Wait..Hold up…Spoilers ahead.
The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak got rave reviews which made me pick it up. However, it has now become one of those books for me that everyone likes but I mildly dislike.
The story is about a woman named Ella Rubinstein living in Northampton, Massachusetts in the USA. She seems to have it all: a loving husband, three loving children and a good house. Yet she is at the brink where she is rethinking about her life. There seems to be some undercurrent of monotony and dislike in her marriage with her husband, David. Ella seems to be questioning her life choices and going through a mid life crisis at she turns the dreaded age of forty. This constant doubting on their marriage and her life led her to seek jobs and she landed with one in a literary agency which had assigned her to read and do a report on an obscure book, Sweet Blasphemy by an even obscure author, A.Z. Zahara.
As the story foreshadows,
“Little did she know that this was going to be not just any book, but the book that changed her life. In the time she was reading it, her life would be rewritten.”
So The Forty Rules of Love begins with a prologue about Ella and then has another one which is that of the novel, Sweet Blasphemy.
So what is Sweet Blasphemy about that it changed her life?
The story is about how the wandering Sufi, Shams of Tabriz, became friends with the well established Sufi saint, Rumi. This meeting altered the course of both their lives. Their friendship and the forty rules that Shams narrates resonates with Ella and the happenings of her life too. She also finds a friend in the author, A.Z. Zahara, when he replies to her email and they go back and forth describing their own lives via email. Ella finds a friend in him that she couldn’t in David. Moreover, Zahara’s book echoes with her profoundly.
The story within the story style was the best aspect of the novel. The highlight for me was definitely the interior narrative which gives a glimpse into Sufi thought through Shams’ forty rules that he often narrates to people he meets.
The outer narrative was another matter altogether. Though of course, my personal biases can creep in when it comes to judging a typical American protagonist who seems to have everything. Yet I chose not to let that get in that way and still found that the outer narrative was riddled with stereotypes from an entitled American position such as having a preconceived notion that less developed parts of the world are not as safe (“How could people like Aziz Z. Zahara find the desire and courage to travel the less-developed parts of the globe when even the suburbs in America weren’t safe anymore?”) or how other countries are more dangerous.
Moreover, the outer narrative also freely used several well worn tropes such as the lover getting cancer or the woman who is distressed in love and takes to eastern spiritualism to uplift her circumstances or to start anew (Remember Eat, Pray, Love?).
However, the inner narrative was told from the perspective of many different characters that made it quite colourful, be it Shams or Rumi themselves or Rumi’s family or the prostitute romantically named, Desert Rose, or the local drunkard, Suleiman, who is more religious than the others who abstained from the maligned drink, among many other equally affable characters.
The writing was also not that nuanced, sounding hackneyed and overdone. Though many people would enjoy the simplicity of it. The tone could be preachy at times. But perhaps this is my stereotype since I am not someone who would go for spiritual or self help books where advice is shared. Though I did enjoy some of the forty rules and enjoyed Shams’ not giving a damn attitude, the sayings often came at a time in the narrative that seemed too forced and unnatural and perhaps that also added to the platitudinous tone of the novel.
What made me read it was the fact that I do enjoy Sufi poems and like to know more about Sufi mysticism but I have mostly known it in terms of India. I was interested to read The Forty Rules of Love and know more about Rumi and his ideas. The inner narrative does help one to delve deeper in his thoughts and concepts of Sufi spirituality such as the whirling dervishes and the musical instruments used or ideas of the perfect human being.
However, what could have also helped to get the right flavor of his words and other concepts was if the narrative had used more native or local words rather than only having Rumi’s or Sham’s sayings or poems in English. For me, that would help to get more connected to the language and the essence of their words even though I might not understand everything. Shafak has peppered the narrative with Arabic words for which there is a glossary provided at the back but the same could have also been done with the forty rules and other poems and sayings as well.
The novel, The Forty Rules of Love, though, does help in more understanding of the nuances of Islam and throws an important light on Sufi thought and those who have no or little idea about it, will find the story quite engaging.
However, for me, it was nothing more than a gimmick perhaps to help Rumi’s words resonate with American readers and profit from his growing popularity in the West.
I think I am still willing to read some of her books again especially because they often have female characters at the helm such as The Three Daughters of Eve.
Have you read The Forty Rules of Love? What did you think about it? Have you read other books by Elif Shafak?
Share in the comments below.
This is something that I will have to check out as I am curious to know how it ends. Ella seems like a character that I can relate to though.
This was a great book review post and definitely helped me to see this isn’t a book I would want to read. I wish someone would have told me that about some of the books I have already read ! haha
Thanks for the review. I enjoy finding new books to read.
So I have never ever heard of this book but am happy I came across this review.
I actually took 3 years of Farsi in college and fell in love with Rumi’s poems and Persian poetry. Unfortunately, I have lost a lot of the language due to no one really speaking it around me since graduating college in 2013. So this really makes me want to check out the book!
This sounds like an interesting read! I love finding new books to read so I’ll have to add this one to my list. Great summary!
Interesting review. I personally love finding just the right book at the right time in my life, and it is amazing the influence words can have on our outlooks! I don’t think I’ve really read a “story within a story” format like this before. Appreciate your honest review, may check it out in the future.
Great review! Super detailed and analytical. I’m curious to see how it ends but based on your review maybe I’ll go pick up a copy at the library
Thanks!
I have not read this one, or any of the author’s work. I’m interested in finding out more about this story. Great review.
Its a nice review. Am always looking for a book to read, thank God this came.
Thank you for the introduction of this story. So many times we do not understand different cultures and religion at work.
Need to read this book! Thank for review
I read it but as a bibliophile, I will say that I guess I wasn’t particularly enamored of any of the characters, particularly Ella, who seemed flat and self-absorbed. I kept reading in hopes of finding out how this all tied together, but ultimately, I found it tedious to read.
Yes exactly! I thought the same about ella. She did not come across as a round character. And her positive upliftment came from outside I felt rather than from within
I have not yet read the book but I am curious as to how it will end. I guess it is really something similar to “Eat, Pray, Love.”
Thanks for the review! I am more into fantasy and mystery books so I don’t think this is something I’d check out but I appreciated reading this review.
Looking for some good quality books. I will try this one. Thanks for sharing. Also I will suggest this with my friends.
That seems to be a very interesting book. I like all your book reviews. You have a wonderful writing style.
Loved this book review just like other reviews that you have shared earlier. Thanks for sharing
I am going to save it for my future reference 😀
Thanks for sharing.
I have to read it now! My friends are talking about it too
I havent read this book or any other by Elif but seems interesting
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Thanks for the review! I had not heard of this book prior to reading this post, but it sounds like a good read and one I can find inspiration through.
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I have always been a great fan of your book reviews but I think I am going to pass on this. I am sure books similar to this is going to hurt me in a way.