56 pages • 1 hour read
Elif ShafakA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Content Warning: This section discusses murder and mistreatment of sex workers.
In the morgue of a hospital in Istanbul, a medical examiner studies Leila’s body and writes a report on his findings. He determines that Leila’s cause of death was strangulation after being hit by a blunt object. Leila’s body will be sent to the Cemetery of the Companionless, a cemetery for unclaimed people, where funeral rites are not performed and the graves are marked by numbers.
An orderly enters the morgue, asking if Leila’s friends, who are waiting outside, can claim her body. The medical examiner states that only family members can claim bodies or provide funerals.
In a courtyard outside of the morgue, Leila’s five refuse to leave until they are allowed to claim Leila’s body. The director of patient care services tells them that they need to leave because they are not Leila’s family. The five say they were closer to her than her family, but the director refuses. She reveals that Leila’s body has already been taken to the Cemetery of the Companionless.
Once the director leaves, the orderly from the morgue comes to speak with the five, giving them the location and number for her grave.
By Elif Shafak
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