The book almost followed me. I avoided it initially due to its’corny’ title and cover design which gave the impression that this is one of those romantic novels full of unlikely coincidences and clichés. But then, I started finding it in unlikeliest places and then one day picked it up and tried to find out what it was about.
Rumi - the name was familiar! So were some of his poems.
The story line seemed intriguing – a parallel pair: one set up in contemporary western middleclass home, the other in the latter half of 13th century Islamic world. What is there to lose? I thought and carried the book home. The prose was smooth and before long I was immersed in the world of Sams of Tabriz – a dervish whose mission was to spread love in the world and more particularly, to plant it in the heart of an intellectual giant of the time, Rumi.
This Rumi was not a poet that the world knows of but a preacher of virtue. On the way, we are also introduced to some interesting characters – Desert Rose the Harlot and the Drunkard – to name two of the more interesting ones. The story flowed through multiple viewpoints which made it quite absorbing and we were happy to get some insights about Sufism – the mystic side of Islam.
The forty rules were also scattered for our benefit but while some of them seemed to fit the narration seamlessly, the others seemed imposed. However, these are minor flaws in otherwise enlightening storyline and by the time it ended, one have a feeling of satisfaction and is also tempted to read some parts afresh.
The other story, however, was almost a distraction. Ella, a middle aged housewife, leading a life devoid of joy or purpose but she also doesn’t expect it to be any better. This however changed by the time she reached the end of the story(she also reads the story of Sams and Rumi with us) when she developed enough courage to follow her heart in search of love. In spite of some dramatic showdown within the family, it is this part of the story which falters as it had turned too predictable by the end.
And in a way it also revealed how difficult it is for a man and a woman to reach the ideal of ‘true love’ which the other story tried to teach them. In short, this love story fell well short of the divine love which it aimed to reach and had more or less a ‘filmy’ ending.
Still, overall I liked the book as it introduced me to a world and its characters that was unknown to me, written in beautiful prose and generated interest in Sufism and Rumi’s poetry(which are fascinating – though not to be found in this book).