This book is the story of a 40-year-old woman, Ella, who is unhappily married. She goes back to work as a literary agent and her first assignment is to read and write a report on a book called Sweet Blasphemy. The book she is tasked with reading is about 13th-century Sufi poet Rumi and how he encounters his spiritual mentor, Shams who was a dervish. The meeting between Rumi and Shams was life=changing for Rumi and put him on the path of his life.

In the present day, as Ella is reading about the relationship between Rumi and Shams, she finds the courage to transform her own life. Ella is inspired by tales of love and how it works in the world.

The book is cleverly written with parallel narratives that beautifully intertwine in all the right places.

Anyone that has ever been in love or an interest in mysticism and history would enjoy this book.

I loved these quotes from the book:

“Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven’t loved enough.”

“Do not go with the flow. Be the flow.”

“Where there is love, there is bound to be heartache.”

Read it again! I'm sure with a second reading I will get even more out of it that I may have missed the first time.

Elif Shafak is an acclaimed Turkish author. She writes in both English and Turkish. Her books have been translated into more than forty languages. She has written ten novels, among them, her bestseller The Bastard of Istanbul.

Not all the information given about Rumi and Shams was 100% accurate, but it really doesn't affect the story either way. If you are unfamiliar with the whirling dervish, I'd recommend looking it up online, watch the video of their dancing. It's truly mesmerizing, just like this book.

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Created Jun 25, 2018 at 8:35am • Submit your own review...