The Forty Rules of Love: The magical tale of love and self-discovery from the bestselling author of The Island of Missing Trees

Name: The Forty Rules of Love: The magical tale of love and self-discovery from the bestselling author of The Island of Missing Trees
Rating: 4.534013748168945 (294 reviews)

Elif Shafak

Jun 2011 · Penguin UK

294 reviews

Ebook

368

Pages

Eligible

Switch to the audiobook

About this ebook

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

*One of the BBC's '100 Novels that Shaped the World'*

"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 . . ."

Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfilled. Yet there is an emptiness at the heart of Ella's life - an emptiness once filled by love.

So when Ella reads a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and his mentor Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, she is ready to look at her life anew. Compelled to embrace change, she embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author. It is a quest infused with Sufi mysticism and verse, taking Ella and us into a faraway world where faith and doubt are heartbreakingly explored. The Forty Rules of Love is a mesmerising tale of discovery, language, truth and, of course, love itself.

'Enlightening, enthralling. An affecting paean to faith and love' Metro

'Colourfully woven and beguilingly intelligent' Daily Telegraph

'The past and present fit together beautifully in a passionate defence of passion itself' The Times

*** ELIF SHAFAK'S NEW NOVEL IN ONE BRIEF MOMENT ALL ETERNITY IS OUT NOW ***

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER *One of the BBC's '100 Novels that Shaped the World'* "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 . . ." Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage ...

Discover more

Ratings and reviews

294 reviews

Juwairiyah Nawaz

March 28, 2022

This book was recommended to me by my mother. This is such a beautiful book which can make us reflect how similar the struggles of people in the past have with the people in present. It's a book which describes of a friendship that cannot be defined. A friendship between two human being which brings the best out of each other and motivates each other to be the best version of themselves. Every rule even written in 1200s is still relevant today. Every chapter will compel one to stop and think and go back and re-read it.

Shahanaz

May 2, 2021

the book gives a provoking message as it a novel sweet blasphemy that begins to change the Ella's life. Ella Rubinstein is a 40 years old housewife who is unsatisfied with her married life. Her husband named David who deceives her in their marital relationship and has extra affairs too. coming close to the book ,is all tell about the value of love in life. The book consists of forty rules of love and the love of religion Islam .The book tells about the two stories mainly. The modern women with a unhappy married life and the spiritual story of Rumi and Shams The story of Shams and Rumi comes to the book through Ella, while she got a job as a reviewer in a literacy agent .And she pick her first book is sweet blasphemy, as she enjoyed her book as a first read , she began to research about the author[AZIZ]. At last she sent a mail, gradually they become friends by mailing everyday. the plot of the story completely changes after she tell her husband about the affair with Aziz.. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

9 people found this review helpful

Mo Al-Enbaree

February 16, 2019

I finished this book whilst in Istanbul on holiday and cannot begin to describe how immersive the sensation was! A truly blissful read, with high spirited use of local syntax, recounting a complicated period in history and a magical description of two glorious characters. Definitely worth a read and read again... very highly recommended!

20 people found this review helpful

About the author

Elif Shafak is one of today's most influential international writers and intellectuals who straddle East and West. She is the acclaimed author of ten novels including The Architect's Apprentice and The Bastard of Istanbul, and is the most widely read female writer in Turkey. Her work has been translated into over forty languages and she has been awarded the prestigious Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. She is also a public speaker, a women's and LGBT rights activist and a commentator who regularly contributes to world publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel and La Repubblica. Elif has been longlisted for the Orange Prize, the Baileys Prize and the IMPAC Dublin Award, and shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the Ondaatje Prize. She lives in London and can be found at www.elifshafak.com.

Elif Shafak is one of today's most influential international writers and intellectuals who straddle East and West. She is the acclaimed author of ten novels including The Architect's Apprentice and The Bastard of Istanbul, and is the most widely read female writer in Turkey. Her work has been tra...

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets

Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.

Laptops and computers

You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.

eReaders and other devices

To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.

Flag as inappropriate