Book Review: The Forty Rules of Love. Author: Elif Shafak.
Hello, everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Today, I shall be reviewing the book 'The Forty Rules of Love' written by Elif Shafak with reference to the relevance of ancient wisdom to our modern day life. It generally so happens that the most ancient as well as common insights and advice are the most effective. When I came to know that the wisdom of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz was depicted in a way relevant to millennials in the form of a story of a typical family, it intrigued me and I decided to embark upon the journey of the Rubensteins.
The Rubensteins are a very typical family where the husband David is always busy, the wife Ella is finding ways to kill time, the eldest teenage daughter Jeanette is lovesick and wants to get married to her boyfriend her parents don't approve of and the younger children are in their own world. Ella accuses Jeanette of being lovesick and delusional, and in doing so asks herself:
'what is wrong about being lovesick?'
Ella Rubenstein is a home-maker who has a husband, three children, a beautiful home and a dog. She has a materially fulfilling life, but could sense a lack of something, a void or an emptiness. She is free to do what she wants, but she like most of us, she is a prisoner of her mind. She tries what she could to be happy and those efforts mostly involve taking care of the dog and cooking. She felt spiritually satisfied by cooking.
One evening when she shouts at Jeanette for being lovesick and delusional, she realizes that her life has come to a standstill. The only friend she has is a dog. In the midst of, or maybe as a natural consequence of her mid-life crisis, she decides to take up a job as a book reviewer in an agency. She is literally all of us in the first week of our new job: overwhelmed, interested, enthusiastic and finally, bemused and full of self-doubt. Since she knows that she isn't working either out of need of passion, her interest in her job is very low.
Her assignment, however is quite interesting. She is supposed to review a book titled 'The Forty Rules of Love' that portrayed the story of Rumi and Shams written by Aziz. Z. Zahara. Ella thinks it's bothersome and irrelevant, but her superior advises her to get on with it because being a reviewer requires looking beyond timelines and assessing art for what it is.
In time, Ella is illumined and fascinated by the story of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. The story of the seeker and the sought who became so intertwined, it was not possible to tell one from the other. She gradually starts applying these rules to different parts of her life and realizes that love has the power to shatter misconceptions, prejudices and even death.
Aziz. Z. Zahara receives a letter from Mrs. Ella Rubenstein, the woman who was supposed to review his book (she had mentioned that in her letter). He is taken with joy at her naivete, her simplistic approach and her notion that love cannot always prevail over pragmatism. He himself is an avid traveler and a seeker. He went on seeking and he went on sinning which brought him to a realization:
'there are no sins, only experiences'.
Aziz and Ella talk about all sorts of things under the sun. Ella now has a friend and a job she is tremendously and palpably interested in. While reading 'The Forty Rules of Love' and communicating with Aziz, Ella starts acknowledging many things which earlier she could not bring herself to, the primary one being that people will always hate what they don't understand. On the personal front, Ella is a happier person, she has a spring in her step, thanks to Rumi, Shams and of course the man who brought their wisdom into her life, Aziz. She is always excited to hear from him and gain from his perspective. She is so happy that she does not even confront David about his affair.
David Rubenstein is confused. He tried his best to be a good father and he was there for his wife. He was so absorbed in his work that he now has nothing in common with his wife. He knows that his wife is in love with someone else now. He also knows Ella had an idea about his affair because he knows that she is goodhearted but not dumb. It was all different now. Ella is in love. More importantly, Ella is leaving.
It is all tough for Ella. In addition to shattering her self-taught beliefs, she is now in love. In love with a man who was well-traveled, experienced and who touched her without touching her. Ella and Aziz are two people who are the embodiment of what the other cannot be. Ella was never a risk-taker, and Aziz was a person who could never see himself in just one place. Love made Ella leave her former life of boredom and loneliness for the sake of Aziz. A man who did not have much time to live.
Ella, the home-maker followed what Rumi and Shams had always preached. To follow our hearts, to shed the identity that no longer described us and to be brave. After all, selflessness is a brave act. Leaving stability for uncertainty is a brave act. Mostly, giving love without anticipation of reciprocity is a brave act.
The novel was an interesting and riveting read because of its book in a book format. I primarily learnt two important things:
It is never too late to start over.
Doing something for the sake of it when it does not make you happy anymore is not integrity. It is a disservice and a compromise you should never make for yourself and for the other person.
Author: Ms. Radhika Sunil Vaidya.
E-mail i.d: radhika.vaidya98@gmail.com
Beautiful review of a beautiful book.Your reviews always give some kind of life lessons,they are a great to read.😍
ReplyDeleteOmg! I'm going to read this book soon, just because of your wonderfully written book review❤
ReplyDeleteVery well written Radhika, all the characters are well portrayed.
ReplyDeleteYour review of this book has increased my curosity,and i have decided to read the book.One sentence in your review i liked very much is,"He touched her,without touching her".This was your masterstroke.However,if you can pickup a few quotes as examples,i would appreciate that.
ReplyDelete