When
Where
MS Teams,
Virtual
We will be reading and discussing Elif Shafak’s ‘10 Minutes 38 seconds in this strange world’. This session will take place on MS Teams.
Kingston University Reading Group
The KU Reading Group invite you to join us virtually for our reading group session in February 2021 to discuss Shafak’s ‘10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World’. The session will take place virtually on MS Teams, on Thursday 25th February 2021, 4.30-6pm. The link will be circulated in advance.
In February we will be reading and discussing ‘10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World’ by Elif Shafak, the story of an Istanbul sex worker and her socially outcast friends from an author who is increasingly known for her brave political stance.
Elif Shafak’s ninth novel in English tells the story of a Turkish woman reflecting on her life in the immediate moments after her brutal death. Leila, a forty-something sex worker in Istanbul, has been murdered and dumped in a wheelie bin in the dark, damp outskirts of the city. But in the 10 minutes and 38 seconds after her heart stops beating, her mind continues to whirr, ranging over her memories, their scents and flavours.
The novel, which opens in 1990, is not only a journey into the complicated life and sensory experiences of a sex worker known by her clients as “Tequila Leila”. The novel is also the story of her cherished friends – five social outcasts who are marginalised in what is represented as an increasingly illiberal country.
Shafak has said that through the novel, she wants to “give a voice to society’s untouchables: immigrants, underdogs and those who are considered freaks by their own families.” At a time when we are increasingly awareness of the importance of giving voice to those whose voices we often tend to ignore, ‘10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World’ is a timely novel to discuss with fellow readers.
Please join us to share your thoughts, ideas, responses to and opinions about Elif Shafak’s ‘10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World’ at February’s virtual reading group session on Thursday 25th February 2021, 4.30-6pm.
Kingston University Reading Group welcomes all staff and students. It was created in 2016 as a means of facilitating discussion and encouraging new perspectives on race and identity. The project falls under the umbrella of the University's Race Equality Charter Mark and helps to promote racial equality as well as excellence in teaching and learning.
The project has built on the success of Kingston University's Big Read, launched in 2015, which has received national praise for using shared reading to achieve effective collaboration across communities.
The Kingston University Reading Group runs regular sessions for various Kingston University staff and student groups, community organisations and local schools and colleges. We would like to thank KU’s SA Directorate team for their generous support, and the KU Big Read, for the collaboration opportunities.
We aim to:
• Offer a platform for all staff and students to raise and engage on equality, diversity, and inclusion issues.
• Facilitate discussion on challenging subjects and encourage new perspectives.
• Foster collaboration across the whole of the University as well as with the wider community.
Discussions are led by an Associate Professor (Dr. Karen Lipsedge). To join a session, please contact Dr Karen Lipsedge (K.Lipsedge@Kingston.ac.uk)
