Synopses & Reviews
In this follow-up to her acclaimed 2007 novel
The Bastard of Istanbul, Turkish author Elif Shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives—one contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz—that together incarnate the poet's timeless message of love.
Ella Rubenstein is forty years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent. Her first assignment is to read and report on Sweet Blasphemy, a novel written by a man named Aziz Zahara. Ella is mesmerized by his tale of Shams' search for Rumi and the dervish's role in transforming the successful but unhappy cleric into a committed mystic, passionate poet, and advocate of love. She is also taken with Shams's lessons, or rules, which offer insight into an ancient philosophy based on the unity of all people and religions, and the presence of love in each and every one of us. As she reads on, she realizes that Rumi's story mirrors her own and that Zahara—like Shams—has come to set her free.
Synopsis
In this lyrical, exuberant novel, an American housewife is transfigured by an intriguing manuscript about the Sufi mystic poet Rumi.
About the Author
Elif Shafak is an award-winning, bestselling novelist and the most widely read female writer in Turkey. Her books, which have been translated into more than twenty languages, include The Gaze and The Saint of Incipient Insanities. Her op-ed pieces have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and she has been featured on National Public Radio. Elif lives in Istanbul with her husband and two children. Laural Merlington has recorded well over one hundred audiobooks, including works by Margaret Atwood and Alice Hoffman, and is the recipient of several AudioFile Earphones Awards. An Audie Award nominee, she has also directed over one hundred audiobooks. She has performed and directed for thirty years in theaters throughout the country. In addition to her extensive theater and voice-over work, Laural teaches college in her home state of Michigan.