There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafaky

The novel uniquely and brilliantly brings three very different people’s stories together through on single droplet of water. The water transforms into rain, into snow, and travels through each story, from the River Tigris to the Thames and back, remembering all the lives it has touched. It shouldn’t seem to work but it does.

The story is a beautiful ode to the historic city of Neneveh, now modern day Mosul in Iraq. But it also gives a colourful picture of London in the Protected content as well as in todays London. It’s a thoughtful look at the ways we destroy for the sake of “civilization” and the things that connect us all – our histories, memories, losses and desires. So much has changed about life and yet so much remains the same. Life can be so very cyclical.