By Amir Hamza
“The Forty Rules of Love” is a 2009 release, short fictional novel composed by Elif Shafak which revolves around the protagonist Ella and her forbidden love interest Aziz. It builds a story within a story by penning down the lesser-known tale of two famous scholars – Shams of Tabrez and Maulana Rumi by co-relating it with Ella’s experience in a parallel setting.
Elif Shafak
The writer, Elif Shafak, is a famous Turkish writer. She was born in 1971 in Turkiye and is among the best-selling writers in that part of the world. Although she is Turkish, Shafak writes in English and is widely known today for this book and its associated success. She has translated many of her books into her native language, and is an award-winning novelist. She is also the most widely read female writer in her country.
Brief summary
The book begins with dissecting Ella’s monotonous life into its pages. Employed as a book reviewer, she is married to David who is not very fair and just to her as a husband. She is appointed to read Sweet Blasphemy, a book on the life of Maulana Rumi, written by Aziz. She finds his email address because the book intrigues her and corresponds with Aziz in their first email. The two communicate with each other regularly through emails, and Ella deep down understands of their conversation may not seem so pure to the outside world, but they eventually meet. In the other universe, as Ella reads Sweet Blasphemy, she discovers how Shams meets Maulana Rumi who lives in Kunya. There, they start discussing ideas that are completely unfamiliar to the people of the time and develop a unique friendship. Everyone starts despising Shams, even Aladdin – Rumi’s son – who grows dislike for the dervish. The book follows both stories simultaneously, dissecting themes and concepts in a different style of writing.
The main themes of the novel: There is no doubt that each chapter of The Forty Rules of Love has a very unique theme. However, the theme of love supersedes the rest – in the forbidden love of Ella and Aziz, and somewhere with a deeper connotation to the fictionally represented forbidden love of Maulana Rumi and Shams of Tabrez.
A takeaway from the novel is the idea of ‘change’ in life which is essential to move forward and toward a better condition. “Try not to resist the changes that come your way.” Here Shams further argues, “how do we know that the side we are used to is better than the one to come”. So change is a necessary part of life. Only love can bring changes in someone’s life. It is love that changes you within and without.
Another theme is the idea of self-love. “If you want to change the way others treat you, you should first change the way you treat yourself.”
The Forty Rules of Love is a novel worth reading. I personally liked the book because of the following reasons. Firstly, the language of this novel is very simple and understandable. The diction is very interesting and charming. The use of different literary devices such as metaphors, alliterations and other devices add more charm and beauty to the novel. Secondly, the chapters of this book are short so it does not get monotonous for the reader as each chapter alternates between the two stories. Thirdly, the description of the characters is fantastic. While reading I could not believe that it is mere fiction but rather living men and women talking to each other. Finally, the way Elif Shafak presented the Forty Rules of True Love- the love of God and humanity – is of much appreciation.
Although the novel is unique in its features and is very skillfully designed by Elif Shafak, there are some flaws in the novel. For example, the plot is not very well constructed. Secondly, the writer used the story-within-a-story technique which may confuse some readers. The language is simple but the reader needs to be more focused because of two stories side by side, switching from one story to another.
Moreover, it has faced a lot of criticism as many believe the representation of forbidden love between the well known scholars from an Islamic Era represent an ill-concept to the world even if it was meant to be fictional. The idea that the two were in love, romantically ot platonically, does not sit well with the audience and therefore had caused some stir in the months of its launch. It is also not an accurate representation of Sufism and Mysticism but tries in its own way to set the premise for the fictional story within. (Edited by Khadijah Kamili)
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