The Forty Rules of Love

A Novel of Rumi

De: Elif Shafak

Narrado por: Laural Merlington

In this follow-up to her acclaimed 2007 novel The Bastard of Istanbul, Turkish author Elif Shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives---one contemporary and the other set in the 13th century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz---that together incarnate the poet's timeless message of love.

Ella Rubenstein is 40 years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent. Her first assignment is to read and report on Sweet Blasphemy, a novel written by a man named Aziz Zahara. Ella is mesmerized by his tale of Shams' search for Rumi and the dervish's role in transforming the successful but unhappy cleric into a committed mystic, passionate poet, and advocate of love. She is also taken with Shams's lessons, or rules, which offer insight into an ancient philosophy based on the unity of all people and religions, and the presence of love in each and every one of us. As she reads on, she realizes that Rumi's story mirrors her own and that Zahara---like Shams---has come to set her free.

©2010 Elif Shafek (P)2010 Tantor

a philosophical masterpiece

This book is a lot of things to me. A spiritual guide, reminder to keep it simple, an acknowledgement that pain exists and can be useful too. There are manu things that resonated with my deep unnamed feelings , and also few things which I have never felt. I admire Author's writing style, it is simple yet effective. Each chapter is in first person and it felt like each character is talking to me and putting their heart out. Story switches around two perioda in time, and explains the beauty of a Mentor - Mentee relationship; be it Rumi and Shams or Aziz and Ella.Though it is a fiction, it did feel personal. With a touch of spirituality, pain and love, I find this book an interesting read.

enjoyed, but slow to get into it

I chose it because it takes place in part where I used to live, and because of Time as central. it was super predictable but still enjoyable. some good reflections on wisdom. very accessible way to read about Sufism, but pretty romanticized version

Pronounced words

A fantastic story with meticulous detail!
However some words needed to be pronounced better !
A market place in Persian, Arabic or Turkish language is pronounced bazaar and not bezaar! For example
Overall highly recommended it ❤️

book that takes you in and makes you live it

What made the experience of listening to The Forty Rules of Love the most enjoyable?

the plot is just alluring ,captivating and magical

Any additional comments?

i literally left my life and immersed my self in this book and was done in 3 days i almost didn't wanna go to work ,eat or do anything but read this book
great book , wonderfully written , captivating , just amazing i was sad to see it finished although i could not wait to read it all !

Beautiful!

This is now one of my most favorite books. I absolutely loved it! Must read!

Refreshing lens into Muslim way of life

I enjoyed the novel within a novel concept. I preferred the "Sweet Blasphemy" story more than the surrounding story of Ella the unhappy suburbanite. Ella's character was either no very likable or not developed as well it could have been. On the whole, this was an entertaining way to learn history, which I always love. I knew of the mystic poet Rumi coming into the read, but I didn't know of Shams of Tabriz whom I really liked and subsequently looked up to learn more.

Simply Magnificent

The story takes you between different timelines and meanwhile allows you to visualize each character from their own perspective. The beautiful story of Shams and Maulana becomes even more enchanting. My hats off to the writer for creating such an amazing and captive treasure. Thank you Elif Shafak. I salute you. Many blessing to you dear.

So well done.

Where does The Forty Rules of Love rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top Ten

What did you like best about this story?

The story is straightforward and not tricky - and it's beautifully told. The poetry of Rumi and the relationship with Shams of Tabriz reflect well in the past as well as the present time. There is a gentleness in the story that I liked. The mundane-ness of a woman planning meals for her family -- I do this to escape life's realities. Maybe it's just the timing of this particular choice, but the story resonated on many levels. Can't wait to listen to more by this author.

What does Laural Merlington bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Oh, the deliciousness of her deliberate pronunciation of each syllable gives the words weight and value. Loved it.

Any additional comments?

I'm well read and a tough critic -- I absolutely loved this story and it's delivery. Definitely worthwhile. So much so, I need to listen again - and I just finished it last week. Every aspect of the story and delivery were solid. Good work.

enchanted..educated.and droolingly good listen

let it play out and take time to Savor the storytellers honesty...after it finished I played the jig saw puzzle template it left in my mind accompanied by Sufi net music.i am 75 years old but I feel like I needed my years of experience to really resonate with this work of art.

It all comes together beautifully

When I started listening to this book It was very confusing, too many characters to pay attention to, who was whom, I got lost, as i continued to listen to this story it all came together beautifully and clear. I love 2 stories in this book, I also learned a lot about Sufism, I highly recommended