cover|300

There Are Rivers in the Sky

Three-Sentence Summary

- A single drop of water travels across centuries—from ancient Mesopotamia to contemporary London—binding four lives through its magical “aquatic memory.”
We meet: an Assyrian ruler and his library of clay tablets; Arthur, a Thames‑born slum child turned Assyriologist; Narin, a Yazidi girl fleeing persecution in 2014; and Zaleekhah, a hydrologist in modern London wrestling with grief and climate science.
Shafak explores water as a vessel of memory, touching on themes of cultural trauma, environmental crisis, and human connection through evocative, interwoven storytelling.

Extended Summary

The narrative is structured around one drop of water, introduced in ancient Nineveh with King Ashurbanipal and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Moving to Victorian London (circa 1840), Arthur Smyth, dubbed “King Arthur of the Sewers,” is born beside the Thames. Gifted with prodigious memory, he becomes an apprentice printer and later a scholar of cuneiform texts. In 2014, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl near the Tigris, faces baptism rites disrupted by conflict and displacement under ISIS, reflecting her community’s ongoing suffering. Finally, in 2018, Zaleekhah, a hydrologist on a London houseboat, grapples with personal loss, environmental concerns, and rediscovery of heritage. These timelines intersect through water’s symbolic presence—from a raindrop to a snowflake, baptismal tear, and back—emphasizing collective memory, trauma, resilience, and the ethics of cultural heritage.

Key Points

Water as Memory: The concept that water accumulates and transmits memory across lives and eras.
Multilayered Timelines: The story spans Assyria, Victorian London, 2014 Yazidi Iraq, and modern-day London.
Cultural Trauma & Resilience: Highlights Yazidi persecution and challenges of cultural restitution amid archaeological imperialism.
Epic and Artifact: Chronicles the rediscovery of the Epic of Gilgamesh, colonial-era artifact removal, and evolving power of texts.
Critiques: Critics praise its lyrical prose, research depth, and theme breadth, but note its density, pacing issues, and occasional sentimentality.

Who Should Read

This novel suits readers who appreciate sweeping literary epics blending myth, history, and contemporary issues, with a focus on environmental and cultural memory. Ideal for those who enjoyed works like Cloud Cuckoo Land or The Island of Missing Trees.

About the Author

Elif Shafak is a British–Turkish novelist known for fusing history, myth, and social commentary. She often explores themes of memory, pluralism, and cultural justice, and has received international acclaim for her lyrical and ambitious narratives.