I recently read Elif Shafak‘s intriguing novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World (Review). The plot may sound unpromising to some readers – a prostitute – known to her friends as Tequila Leila – in Istanbul looks back on her life in the time that her brain is still active after her death – she has been murdered. No one should be put off by this as Shafak is a consummate story teller and an often poetic writer. The second chapter begins “In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila’s consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore”. The reader thus has to suspend reality and normally I might shy away from novels like this, but when I started to read the novel, I was gripped by this story of Leila and the four other characters whose stories are told in the book.
Leila remembers smells from her childhood, adolescence and adulthood in the novel and Shafak’s descriptions of food are an integral part of the story. In a chapter entitled Five Minutes, Leila remembers “.. spiced goat stew – cumin, fennel seeds, cloves, onions tomatoes, tail fat and goat’s meat”. In Nine Minutes, Leila recalls “.. the taste of chocolate bonbons with surprise fillings inside – caramel, cherry paste, hazelnut praline ……”. Later in the book, on what was to be her last last birthday, Leila’s memory is of her friends’ “.. rich menu – lamb stew with aubergine puree, börek [filled pastry] with spinach and feta cheese, kidney beans with spicy pastrami, stuffed green peppers and a little dish of caviar”. So this is a mouth-watering novel as well as a tale of the downtrodden, the despised and the exploited. You can see more examples relating to food in the novel here.
The novel ends with Leila’s friends, whose backstories are convincingly told throughout, seeking to move Leila from the Cemetery of the Companionless, a real place in Istanbul, as noted by Shafak in A Note to the Reader at the end of the book. This is where the bodies of the unidentified, as well as criminals and prostitutes were buried. Graves were unmarked except for a number. While the ending is neatly done, it is less convincing than the rest of the novel. I highly recommend that you read this exquisitely written novel as Shafak’s prose has a grace and elegance all of its own.
A new venture for us as we recently visited Spylaw Park in Colinton (good photos), on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The photo below (from my mobile) shows the view looking down the Water of Leith (good photos). This view will have changed now as when we were there, the trees were still holding on to their autumn leaves, but they will be gone now. It will still be a stunning view with the sunshine on the water which is quiet under the bridge and then goes into a mini spate. The sound of the water on that day was very calming. As you can see on the left of the photo, this is a very solid and impressive bridge, a large stone structure that shows the expertise of the masons who must have build it.
Once you get to the park itself, there is a path which goes along the side of the river and you can look down through the trees at the faster flowing part. The photo below – not the sharpest – shows one of the views you get in the gaps in between the trees. It was a sparklingly sunny day and the colours were outstanding. In the photo, the river is blue and white, there are apparently translucent yellow leaves on the deciduous trees and the ivy which is clinging to (and strangling) the trees to the left and right shows multiple shades of green. When you stopped and looked, you experienced the louder sound of the water as well as the colours, so a combined aural and visual delight.
Near the park itself is Spylaw Tunnel (good photos and excellent videos). The tunnel itself used to be part of the railway that no longer exists. The tunnel has been decorated with a range of murals, many from local primary schools. The photo below shows one of the murals near one end of the tunnel. It features the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson , famous for novels such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped, whose grandfather lived in the nearby Colinton Manse. It is a stunning portrayal of the writer and was painted by a local artist. I like the imaginative use of a variety of colours – particularly the yellows – in the painting and the detailed portrayal of the writer’s desk.
Here is one of the Youtube videos of the tunnel.
The park itself is a wide expanse of green, with a children’s play area at the far end. Across the grassy area, you look toward the magnificent range of trees along the Water of Leith. I took a video of the park and it is shown below.
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