In One Brief Moment All Eternity by Elif Shafak explores the life and work of Gustave Flaubert through the real and fictional women who shaped him. Spanning decades and continents, from revolutionary 19th century France to Istanbul, Egypt and Beirut, it is a meditation on creativity in times of political crisis and war, asking what literature can hope to offer when the world feels broken. Building a bridge between Western prose and Eastern poetry, this story offers a portrait of the life of Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, told through the lives of the women - both real and fictional - who shaped him.