The forty rules of love is a terribly frustrating novel, because almost everything about it is wonderful except for the work itself. I dont have the luxury of being apolitical books the. Read the forty rules of love, by elif shafak on bookmate. The energy, complexity and empathy found in shafak s previous work are evident only in the sections of the text devoted to rumi. I love elif shafak and i love learning about culture through novels thanks. She is turkish but grew up mainly outside of turkey. Elif shafak is an awardwinning britishturkish novelist and the most widely read female author in turkey. Elif shafak s most popular book is the forty rules of love. She is a contributor for the telegraph, guardian and the new york times and her ted talk on the politics of fiction has received over 300,000 views since july 2010. Turkish writer elif shafak s first novel, pinhan, won the rumi prize in 1998. Pinhan the mystic, her first novel, in 1998, won her the. Infused with guilt, anxiety, and bewilderment about whether she could ever be a good mother, shafak stopped writing and lost her faith in words altogether.
Elif shafak joined us at the henley literary festival 2019 to talk to daniel hahn about her latest book, 10 minutes, 38 seconds in this strange world. Elif shafak has presented the narratives of two thirteenth century islamic mystics in this novel. With her new novel safak takes the readers on a long journey in quest of love. She is an awardwinning novelist and the most widely read woman writer in turkey. Infused with sufi mysticism and rumis incomparable lyrics, and sweetly human in its embrace of our flaws and feelings, shafak s shrewd, seductive, and affecting novel brilliantly revives the traditions of shams and rumi, and daringly illuminates the differences between religion and spirituality, censure and compassion, fear and love of life in our own violent world. Honour, a turkishkurdish family saga set in london, takes elif shafak into new literary territory. Elif shafak talks to susanna rustin on life in the west and facing controversy at home in turkey. Tedtalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the ted conference, where the.
Like my children she was what is today commonly called a third culture kid tck. She is also a womens rights activist and an inspirational public. Her first assignment is to read a novel about the ancient sufi mystic, rumi, who was transformed by the whirling dervish into a passionate poet and advocate of love. Elif shafak is one of turkeys most popular and outspoken novelists. Elif shafak once referred to herself as an agnostic mystic. No one does sisterhood and resilience like audre lorde. She writes in both turkish and english, and has published 15 books, 10 of which are novels, including the bestselling the bastard of istanbul and the forty rules of love. Elif shafak is a unique author with a perspective that could only come from her third culture background. This friendship turns rumis life upside down and eventually brings about shams own murder. Pinhan tells the story of a hermaphrodite mystic against the backdrop of the ottoman empire.
As in elif shafaks other works, pinhan explores and challenges. Elif shafak is a turkishbritish writer, storyteller, essayist, academic, public speaker, and womens rights activist. Her first novel, pinhan the hidden was published in 1997. Elif shafak is an awardwinning novelist and the most widely read female author in turkey. Turkish novelist elif shafak s new novel, the forty rules of love, takes us into the life of a middleaged jewish woman from central massachusetts, who as a reader for a literary agent, has just picked up a copy of a novel by a modern sufi mystic. Shafak spent her teenage years in madrid, spain before returning to her native turkey. Elif shafak builds on this simple idea to argue that fiction can overcome identity politics. Shafak is a prolific, controversial and critically acclaimed young turkish novelist, columnist.
She writes in both turkish and english, and has published seventeen books, eleven of which are novels. Just as hesses siddhartha is a mystical introduction to buddhism, so is this novel a view into sufi mysticism. An enchanting combination of compassion and cruelty. When her characters drink coffee or eat chocolate, shafak s basic aim is to explore the psychology of a spiritual seeker torn between obsession and yearning.
The rumi phenomenon between orientalism and cosmopolitanism the case of elif shafak s the forty rules of love. Shafak, elif article about shafak, elif by the free. Elif shafak s the forty rules of love2009 tells two parallel stories that mirror each other across two very different cultures and seven intervening centuries. I am very grateful to elif shafak for this gorgeous tale, so elegantly and masterfully told. After the birth of her first child in 2006, turkish writer elif shafek suffered from postpartum depression that triggered a profound personal crisis. When the poet and mystic, rumi, met his spiritual companion, shams of tabriz, one of the first things the latter did was to toss rumis books into water and watch the letters dissolve. The forty rules of love is a novel by elif shafak and published in 2010. And just as i felt emotionally transported by hesses masterpiece, so did i during the forty rules of love. After the death of the great nobelprizewinning author, ben okri, alice walker, elif shafak and others offer their personal tributes published. Her first novel, pinhan the sufi 8th edition, which she published at age 27, was awarded the rumi prize, which is given to the best work in mysticaltranscendental literature. In the pulsating moments after she has been murdered and left in a dumpster outside istanbul, tequila leila enters a state of heightened awareness.
Elif shafak is the acclaimed author of the awardwinning the gaze and the bastard of istanbul and is the foremost female author in turkey. In this novel, which runs in two parallel narratives across two different eras, seven centuries apart, elif shafak spins a beautiful tale to bring the past and the present together with one binding element. Her first assignment is to read a novel about the ancient sufi mystic, rumi, who was transformed by the whirling dervish into a passionate poet and advocate of. A new title from the author of the flea palace, shortlisted for the indep. In this followup to her acclaimed 2007 novel the bastard of istanbul, turkish author elif shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narrativesone contemporary and the other set in the th century, when rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as shams of tabrizthat together incarnate the poets timeless message of. On the conflicting demands of writing, creativity, and motherhood. Intercultural dialoque and richness of differences elif shafak was born in strasbourg, france, in 1971. Elif shafak author of the forty rules of love goodreads. As in elif shafak s other works, pinhan explores and challenges the idea of identity as a pregiven, fixed entity. In this lyrical, exuberant followup to her novel, the bastard of istanbul, acclaimed turkish author elif shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives one. The novel tells the story of a hermaphrodite mystic a little known but revered tradition. Elif shafak is the best author to come out of turkey in the last decade orhan pamuk hyperactive and hilarious independent elif shafak is the acclaimed author of the bastard of istanbul and the forty rules of love and is the most widely read female novelist in turkey. The turkish novelist on finding a sense of freedom with orlando, crying over james baldwin and her love of cookbooks. Shafak holds a phd in political science and she has taught at various universities in.
Elif shafak was born in france, strasbourg, in 1971. If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment. When the poet and mystic, rumi, met his spiritual companion, shamsitabriz, one. Elif shafak has 39 books on goodreads with 548556 ratings. A moving novel on the power of friendship in our darkest times, from internationally renowned writer and speaker elif shafak. In this lyrical, exuberant followup to her novel, the bastard of istanbul, acclaimed turkish author elif shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narrativesone. Elif shafak is an awardwinning britishturkish novelist and the most widely read. Elif shafak is more than a little in love with rumi, the sufi mystic poet who features in her novel the forty rules of love. The book broadly divides into part based on famous sufi mystics shams tabriz as well as. Elif shafak is turkeys most widely read female author. From bookershortlisted author elif shafak, honour is a gripping tale of love. In this lyrical, imaginative novel, author elif shafak unfolds two parallel narrativesone contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when the sufi poet and mystic rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the infamous wandering dervish known as shams of tabriz.
Pinhan was awarded the rumi prize, an award given to best works in mysticaltranscendental literature. Elif shafak is an awardwinning novelist and the most widely read female writer in turkey. What happens when two men, one a respected religious leader and the other a wondering mystic, develop a relationship so close and intimate, a relationship of perfect love. T hree months before her first child was born, elif shafak, turkeys leading female novelist, found herself facing prosecution and a potential threeyear prison sentence. Read the forty rules of love, by elif shafak online on bookmate an american housewife is transformed by an intriguing manuscript about the sufi mystic poet rumi in this lyrical, exuberant follow. Indeed, the bastard of istanbul, her sixth novel and the second written in english, recently led to a suit by the rightwing attorney kemal kerincsiz, who declared that shafak s armenian. Elif shafak was born in france to a turkish diplomatic family in 1971, and as a child lived in spain, jordan and germany before studying in ankara. Shafak holds a phd in political science and she has taught at various.
When ella, a disillusioned 40yearold american housewife, reads a manuscript about rumi. He suffers humiliations from shams, a gifted mystic but far from perfect human being who cuts him off from his family and followers, but rumi appreciates the deeper meaning behind the tests shams sets for him. Shafak, elif, 1971, turkish novelist who writes in turkish and english, b. Her books explore identity, language and gender and she believes that literature reminds us of our common humanity. The sufis say, knowledge that takes you not beyond yourself is. Books by elif shafak author of the forty rules of love. The other leg of the compasses, however, inscribes a wide circle and travels all over the world born in strasbourg, elif shafak is one of the leading voices of contemporary turkish literature. Critics have named her as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary turkish and world literature. She is also a womens rights activist and an inspirational public intellectual and speaker. More than a decade later, its fitting that her newest book, the forty rules of love, circles back to the th century persian poet and sufi mystic. The most widely read woman novelist in turkey, she has written nearly 20 books, most of them novels. She is also a political commentator and an inspirational public speaker. A generous, compassionate novel, rich in philosophy and culture, pinhan tells the story of a hermaphrodite mystic against the backdrop of the ottoman empire. But im also aware of the danger of fetishizing them.
She was born in 1971 and is the author of six novels, including the forty rules of love, these forty rules described here are. In this programme turkeys bestselling woman novelist tells joan. Ella rubenstein is forty years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent and suddenly her life is transformed. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages. The forty rules of love by elif shafak reading guide. She spent her teenage years in spain, before returning to turkey. Elif shafak was born in strasbourg, france, in 1971. Couched in rumis philosophy of love, shafak s book is a novel within a novel.
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