10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World - Elif Shafak

In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore...'

For Leila, each minute after her death recalls a sensuous memory: spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the birth of a yearned-for son; bubbling vats of lemon and sugar to wax women's legs while men are at prayer; the cardamom coffee she shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each fading memory brings back the friends she made in her bittersweet life - friends who are now desperately trying to find her . . .

A beautifully written story of how a woman became a prostitute, found true love, and then was driven to prostitution again which lead to her death.

Read for the Shelf Reflection Reading Challenge.
Prompt 8: A book with a map.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐