In the sky the rivers

Narin is nine when bulldozers appear in the Yazidi village by the Tigris. Her home is to make way for a dam construction project by the Turkish government. The grandmother, determined to have her granddaughter baptized in an undisturbed place, prepares everything for the journey to the sacred Lalish Valley. Just before departure, Narin stumbles upon the grave of a certain Arthur – right next to that of her great-great-grandmother Leila. Who was this "King of Sewers and Slums," the boy from Victorian London, from the banks of the polluted Thames? And what does he have to do with Narin's own displacement?

Elif Shafak masterfully weaves past and present into a gripping novel about intersecting human destinies and the power of centuries-old conflicts.

With her soft voice and expressive depth, Pegah Ferydoni is a wonderful interpreter of Elif Shafak's novel.