A mesmerizing tale of love-from the author of The Bastard of Istanbul
Elif Shafak, the most widely read female writer in Turkey, has earned a growing fan base all over the world with her bestselling The Bastard of Istanbul. In The Forty Rules of Love, her lyrical, imaginative new novel about the famous Sufi mystic Rumi, Shafak effortlessly blends East and West, past and present, to create a dramatic, compelling, and exuberant tale about how love works in the world. Shafak unfolds two parallel narratives-one set in the thirteenth century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the wandering dervish known as Shams of Tabriz, and one contemporary, as an unhappy American housewife, inspired by Rumi ‘s message of love, finds the courage to transform her life.
2 Cent Review
The story runs in parallels in small town in Northhampton in the year 2008 and Konya in the 13 century; an ecstatically story of love between Shams the darvesh and Rumi also known as maulana. Ella is forty year old subarban housewife living in Northampton, going through midlife crises, she is writing a report for a publisher who sent her a script from an unknown author named Aziz. The script titled the sweet blasphemy is tale of Shams a darvesh sufi wanderer and a respectable Scholar Rumi ,
Rumi has everything going for him fame respect, followers but he is not satisfied until he meets Shams of Tabriz, his life is turned around goes the opposite way.
The book is beautifully written, it leaves the reader wanting for more. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho has its own place, but The Forty Rules of Love not only fill the void which was left behind by The Alchemist but goes miles beyond.
