There Are Rivers in the Sky

Water is the most important recurring motif throughout the novel. First and foremost, it functions as a narrative device: Shafak uses a raindrop to connect all three stories, with the same drop witnessing important events for each of the protagonists. The cyclical nature of water allows for this interconnected narrative, and Shafak uses it thematically as well to explore the interconnectedness of life. Water is used as both a narrative device and a motif to develop the central theme of The Interconnected and Cyclical Nature of Life.

Water also carries symbolism in its different forms, and this is reflected in the titles of the different parts. Part 1, titled “Raindrop,” is expository. The story begins with a raindrop, and the first part of the book is focused on the beginning of the story. Additionally, a raindrop is small and diminutive, mirroring a single moment in time. 

Part 3 is titled “Restless Rivers,” and Shafak uses the quality of constant movement of water in this form to do two things: parallel the rising action in the plot and mirror the unsettledness in all three protagonists’ stories. Arthur yearns to go to Nineveh, Narin’s life will soon be upended by ISIS, and Zaleekhah feels unrooted after moving out onto the houseboat following the breakup of her marriage.