There are Rivers in the Sky

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.

There Are Rivers in the Sky is a rich, sweeping novel set between the 19th century and modern times, about love and loss, memory and erasure, hurt and healing, centred around three enchanting characters living on the banks of the River Thames and the River Tigris – their lives all curiously touched by the Epic of Gilgamesh.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak is a deeply poetic and multi-layered novel that connects the past, present, and future through the symbol of water and its ability to preserve memory, tell stories, and heal. The author uses water as a universal thread that intertwines the fates of diverse characters, cultures, and eras.

The story follows three distinct narratives – one in ancient Mesopotamia, where the first civilizations emerge; another in Victorian England, shaped by discovery and colonial legacy; and a third in the modern Middle East, marked by war and displacement. All these threads converge through a single drop of water, which becomes a symbol of survival, memory, and hope.

With her exquisite style, Elif Shafak blends historical fiction, philosophical prose, and magical realism. The novel weaves together myths, personal destinies, and global issues – from the preservation of nature and cultural heritage to the pressing questions of identity and belonging. Readers are drawn into a reflection on the connection between humans and the earth, and between rivers and the stories they carry.

There Are Rivers in the Sky is not just a story about history and culture, but also about the memory of humanity – how the past never truly disappears, flowing into our present like an invisible river. The book reminds us of the fragile bond between people, nature, and time, and the necessity of learning from the past to shape a more meaningful future.