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There Are Rivers in the Sky: A Novel Audiobook
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From the Booker Prize finalist, author of The Island of Missing Trees, an enchanting new tale about three characters living along two great rivers, all connected by a single drop of water.
"Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won't regret it."—Arundhati Roy, winner of the Booker Prize
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.
A dazzling feat of storytelling, There Are Rivers in the Sky entwines these outsiders with a single drop of water, a drop which remanifests across the centuries. Both a source of life and harbinger of death, rivers—the Tigris and the Thames—transcend history, transcend fate: “Water remembers. It is humans who forget.”
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"There Are Rivers in the Sky is an enchanting epic, told through the vantage of single raindrop, where the sacred mysteries of water, science, and poetry collide. In this gorgeous and riverine novel, water is poetry, water is memory. This is a love song to the keepers of our stories and histories, a resounding tribute to the wise women who know the poetry of our rivers. Elif Shafak is one of them—a master storyteller whose prose thrums with such gorgeous details and propulsive spirit, flowing with a keen-eyed wisdom that only she could conjure. I came away feeling restored."
— Safiya Sinclair, author of How to Say Babylon
Quotes
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"There Are Rivers in the Sky explodes into a roaring journey through ecology and memory… genuinely moving.
— The New York Times Book Review -
Think Cloud Atlas, but with a single drop of water connecting all the stories.
— Parade Magazine -
Shafak weaves together a dazzling feat of storytelling that explores the pain of exile and the power of human resilience.
— Oprah Daily -
One of the best writers in the world today.
— Hanif Kureishi -
Intricate, exhilarating storytelling that is a poetic reminder of how connected we are to one another and to the past.
— Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl Earring -
Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won’t regret it.
— Arundhati Roy, Booker Prize-winning author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness -
Walt Whitman said that a blade of grass contains the journey work of stars. William Blake wrote that we can see the world in a grain of sand. Toni Morrison said that we never shape the world, but the world shapes us. And so Shafak finds the world in a drop of water. She discovers the epic in the tiny, the global in the local, the love in the loss, the history in the momentary. An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives.
— Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin and Aperignon -
Flows like rivers from ancient Nineveh to present-day London with characters of the distant past as bright and vivid as those of today.
— Philippa Gregory, New York Times best selling author of The Other Boleyn Girl and Dawnlands -
Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won’t regret it.
— Arundhati Roy, Booker Prize-winning author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness -
An odyssey, an epic, a lament, and a tale of redemption, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a clarion call to honor the elemental forces that shape our memories, our histories, and our world. In short, a masterpiece.
— Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness -
A book that is astonishing, ingenious and beautiful. A modern classic. Elif Shafak is one of the great writers of our time.
— Peter Frankopan, author of The Earth Transformed -
A brilliant, unforgettable novel, which raises big ideas of 'who owns the past' with nuance and complexity. Elif Shafak ties together diverse time periods and places in a way that seems both natural and wonderfully unexpected.
— Mary Beard, author of SPQR -
An odyssey, an epic, a lament, and a tale of redemption, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a clarion call to honor the elemental forces that shape our memories, our histories, and our world. In short, a masterpiece.
— Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness -
Elif Shafak is a unique and powerful voice in world literature.
— Ian McEwan, author of Atonement -
Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won’t regret it.
— Arundhati Roy, Booker Prize-winning author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness -
An odyssey, an epic, a lament, and a tale of redemption, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a clarion call to honor the elemental forces that shape our memories, our histories, and our world. In short, a masterpiece.
— Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness -
From its bravura opening through to its final pages, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a dazzling achievement. Shafak’s imagination is a wonder: bold, capacious, beautiful and wise.
— Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies -
Elif Shafak approaches the world with grace, lyricism, and courage. Confronting societies riven by conflicts over gender, religion, sexuality, nationalism, memory, ideology, and more, Shafak wields the novel’s artistic power to cut through complacency and orthodoxy with ruthlessness and beauty. Her words and works—compelling and provocative—leave us in a space of light, a clearing from where we can see this world anew.
— Viet Thanh Nguyen as Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer -
Literature on a grand scale, mythic and timeless.
— Nadifa Mohamed, author of The Fortune Men -
A great, sweeping, enthralling novel – Elif Shafak’s narrative vision is as remarkable and astonishing as ever. Wonderful.
— William Boyd, author of Any Human Heart -
From its bravura opening through to its final pages, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a dazzling achievement. Shafak’s imagination is a wonder: bold, capacious, beautiful and wise.
— Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies -
Elif Shafak approaches the world with grace, lyricism, and courage. Confronting societies riven by conflicts over gender, religion, sexuality, nationalism, memory, ideology, and more, Shafak wields the novel’s artistic power to cut through complacency and orthodoxy with ruthlessness and beauty. Her words and works—compelling and provocative—leave us in a space of light, a clearing from where we can see this world anew.
— Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer -
Make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf. Make place for her in your heart too. You won’t regret it.
— Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things -
Walt Whitman said that a blade of grass contains the journey work of stars. William Blake wrote that we can see the world in a grain of sand. Toni Morrison said that we never shape the world, but the world shapes us. And so Shafak finds the world in a drop of water. She discovers the epic in the tiny, the global in the local, the love in the loss, the history in the momentary. An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives.
— Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin and Aperignon -
Flows like rivers from ancient Nineveh to present-day London with characters of the distant past as bright and vivid as those of today.
— Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl -
From its bravura opening through to its final pages, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a dazzling achievement. Shafak’s imagination is a wonder: bold, capacious, beautiful and wise.
— Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies -
Elif Shafak's beautiful and moving new novel bears the reader along on its marvelous currents. Here, rivers twine with other rivers and lives with other lives across centuries and cultures, as the fate of a single drop of water weaves an intricate tapestry of love and loss.
— Robert MacFarlane, author of Underland -
Intricate, exhilarating storytelling that is a poetic reminder of how connected we are to one another and to the past.
— Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl Earring -
Elif Shafak's beautiful and moving new novel bears the reader along on its marvelous currents. Here, rivers twine with other rivers and lives with other lives across centuries and cultures, as the fate of a single drop of water weaves an intricate tapestry of love and loss.
— Robert MacFarlane, author of Underland -
Elif Shafak raises critical questions about one’s connection to and responsibility for the past in this highly readable and engrossing novel.
— Library Journal, *starred review -
There's an elegance to Shafak's storytelling that always draws me, but it is her grit and substance that held me to the last page. Wonderful.
— Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry -
Wide-ranging, eloquent and lavishly detailed, There Are Rivers in the Sky expertly draws its various narratives to a powerful climax.
— Abdulrazak Gurnah, author of Afterlives -
Gloriously expansive and intellectually rich.... this waterborne tale, crossing cultures, centuries and continents, is a magnificent achievement.
— Michael Arditti, The Spectator (UK) -
Spellbinding.... Like water itself, There Are Rivers in the Sky seeps into the cracks and crevasses of our humanity, unlocking a sense of wonder.
— BookPage, *starred review -
A multi-layered marvel.... I turned the pages hungrily, carried by Shafak’s energetic prose and confident that it was heading towards a coherent and rewarding ending. As ever, Shafak did not disappoint.
— Max Liu, I Paper -
An odyssey, an epic, a lament, and a tale of redemption, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a clarion call to honor the elemental forces that shape our memories, our histories, and our world. In short, a masterpiece.
— Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness -
Flows like rivers from ancient Nineveh to present-day London with characters of the distant past as bright and vivid as those of today.
— Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl -
Walt Whitman said that a blade of grass contains the journey work of stars. William Blake wrote that we can see the world in a grain of sand. Toni Morrison said that we never shape the world, but the world shapes us. And so Shafak finds the world in a drop of water. She discovers the epic in the tiny, the global in the local, the love in the loss, the history in the momentary. An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives.
— Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin and Aperignon -
A brilliant, unforgettable novel, which raises big ideas of 'who owns the past' with nuance and complexity. Elif Shafak ties together diverse time periods and places in a way that seems both natural and wonderfully unexpected.
— Mary Beard, author of SPQR -
From its bravura opening through to its final pages, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a dazzling achievement. Shafak’s imagination is a wonder: bold, capacious, beautiful and wise.
— Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies -
Literature on a grand scale, mythic and timeless.
— Nadifa Mohamed, author of The Fortune Men -
There's an elegance to Shafak's storytelling that always draws me, but it is her grit and substance that held me to the last page. Wonderful.
— Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry -
Elif Shafak raises critical questions about one’s connection to and responsibility for the past in this highly readable and engrossing novel.
— Library Journal, starred review* -
Gloriously expansive and intellectually rich.... this waterborne tale, crossing cultures, centuries and continents, is a magnificent achievement.
— Michael Arditti, The Spectator (UK) -
Spellbinding.... Like water itself, There Are Rivers in the Sky seeps into the cracks and crevasses of our humanity, unlocking a sense of wonder.
— BookPage, starred review* -
A great, sweeping, enthralling novel – Elif Shafak’s narrative vision is as remarkable and astonishing as ever. Wonderful.
— William Boyd, author of Any Human Heart -
A book that is astonishing, ingenious and beautiful. A modern classic. Elif Shafak is one of the great writers of our time.
— Peter Frankopan, author of The Earth Transformed -
Intricate, exhilarating storytelling that is a poetic reminder of how connected we are to one another and to the past.
— Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl Earring -
An odyssey, an epic, a lament, and a tale of redemption, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a clarion call to honor the elemental forces that shape our memories, our histories, and our world. In short, a masterpiece.
— Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness -
Flows like rivers from ancient Nineveh to present-day London with characters of the distant past as bright and vivid as those of today.
— Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl -
Walt Whitman said that a blade of grass contains the journey work of stars. William Blake wrote that we can see the world in a grain of sand. Toni Morrison said that we never shape the world, but the world shapes us. And so Shafak finds the world in a drop of water. She discovers the epic in the tiny, the global in the local, the love in the loss, the history in the momentary. An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives.
— Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin -
A brilliant, unforgettable novel, which raises big ideas of 'who owns the past' with nuance and complexity. Elif Shafak ties together diverse time periods and places in a way that seems both natural and wonderfully unexpected.
— Mary Beard, author of SPQR -
From its bravura opening through to its final pages, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a dazzling achievement. Shafak’s imagination is a wonder: bold, capacious, beautiful and wise.
— Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies -
There's an elegance to Shafak's storytelling that always draws me, but it is her grit and substance that held me to the last page. Wonderful.
— Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry -
Wide-ranging, eloquent and lavishly detailed, There Are Rivers in the Sky expertly draws its various narratives to a powerful climax.
— Abdulrazak Gurnah, author of Afterlives -
Absorbing.... Shafak is a novelist whose interest in mapping the intricately related world and its history goes beyond literary device." ―The Guardian
-
Elif Shafak's beautiful and moving new novel bears the reader along on its marvelous currents. Here, rivers twine with other rivers and lives with other lives across centuries and cultures, as the fate of a single drop of water weaves an intricate tapestry of love and loss.
— Robert MacFarlane, author of Underland -
Gloriously expansive and intellectually rich.... this waterborne tale, crossing cultures, centuries and continents, is a magnificent achievement.
— Michael Arditti, The Spectator (UK) -
A multi-layered marvel.... I turned the pages hungrily, carried by Shafak’s energetic prose.... As ever, Shafak did not disappoint.
— Max Liu, I Paper -
There Are Rivers in the Sky is an enchanting epic...where the sacred mysteries of water, science, and poetry collide....This is a love song to the keepers of our stories and histories....Elif Shafak is one of them—a master storyteller whose prose thrums with such gorgeous details and propulsive spirit, flowing with a keen-eyed wisdom that only she could conjure. I came away feeling restored.
— Safiya Sinclair, author of How to Say Babylon -
Glorious, a journey across nature and history, memory and life, by our finest weaver of tales.
— Philippe Sands, author of The Ratline -
A great, sweeping, enthralling novel – Elif Shafak’s narrative vision is as remarkable and astonishing as ever. Wonderful.
— William Boyd, author of Any Human Heart -
Elif Shafak approaches the world with grace, lyricism, and courage. Confronting societies riven by conflicts over gender, religion, sexuality, nationalism, memory, ideology, and more, Shafak wields the novel’s artistic power to cut through complacency and orthodoxy with ruthlessness and beauty. Her words and works—compelling and provocative—leave us in a space of light, a clearing from where we can see this world anew.
— Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer -
A book that is astonishing, ingenious and beautiful. A modern classic. Elif Shafak is one of the great writers of our time.
— Peter Frankopan, author of The Earth Transformed -
"Elif Shafak discovers the epic in the tiny, the global in the local, the love in the loss, the history in the momentary. An extraordinary novel, fresh and cleansing, like the rain bouncing off the metal roof of our lives.
— Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin -
A brilliant, unforgettable novel, which raises big ideas of 'who owns the past' with nuance and complexity…. both natural and wonderfully unexpected.
— Mary Beard, author of SPQR -
From its bravura opening through to its final pages, There Are Rivers in the Sky is a dazzling achievement. Shafak’s imagination is a wonder.
— Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies -
There's an elegance to Shafak's storytelling that always draws me, but it is her grit and substance that held me to the last page. Wonderful.
— Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry -
Wide-ranging, eloquent and lavishly detailed, There Are Rivers in the Sky expertly draws its various narratives to a powerful climax.
— Abdulrazak Gurnah, author of Afterlives -
Elif Shafak's beautiful and moving new novel bears the reader along on its marvelous currents…. as the fate of a single drop of water weaves an intricate tapestry of love and loss.
— Robert MacFarlane, author of Underland -
Gloriously expansive and intellectually rich.... a magnificent achievement.
— The Spectator (UK) -
A multi-layered marvel.... I turned the pages hungrily, carried by Shafak’s energetic prose.... As ever, Shafak did not disappoint.
— Max Liu, I Paper -
“This is a love song to the keepers of our stories and histories....Elif Shafak is one of them—a master storyteller whose prose thrums with such gorgeous details and propulsive spirit, flowing with a keen-eyed wisdom that only she could conjure. I came away feeling restored.
— Safiya Sinclair, author of How to Say Babylon -
A book that is astonishing, ingenious and beautiful. A modern classic. Elif Shafak is one of the great writers of our time.
— Peter Frankopan, author of The Earth Transformed -
Elif Shafak approaches the world with grace, lyricism, and courage…. Her words and works—compelling and provocative—leave us in a space of light, a clearing from where we can see this world anew.
— Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer
There Are Rivers in the Sky Listener Reviews
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Mimi Irwin, 7/14/2025
About Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and the most widely read female author in Turkey. She writes in both Turkish and English, and her work has been translated into fifty languages. She holds a PhD in political science and has taught at various universities in Turkey, the United States, and the United Kingdom, including St Anne’s College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow. She is a member of Weforum Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy and a founding member of the European Council on Foreign Relations. She has been awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and in 2017 she was chosen by Politico as one of the twelve people who would make the world better.