Literary Escapes & Perfect Pours
July 2026 | Mary Domange
I've chosen a book that's perfect for long, lazy days on the water, and that will take you on a journey across time and space in a story that kept me gripped until the last page.
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About the Book
This is a dazzling feat of storytelling that spans centuries and continents, and is impossible to reduce to a few simple lines.
It opens in the ruins of Nineveh, that ancient city of Mesopotamia, where there lies hidden in the sand fragments of a long-forgotten poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born at the edge of the dirt-black Thames. Arthur’s only chance of escaping poverty is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a printing press, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums,
In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a Yazidi girl living by the River Tigris, waits to be baptised with water brought from the holy sit of Lalish in Iraq. The ceremony is cruelly interrupted, and soon Narin and her grandmother must journey across war-torn lands in the hope of reaching the sacred valley of their people.
In 2018 London, broken-hearted Zaleekhah, a hydrologist, moves to a houseboat on the Thames to escape the wreckage of her marriage. Zaleekhah foresees a life drained of all love and meaning – until an unexpected connection to her homeland changes everything.
Reading it, next to a my own special River (the Loire), over the summer of 2025, gave me immense pleasure as I was sucked into the intertwined lives of the characters, and pause to reflect on the significance of memories, and water, and the humanity that connects us all in this deeply satisfying novel.
Reviews for There are Rivers in the Sky
by Elif Shafak
"Elif Shafak's narrative vision is as remarkable and astonishing as ever. Wonderful!" -- William Boyd
A writer of important, beautiful, painful, truthful novels." -- Marian Keyes
It will make you think, cry, rage - and hope." -- New Statesman
Vin de Savoie AOC 2024, Château de Ripaille
★★★★★
I'm not sure what came first, the book or this personal favourite white wine of mine that is made on Lake Geneva, the vineyard surrounded on three sides by water. Crisp, fresh, floral and made by a woman I love at the ancestral estate that she has brought back from extinction.
Herdade do Portocarro, Tinto 2017
★★★★★
The name Herdade do Portocarro refers to the port and crossing point on the banks of the River Sado, which runs through this historic Portuguese vineyard on the route to Santiago de Compostela.Winemaker Jose da Mota Capitao left his career in medicine to dedicate himself to re-animating his family vineyard. This wine is the perfect jumping off point if a glass of red while you read is what floats your boat!
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