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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Marginalization and Belonging
Time, Memory, and Transition
Gender and Power
Tradition and Change
Religion, Political Conflict, and Identity
Summary
Analysis
Ten minutes and 30 seconds after her death, Leila thinks of single-malt whisky, the last drink she ever had. In November 1990, Bitter Ma informs Leila about a new client—a gay man whose father has arranged for his marriage to a woman. Leila’s task is to “convert” him into preferring women over men. Bitter Ma instructs her to meet the man that evening at the Intercontinental Hotel, a place Leila has avoided since International Workers’ Day and D/Ali’s death. Before the encounter, she stops at a clothing store to buy an attractive new minidress, then reads her horoscope for the day, which advises her to “know herself.”
Thirteen years after the massacre, Leila finds herself working in Bitter Ma’s brothel once more, having returned to sex work when she could no longer afford the flat she originally shared with D/Ali. The Intercontinental Hotel, forever linked to D/Ali’s death, becomes the setting for Leila’s attempt to comfort the young gay man, who is facing his own form of oppression. Her horoscope provides a moment of subtle foreshadowing, as the novel is centered around Leila’s post-death consciousness reflecting on her past—a final attempt to “know herself,” indeed.
Themes
At the hotel, Leila is reminded of that horrible day in 1977, still able to feel the phantom pressure of bodies crowding around her. She notices it has been renovated, complete with a new coat of paint and glamorous décor to mask the horrors of its past. When she enters the penthouse, she meets her client—drunk and tearful. Leila pities this man, unable to openly love who he chooses. They share a single-malt whisky, and Leila proposes an idea: she will leave, and he will invite his real lover to the luxury hotel room instead. Afterward, they will simply lie and say they shared a “hot night” together. The man thanks her for her compassion, kissing her hand in gratitude before she departs.
The renovations the Intercontinental Hotel has undergone since the Taksim Square massacre cannot fool Leila, who still remembers that traumatic day as vividly as ever. Though she’s had 13 years to process D/Ali’s death, returning to the place where it happened makes it all feel much more recent. Her pity for the young man and her act of kindness demonstrate her deep understanding of metaphorical constraints—the roles people are expected to play in order to be accepted by their communities.
Themes
Stepping out into the streets of Istanbul, Leila retrieves a cigarette and fumbles in her bag for D/Ali’s old Zippo lighter. A silver Mercedes stops nearby, and a man rolls down his window to offer her a light. He and the driver propose a sum for her company that evening, and after negotiating the details, she agrees. Jameelah, who has recently been diagnosed with lupus, is staying with her, and Leila looks forward to the money she’ll soon receive from both these men and the gay customer’s father. But as she enters the vehicle and it speeds away, she senses that she has made a grave mistake.
Following Leila’s compassionate moment with the young gay client, the exchange with the men in the silver Mercedes signals an ominous turn, her uneasiness hinting at fatal consequences. Her inability to find D/Ali’s Zippo—a symbol of her enduring connection to her late husband—further foreshadows the sinister intentions of these two men and Leila’s impending doom.
Themes
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