Peeling Back the Layers: How Elif Shafak Transformed My Reading and Writing

When I first read Elif Shafak, I wasn’t aware of her exhilarating writing style. I picked up her book Bastard of Istanbul based on a friend’s recommendation. The book blew my mind away with its tight storyline and even tighter writing. I was amazed by how the writer, who “almost” reveals the entire story, keeps the reader hooked on the novel until the very end.

Each page and chapter leaves you wanting more as you realise that the writer has tricked you into believing the story has been revealed. However, as you progress towards the end, you are left shocked as a reader. And as a writer, you are in awe of her storytelling style.

Her flair for language is known to all her readers, but as a first-time reader of a Shafak novel, I was stunned by how she revealed the novel’s “actual” plot, layer by layer, as if peeling an onion. Without revealing much about the book, I can confidently say that it would challenge all your preconceived notions about it, which you might have formed based on its cover.

Her first book left me wanting more, so I picked up Honour, another acclaimed book by the exemplary author. If the first one blew my mind, the second one made me numb. I was delightfully surprised with the theme and, again, the writer’s excellent writing, which I felt was several notches above the previous one.

The story is as much about murder as it is about the uprising amongst the youth and the various desires of a woman. The book takes us to Shafak’s motherland – Turkey – and transports us to that society and that milieu.

The female characters and their journeys leave one spellbound as an Indian woman because these characters are as much alien as they are familiar to society back home.

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10 minutes 38 seconds in This Strange World, yet another hauntingly beautiful masterpiece by Shafak, can bring tears to your eyes.

As Leila, the protagonist of the novel, navigates life, you are bound to feel for her journey. Her character transcends neglect, abuse, and survival and yet never leaves hope in life. It can send shivers down your spine as those circumstances are beyond the ordinary.

Her writing is a delicious mix of lucidity and intrigue; as a reader, it leaves a lasting impression on your soul. Shafak has made a loyal readership across the globe with her relevant themes and engaging writing. Besides the main plot, her books’ subtext is where her masterful storytelling art lies. The way she weaves the themes of inequality, racism and sexism is where her real work as a writer shines. She gives us a glimpse of the world she grew up in and how that has shaped her views and writings. Her work takes us to the geographies often neglected or known to this world for all the wrong reasons.

The fourth novel I read by Shafak was the much-hyped Forty Rules of Love; honestly, it is also my least favourite. Over time, I realised that this had more to do with the hype surrounding the book than the book itself. My reason for picking up the book was also the hype surrounding it, and even though I do not regret reading it, I certainly did not relish it as much as the other novels.

So far, I have read four books by this renowned author, and I keep returning to her novels because I want to immerse myself in the world she has created through them.

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Her writing has left a lasting impression on me and enhanced my power of visualisation, which has, in turn, helped me in my work.

Whenever I sit down to write, I can visualise and write my characters better. I try to maintain a nuanced form of storytelling rather than simply narrating the facts. Shafak has made me a better reader and definitely a better storyteller, and I want more and more people to savour her work.

I hope more men read her books than women to understand the other gender better.

I haven’t even covered half of her work, and I am completely mesmerised by this gifted writer.

More power to her and her writing!

(The writer has written this column in her personal capacity)