n One Brief Moment All Eternity is an astonishing new novel by the bestselling, prize-winning novelist Elif Shafak. Spanning decades and continents, from revolutionary 19th century France to Istanbul, Egypt and Beirut, it is a profound meditation on creativity in times of political crisis and war, asking what literature can hope to offer when the world feels broken. BuildiDuring a time of great turmoil, Gustave Flaubert created literature’s most scandalous heroine: Madame Bovary. He then poisoned her with arsenic. But what if, 175 years later, Emma—and the women history overlooked—could seize the quill from his hands and tell a different story?In One Brief Moment All Eternity is a luminous reinvention of an iconic male writer, told through the eyes of the women—real and fictional—who shaped him: a devoted nursemaid, an Egyptian dancer, and a passionate, jealous lover who refuses to be forgotten. Through their voices, visionary author Elif Shafak creates both an intimate portrait of a great artist and an epic meditation on storytelling itself: Who gets remembered, who gets erased, and how can literature endure through political upheaval, war, and injustice? When the world feels broken, how do we find the hope to carry on?Shafak takes readers on an extraordinary journey through time and space, from Flaubert’s unusual childhood in a house that was part home, part hospital, and part morgue to nineteenth-century Paris during the Revolution and onward to Istanbul, Cairo, Palestine, and Beirut. In this exhilarating tale, the questions at the heart of her work take on a thrilling new urgency: Who gets to speak, and what would the silenced have said?Boldly inventive, transporting, and illuminating, spanning decades and continents, In One Brief Moment All Eternity is a dazzling love letter to literature, untold stories, neglected communities, and the enduring spirit of humanity.ng a fascinating bridge between Western prose and Eastern poetry, this story offers a luminous portrait of the life of an iconic writer, Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, told through the lives of the women – both real and fictional – who shaped him.