10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1, Chapter 8

Part 1, Chapters 9-18

Part 2, Chapters 1-10

Part 2, Chapters 11-19

Part 3-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Secrets

Content Warning: This section discusses childhood sexual assault and rape, ableism, and death.

Secrets are an important motif that helps to explain and enforce one of the themes within the novel, The Complexities of Family. Secrets play a significant role in shaping the characters and their relationships to one another, as well as reflecting the social issues they may face on a wider scale. Secrets are woven throughout the novel, and they serve to reveal harmful power dynamics, personal struggles, and their respective consequences.

Leila grows up in a home filled with secrets. From the moment of her birth, in which she is taken from her biological mother and given to her aunt to raise, truths are kept from her. Leila’s realization that her aunt is actually her mother signifies an important moment in her character development and shapes the way that she understands love in her future relationships. As a child, Leila is raped and sexually abused by her uncle, who convinces her to keep his actions a secret from the rest of her family. When Leila reveals to her family that she has been impregnated by her uncle, her father decides to keep this fact a secret from everyone else in the town, deciding to deal with the consequences within the family; Leila comes to realize that her father will always support her uncle over her and that he cares more about the opinions of their peers than the abuse she has endured. Leila’s family also treats her younger brother, Tarkan, as a secret. Tarkan has Down syndrome, and their father, ashamed of his son’s condition, hides him away in their home until his eventual death. Tarkan’s death and his family’s decision to hide him from the world portray several issues within wider society like ableism, access to healthcare, and discrimination, opening up their eyes to the wider complexities of family life and what happens behind closed doors.

The motif of secrets and the repercussions of keeping them is a major part of Sabotage Sinan’s character development and arc. Sabotage Sinan receives his nickname for his constant acts of sabotage within his own life. He is Leila’s childhood friend and loves her dearly but keeps it a secret from her. After Leila’s death, he regrets having kept his feelings for Leila a secret. Through his character, Sabotage Sinan represents the way that secrets act as a form of sabotage within the lives of the people who keep them.

Dualities

In 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, the motif of dualities is prevalent throughout the narrative as it explores the complexities and contradictions of human existence. Through vivid imagery, symbolism, and juxtaposition, Shafak creates a world where opposing forces intersect and collide, ultimately emphasizing the fragile and interconnected nature of life.

One of the most prominent dualities within the narrative is the dichotomy between life and death. Through her unique narrative structure of retelling Leila’s non-linear memories in the short period after her death in which her brain continues to function, Shafak displays that life and death are not separate entities; they are interconnected aspects of human existence that shape and define us. While part one of the novel depicts how life continues in death, the second and third parts of the novel explore how there is life in death and death in life. As the five try to navigate their own grief and find a way to lay Leila to rest, they are forced to come to terms with their own moralities and understand that they all eventually will die as well. Meanwhile, Leila’s soul continues to flourish, taking on a new life within the sea.

Another duality that the novel explores is the conflict between traditionalism and modernism; this clash is one of the most significant themes within the narrative. As a duality, the conflict serves to emphasize the discrepancies in gender equality, socioeconomic status, and sexuality. While they are posed as being opposite concepts entirely, both come with similar sets of problems: limits in self-expression and individuality. The city of Istanbul becomes the main arena for these ideologies to come into conflict and be forced to reconcile with each other. Shafak, through her use of setting and a character-driven narrative, identifies the limits that both of these ideological systems impose and contemplates how those limits impact societies and the people within them.

Superstition

Superstitions are a significant motif in the novel that shows how culture shapes a person’s perspective and understanding of the world around them. A superstition is a deeply held belief or practice that is considered irrational by people who do not hold the same set of beliefs. The narrative is littered with traditions and superstitions that help to shape the culture that the novel occurs in, as well as to explore the ways in which culture sometimes comes into conflict with new and different ideas. The superstitions in this novel can be broken down into two categories: cultural superstitions and religious superstitions.

The cultural superstitions in this novel are often tied to the concept of traditionalism and its conflict with modernism. For example, upon Leila’s sudden illness in Part 1, Chapter 5, her aunt and mother keep “a vinegar soaked towel on her forehead, an onion poultice on her chest, boiled cabbage leaves on her back” in an attempt to help her heal (68). To the lady pharmacist, who represents progressivism and the concept of the modern woman within the novel, these practices are unhelpful and ignorant. This scene represents a moment in which traditionalism and modernism are in direct conflict despite working together to achieve a common goal.

Religious superstitions in this novel revolve around funeral rites and are a large source of conflict within the novel. In Turkey, Islam is at the center of many aspects of life, including funeral and death rites. Leila, who does not have any biological family willing to accept her and perform the funeral rites, is sent to the Cemetery of the Companionless to be buried in a numbered grave. In Islamic cultures, the funeral rites are an essential part of ensuring that the soul of the deceased makes its way into the afterlife, and without it, the soul may not successfully be laid to rest. Zaynab122 is a deeply religious character, and she goes out of her way to perform the funeral rites for Leila as best as she can; she bakes halva, a type of Turkish bread used during these traditions, and prays for Leila’s soul. In the Cemetery of the Companionless, Zaynab122 warns the others about cursing, as it may invite evil spirits called djinn to come out of hiding. These superstitions serve to offer comfort to the families of the deceased, but in Leila’s case, they provide comfort to her chosen family.