The Forty Rules of Love
Ratings31
Average rating3.6
I enjoyed the sections about Shams, but I was far less taken with the modern tale of Ella.
Ella, in mid-life, gets a job as a reader for a literary agency. (Really? Seems pretty unlikely.) And then she doesn't really do her job, but instead strikes up a correspondence with the author of the novel she's supposed to be reading. Meanwhile, she suspects that her husband is sleeping with other women . . .
I enjoyed the intricacies of the plot, weaving a mid-13th Century story about Rumi with Ella's. But Ella's own story stretched credulity for me, and the many points of view of the interior story (the Rumi novel that she has been assigned to read) were off-putting.
A profound and enlightening book. Reinforces the concept that belief is all about perspective.
Abandoned ~p.100. The main protagonist is flat, dreary, and unlikely to get interesting. The alternate-chapter Whirling Dervish stuff is treacly and religiony. Absent a recommendation from a trusted source, this goes in the slush pile. For any friends who trust my tastes: not recommended.
Average book but did like the message of preaching love (not just tolerance or peaceful coexistence) more than sermons! Reminded me of [a:Khalil Gibran 17337799 Khalil Gibran https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].
I was ready to add this book to my all-time favorites before the last hundred or so pages. Regardless, I was breathtaken multiple times both before and after that mark. It really left an impression on me.