Elif Shafak's novel There Are Rivers in the Sky follows three disparate individuals separated by time and location. Arthur Smyth (whose full name is "King Arthur of the Sewers and Slums") is born in the stinking muck along the Thames River in 1840. Narin is a nine-year-old Yazidi girl growing up on the banks of the Tigris River in 2014, shepherded by her grandmother. And thirty-year-old Zaleekah Clarke is a hydrologist living on a houseboat in London in 2018, trying to move beyond her failed marriage. As the characters' lives unfold on the pages of this remarkable book, readers gradually learn how they're tied together, with the last pieces falling into place at the very end of the story.

Shafak begins her tale with a sentient drop of water falling on King Ashurbanipal of Ninevah (reigned 669–631 BCE):

"Dangling from the edge of the storm cloud is a single drop of rain — no bigger than a bean and lighter than a chickpea. For a while it quivers precariously — small, spherical and scared. How frightening it is to observe the earth below opening like a lonely lotus flower. Not that this will be the first time: it has made the journey before — ascending to the sky, descending to terra firma and rising heavenwards again — and yet it still finds the fall terrifying."

This tiny observer appears throughout the novel, present at various times in history (the same drop appears at Arthur's birth, and later makes up one of Zaleekah's tears). Indeed, the variability yet permanence of water is a major theme. "While it is true that the body is mortal," the author writes, "the soul is a perennial traveler — not unlike a drop of water." Later, "Many kings have come and many kings have gone…never forget the only true ruler is water," and, "Women are expected to be like rivers — readjusting, shapeshifting." Shafak's writing is lyrical, bordering on poetic, as she weaves this theme into her narrative.

The author's focus varies between her characters, making the experience of reading about each almost like reading three different books. By far the most detailed and appealing story is Arthur's; it fits squarely in the realm of historical fiction as Shafak takes a deep dive into life for the lower classes in Victorian London. Based on George Smith — a self-taught Assyriologist who was the first to translate the Epic of Gilgamesh into modern language — this remarkable man rises from tosher (someone who scavenges in the sewers) to expert on cuneiform (see Beyond the Book). The section is crammed with tiny details that bring the period to life. For example, Arthur buys eel pies as a treat for his brothers and reads by the light of the moon because his family has no money for lamps or candles.

Narin's role in the story allows the author to portray the Yazidis, a Kurdish religious minority whose beliefs include elements of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Often persecuted throughout history, people from this sect were victims of genocide by the Islamic State from 2014-2017. Yazidi experiences, wisdom, and values are depicted through the character of Narin's grandmother. While this part of the novel is set in more recent times, some of the concepts it contains are ancient.

And finally, Zaleekah epitomizes the struggles of many modern women still trying to establish a place for themselves in the world. She's at a crossroads in her life, wrestling with depression and unable to move forward. Her story might be the least interesting simply because it's so familiar to many of us; she's a typical woman on a voyage of self-discovery. This part of the novel is primarily bildungsroman. Zaleekah's overbearing uncle and a tattoo artist who only works in cuneiform add color.

One of the brilliant aspects of the novel is the author's ability to merge these three completely different storylines into a compelling whole.

I truly enjoyed Shafak's writing, but periodically she itemizes rather than describes:

"Whatever is unwanted is discarded into the river. Spent grain from breweries, pulp from paper mills, offal from slaughterhouses, shavings from tanneries, effluent from distilleries, off-cuts from dye-houses, night-soil from cesspools and discharge from flush toilets…all empty into the Thames, killing the fish, killing the aquatic plants, killing the water."

These lists are unnecessarily exhaustive; they're included with enough frequency that the technique starts to grate. And while I was enthralled by each character's story, I became impatient waiting for the threads to start coming together. The tie-ins are ultimately brilliant but the author takes her time.

Those complaints aside, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a superb work of literary and historical fiction, and I highly recommend it to most audiences. It reminded me very much of Anthony Doerr's excellent novel Cloud Cuckoo Land, and readers who enjoyed that title will likely relish this one equally. It would make an excellent book group selection.

Reviewed by Kim Kovacs

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Rated 5 out of 5 by Labmom55
Perfect mix of historical and literary fiction
There Are Rivers in the Sky is a big book in terms of ideas, writing style and plotlines. It combines science, religion, history and literature. It’s the very definition of epic. It’s like a huge tapestry, weaving people and objects across the time periods. And through each story, the power of water.

The story jumps back and forth between the Middle East, specifically the Tigris River in Turkey and Iraq and the River Thames in London, between 660 BC,1840, 2014 and 2018 and between three diverse characters.

In 1840, Arthur lands a job at a publishing house in London thanks to his photographic memory. He develops a fascination with the book, Nineveh and Its Remains, which in turn leads to him translating cuneiform tablets. Arthur is based on the real life George Smith, the first man to translate the Epic of Gilgamesh into English. His story was the most appealing, covering the discoveries of that time period.

In 2014, Narin, a 10 year old Yazidi girl, is slowly going deaf due to a genetic disorder. Her grandmother is determined that she be baptized in the temple in Iraq. This section taught me about the Yazid faith and the persecution of their sect.

And in 2018, Zaleekah is a hydrologist in London studying the effects of climate change on water. She has just left her husband, moved into a houseboat on the Thames and is looking to find meaning in her life. I loved learning about hidden rivers in her section.
All three of these characters and their stories immediately drew me in. And I was entranced by Shafak’s ability to interweave these stories together into a meaningful whole. The ending has literally left me a bit shellshocked.

Each different section taught me something new. It combines the best parts of historical and literary fiction. As much as it taught me, it also sent me down numerous rabbit holes trying to learn more. This may end up being my number one favorite book of 2024.

This is a book that begs to be read by a book club. I will also be amazed if it doesn’t end up on the lists for all the big prizes.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Mary Ann
What if water had memory?
“Water remembers. It is humans who forget.”

The earth is a closed system, therefore the total of premoridal waters that have ever existed, still exist in one form or another. Life in its most basic form is transformed in an everlasting cycle of life, death and renewal. Elif Shafak takes this tenant and weaves a beautiful and enchanting epic, There Are Rivers in the Sky.

The tale begins with a single droplet of water landing on the head of the ruthless, but erudite King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia in the ancient city of Nineveh. Ashurbanipal is remembered for his legendary library which fell into ruins with the demise of his reign. Out of its ashes emerge the blue fragments on which the Epic of Gilgamesh has been preserved. In parallel fashion, we piece together the story of three characters, their connection to two ancient bodies of water, traversing centuries, and cultures, all bound to a little blue tablet. In 1840, King Arthur of the Sewers and Slums, an archeologist, born on the banks of the Thames, gifted with an uncanny ability to decode ancient texts. In 2014, Narin is a Yazidi girl who comes from a line of water-dowsers. Born with a rare disorder that will leave her deaf, her grandmother seeks to have her baptized in the holy Valley of Lalish where they discover that Isis is systematically eradicating their people. The melancholic, Zaleekhah lives in on a houseboat in modern day London, and is a hydrologist studying a unique property of water.

Sure to become a modern classic, There Are Rivers in the Sky blends the story within a story Oriental structure, with Dickensian sensibilities and characters, and modern eco-political concerns. Suffice it to know that you will care deeply about the fate of these characters, relish the lyrical writing and have a new appreciation for the life giving element that is water.

TW: mental health issues, suicide, suicidal thoughts, sexual assault, murder, genocide