Book reviews: Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

  FORTY RULES OF LOVE

"I thought I was picking up a Romance novel, but I got a spiritual journey that changed the way I look at love"
This is going to be an honest review of "Forty Rules of Love" by Elif Shafak. I read that novel and one thing I would say about it "Great". 
I usually love the way Elif Shafak writes the whole storyline and her writing style is quite catchy and I would say I really like her style of writing. The whole book is full of details and as a person who has been reading for a long time and as someone who understands the importance of details I would recommend everyone to read her works.
Genre: Historical fiction, Spiritual, Parallel Narrative.
Introduction:
I was intrigued by the title to be honest so I picked it up and I think I would be regretting now if I had not bought it. As I read it it fascinated me more as it's a journey beyond centuries through the life of two very different women one in the 13th century Konya and one in modern-day America.

The novel basically revolves around the life of a Middle aged lady Ella who has set on a journey to find "Love and Freedom". The characters she got inspired by to fulfill her quest for Love and Freedom are Shams and Rumi.
The story revolves around the Forty Rules of Love that Shams follow and his meaning of Love is beyond race, color and creed. He loves all creations of God as he firmly believes that they are God's reflection. For him a mere human being is a walking Qur'an, one that only he can read and see. He not only challenged Rumi but also inspired him as his companion. To some Shams' words are sheer blasphemy while to others who understand they are the most priceless knowledge and purest form of wisdom that only a few understood.

The only element that didn’t sit well with me was the depiction of Shams and Kimya’s relationship which felt unnecessary as it portrays unrequited love and is slightly dissonant with the story’s spiritual essence. It’s as if a serene bond was wrapped in a layer that didn’t belong to it. But still it played its part as the "fiction" in the spiritual fiction.

My favorite rule from the novel is Rule Number Thirty-Nine:
While the parts change, the whole always remains the same. For every thief who departs the world, a new one is born. And every decent person who passes away is replaced by a new one. In this way not only does nothing remain the same but also nothing ever really changes.
"For every Sufi who dies, another is born somewhere."