Internationally acclaimed novelist Elif Shafak has opened up about depression, creative uncertainty and the role of literature in an increasingly unstable world. In a new interview published on 17 October 2026, the Turkish-British author reflects on the personal struggles behind her latest novel and asks a question that many writers may recognise: does storytelling still matter when the world is in crisis?
Shafak’s reflections come alongside the publication of In One Brief Moment All Eternity, a novel inspired by the life and work of nineteenth-century French writer Gustave Flaubert. Through its exploration of creativity, identity and the female experience, the book examines the relationship between literature and the social conditions in which it is created.
Elif Shafak’s Creative Crisis
Despite her international success, Shafak has described experiencing periods of depression, anxiety and self-doubt.
Her latest work emerged partly from a personal struggle with the meaning of writing during a period marked by conflict, political division, climate concerns and rapid technological change.
She describes the contemporary moment as an age shaped by three forces: angst, anger and artificial intelligence.
For an established novelist, the question of whether there is value in spending hours searching for the right words can become particularly difficult when confronted with the scale of suffering and uncertainty beyond the writing desk.
Rather than avoiding this contradiction, Shafak has made it central to her latest creative project.
A Novel Inspired by Gustave Flaubert
The new book turns towards the nineteenth century and the life of Gustave Flaubert, the French novelist best known for Madame Bovary.
Shafak uses Flaubert’s literary world as the starting point for a story that considers the people and perspectives surrounding a celebrated male writer.
Instead of simply retelling his biography, she builds a narrative through multiple female voices, imagining the experiences of women whose lives may have intersected with his.
The approach allows her to revisit the literary traditions associated with Flaubert while questioning whose stories have historically been given prominence.
Bringing Different Storytelling Traditions Together
One of Shafak’s defining characteristics as a writer is her ability to combine history, politics, feminism and mysticism across different locations and periods.
In In One Brief Moment All Eternity, she also explores the relationship between the European literary canon and Middle Eastern oral storytelling traditions.
The novel’s structure draws on multiple voices and interconnected narratives, creating a layered account in which one story opens the door to another.
This approach reflects Shafak’s wider interest in the movement of stories across cultures and generations.
Her previous novels, including The Island of Missing Trees and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, have similarly explored displacement, memory, identity and the experiences of people living on the margins of society.
Literature as a Form of Connection
Shafak’s reflections raise a wider question about the purpose of fiction during periods of political and social instability.
Literature cannot immediately resolve wars, reverse environmental damage or remove political divisions. However, it can create opportunities for readers to encounter experiences different from their own.
By entering the perspectives of fictional characters, audiences can engage with unfamiliar histories, emotions and ways of understanding the world.
For Shafak, this capacity for empathy is one of storytelling’s most important contributions.
Her writing frequently crosses geographical and cultural boundaries, challenging readers to look beyond national identities and established assumptions.
Why Storytelling Still Matters
The creative crisis described by Shafak is not necessarily a rejection of literature. Instead, it reflects the difficulty of finding a meaningful place for artistic expression in a world that often feels overwhelmed by urgent problems.
Her latest novel turns that uncertainty into a literary investigation, using Flaubert’s life and the voices of imagined women to consider the responsibilities and possibilities of storytelling.
As conversations about artificial intelligence, political instability and the future of creative work continue, Shafak’s questions feel particularly relevant.
Her conclusion is not that writers should ignore the chaos around them, but that literature can offer a space in which people examine it, question it and find connections with others.
