The 40 Rules Of Love

 

40 rules of love is a beautiful book by Elif Shafak that revolves around the concept of Sufism and spirituality. It is a delightful entanglement of two narratives - one is set in 21st-century Massachusetts and follows the story of a stereotypical housewife named Ella. Hers is a story of lost love and hope. She is given the task to write a report on the book "Sweet Blasphemy" which is written by Aziz Zahara.

The second narrative is that of the book "Sweet Blasphemy" set in the 13th-century Turkey and Iran which follows the journey of shams of Tabiz as he wanders from place to place looking for an equal, a confidante with which he could share his knowledge. 

 Over time, Ella has grown complacent with her agonized life, giving up on love and hope. She continues to lead her day-to-day life, drowning herself with household chores and avoiding conflicts. as the story unfolds, she is completely mesmerized by the "Sweet Blasphemy" and decides to take philosophical lessons and rethink her life as studies the 40 rules of love laid down by Shams. She soon comes out of her monotony and sets the ball rolling with a series of heartfelt conversations over email with no other than Aziz Zahara himself.

Taking a step back in past, we see Shams finds out that Rumi, an Islamic scholar and a Sufi mystic, might be the one he has been craving for, the one who would provide him with beatitude through friendship. As Shams was roaming the streets of Konya, he meets a lot of people who were usually seen as the filth of the society and imparts his knowledge of Sufism to them and sees the good in them when no one else does. 

The 40 rules of love is a journey filled with hope, love, humor, pain, and companionship. It mixes fictional and historical narratives to expose all the conflicts that worry humans in the search for meaning and comfort from pain.

This is the book that introduced me to the world of spirituality and allowed me a glance at the intellectual, social, philosophical, and spiritual elements of 13th-century Iraq. 5/5 must read.