 2025

A powerful and overwhelming book. It masterfully shifts between light moments of pure tenderness and love, and intense depictions of difficult, often hard-to-digest themes. Exceptionally well written – I loved every part of it. The narrator is simply outstanding.

There are Rivers in the Sky: The beautiful Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Island of Missing Trees & BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick

There are Rivers in the Sky: The beautiful Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Island of Missing Trees & BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick

Author: Elif Shafak
Read by: Olivia Vinall
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