After being murdered, the brain of the protagonist, Tequila Leila, continues to function for 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds. The minutes stretch over the course of the novel, as readers revisit the memories pulled out from the final firings of her synapse. Leila is a sex worker in Istanbul who moves through the city alongside her five fiercely loyal friends, who are also treated as social pariahs. Shafak uses painful but deeply powerful language to sketch each friend’s character and their journey through “this manic old city.” Shafak also recently spoke at The Moth podcast, which you can listen to here.