As i mentioned in few previous posts that i am not a smart buyer of books specially when i have to choose among random piles (not totally random actually but not well organized) .When i have to choose many while keeping in mind that it is a rare opportunity (once in a year) to buy books because our small city has no book shop which has collection of international books though Sukkur (25 km) has few but due to be much crowded it seems impossible to stay in shop for long . The books i had bought during our December trip to Karachi were mixture of fiction and scientific research work by different authors .Among which i found one beautiful novel two weeks ago.
" Forty Rules of love " by Turkish best seller writer Elif Shafak . It is an enchanting book written skillfully about love in the light of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz .
Sharing Summery below taken from here
Love is the most important theme in the novel and it appears in
many forms, each bleeding into the next. The first and most fundamental love in the narrative is self-love and, in that way, self-acceptance; this is most clearly demonstrated through the way that Ella moves about the world. Downtrodden and unhappy in her daily life and in her marriage, Ella seems to be at the whims of her family and does not appear to do anything for herself. Because she does not appreciate herself and her uniqueness, and because she blames things like her husband’s string of affairs on herself, Ella is unable to appreciate those things that make her desirable until she explores the Sufi teachings she learns about in Sweet Blasphemy.
By making herself receptive to the type of love she encounters in the novel, Ella allow goes through a powerful transformation. She eventually learns to love herself, and in doing so, extends this love outside of herself. She in turn accepts her daughter’s engagement instead of viewing it as a failed attempt at love, she values herself more and ends her toxic marriage, and she falls in love with Aziz, the author of Sweet Blasphemy.
When i started this i was specially consumed by it's divinity and depth used through the phrases of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz .I have not read any book about two of these enlightening Sufis until now but after reading this i think i will try to find some nice books on their philosophy.
In this book Narration type is "self" and each character comes and speaks his mind ,which makes it easy to grasp. The definition of forty rules of love seem best explanation of what is love all about actually .Author shares the seven states of transformation of our ego go through and we attain pure self a altered higher level of consciousness which encounter with ultimate reality and Oneness. But because the path is hardest only few mange to achieve in a century.
I think this is worth reading for those who believe or want to believe in love !
To be self-ish is a good thing. You cannot take care of others properly if you are not taken care of first. It is only the selfish that means to satisfy oneself at the expense of others that is bad.
ReplyDeletei completely agree dear Emma well said
DeleteThis does indeed sound like a good novel! And I love the poetry of Rumi.
ReplyDeleteunfortunately i am late to the Rumi but i am sure i will make it up to me
DeleteThanks for sharing
ReplyDeletewelcome Christine
DeleteI'm lucky that we have an excellent library here. If they don't have a book they can get it from another library or buy it.
ReplyDeletealas library yes our small city has one but women don't go to the library actually except they can send their male family members to get some books about academic knowledge and nothing else . i have been dreaming for living in city which has library where ladies can go and read as well since so long .can't say about bigger cities though
DeleteI think I would like this book.
ReplyDeletei bet you will dear Marie and i would love to your thoughts on the Sufi perception of love
DeleteReading is one of the healthiest activities, baili
ReplyDeletethank goodness i am back to my most favorite hobby dear Pedro
DeleteThanks for sharing! love this post
ReplyDeleteSounds a nice book Baili, I do like Turkish love stories and I watch some on Netflix.
ReplyDeletedear Margaret how nice you too enjoy Turkish love stories , my first encounter with Turkish dramas was many years ago when our cable was cut and we bought our personal dish antenna . there were few Persian channels who were showing turkish dramas dubbed in Persian . i found them great and guess what i watched them as much that i was able to learn some Persian language lol
ReplyDeletebut Forty Rules of love is my first book from Turkish literature and i found it very compelling and inspirational .i will look for more certainly
Hello Baili,
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book, I do enjoy Rumi's wise words. Thanks for sharing your review. Have a great day!
welcome dear Eileen
ReplyDeleteDear Baili,
ReplyDeleteYou may be surprised how much this post touches me. I especially appreciate what you said about books. Then, I noticed over on the right side of the page, “Books I Have Read”. I looked up reviews for 3 of the books you’ve read: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force, The Brain: The Story of You. I then went to Amazon and put all 3 of those books on my Kindle. We enjoy the same topics and I thank you for letting us know what has been meaningful to you. I appreciate you, Baili, as an especially aware soul. Kind regards to you, my friend. Thank you for your kind words on my blog.
John
oh this is such a pleasure to know dear John that we share likening for same topics when it comes to books :)
ReplyDeletethis is amazing you found and chose books immediately ,i share here what interests me in awe if blogger friends respond to something particular so i learn how alike is our thinking because it is so natural to feel happy when we find out other people enjoy same things as we do .but to be honest sometimes i think my readings are bit different as most of friends enjoy light topics which i enjoy either but my desire for learning keeps me look for such topics as well .
thank you for kind words always!
Reading is so enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Baili.
All the best Jan
Baili, despite what you wrote about not being a smart buyer of books, you are indeed just that because you always share such meaningful and thought provoking posts about books you have read. Although I have not read any of the ones you have selected, I do enjoy reading your thoughts on your choices.
ReplyDeleteYOu do great book reviews. I enoyed reading it and I love Rumi quotes. Haven't heard of the other Sufi but will look it up. I was happy one day to be walking along a trail by the lake when I came across one of those free standing little book libraries where people donate book. There was "The Prophet" by Gilbran. I loved that I came across that book and gladly brought it home. Some day I'll put it back for someone else to find.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for sharing this book.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
You do write good reviews of books you have read.
ReplyDeleteParecer ser um livro muito bom. Obrigada pela partilha.
ReplyDeleteUma boa semana com muita saúde.
Um beijo.
I think that you can only truely love others if you have learned to love yourself.
ReplyDeleteI love the writings of Rumi but have not read anything by Shams of Tabriz