Nonlinear narratives are stories in which the author chooses to depict the events of the plot out of chronological order. Why do you think Elif Shafak chose to tell Part 1 of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World out of sequential order? What do you think it added to or took away from the piece?

The novel is told from a variety of voices and is written from a third-person omniscient point of view. Why do you think the author chose to write her novel from this point of view? How might the story have changed if the novel was told in the first-person point of view from Leila’s perspective? What would readers gain or miss out on?

Choose your favorite symbol—the betta fish, the hula hoop, the lemon and sugar waxing mixture, the porcelain angels, etc.—and write about how it changes your understanding of the novel. What does the symbol add to the various scenes it is in?