This is my first Elif Shafak book & it won't be my last!
Two parallel stories run beautifully together from current day America & 12th Century Turkey.
It contains some beautifully written phrases & quotes.
The author has achieved an engaging, thought provoking narrative which will leave the reader contemplating & assessing their life, long after they finish reading.
Thank you to Net Galley for my ARC, in return for an honest review.

Wow - what an interesting book!. For me I got two books in one. Ella's present day story and Rumi's story set way back in the 13th century.
As always, the author's research is brilliant and the writing of such a high standard.
I finished the book having enjoyed Ella's story and having acquired a little insight into Sufism and with many thoughts buzzing through my mind.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love is a beautifully written novel that intertwines two narratives—one modern, one historical—exploring themes of love, spirituality, and transformation. The story of Ella, a middle-aged woman discovering Rumi and Shams of Tabriz through a manuscript, is engaging and reflective, while the historical sections offer rich insight into Sufi philosophy.

Shafak’s prose is lyrical and evocative, and the philosophical depth adds a layer of introspection. However, while the book is enjoyable and thought-provoking, it didn’t quite reach the level of emotional or literary impact that would make it unforgettable. Some characters felt more symbolic than fully fleshed out, and the pacing occasionally lagged.

Overall, it’s a worthwhile read—especially for those interested in mysticism and the power of love to transform—but it didn’t leave a lasting mark.

I found this difficult to get into and decided to put to one side and try again when my mood is different.

Another brilliant Elif Shafak book that has us eating out the palm of their hand. Visceral and brilliantly written.

This was the first book I have read by Elif Shafak and I enjoyed it very much. I am also quite interested in Rumi, the thirteenth century poet and I have visited Konya, where this story is partially set.
Ella Rubinstein is a housewife looking to do something worthwhile, as her three children are growing up and becoming independent. Ella takes on a manuscript to review. It's about Rumi, a mystic and Shams of Tabriz and his forty rules of love. Whilst reading the book Ella's life is suddenly turned upside down. She embarks on a journey to meet the author and undertakes a personal journey into a world where her faith and love are explored.
I found this book very readable, a pleasure to get back to each time and I will look for other books by this author.

A beautiful story, had me in my feelings 😍 I adore her writing style and think this book is very accessible

My second Elif Shafak read and it did not disappoint.

Ella has just turned forty and realised that she is not happy in her marriage, she loves her children deeply, but her relationship with her husband isn’t what it used to be. When she takes a job with a literary agent and had to read and review a novel by Aziz Zahara, her life turns full circle and she really does discover the Forty Rules of Love!

An unforgettable read, set in present day America with Ella and in 12th century Turkey through Aziz’s novel.

Thanks to Net Galley for the read, add this to your reading list, you won’t regret it.

The premise is beautiful, Spiritual and touching.
Sadly it lacked something for me and I struggled to want to read it.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m afraid to say that I didn’t enjoy this book at all. I felt it focused more on religion and this distracted from the beauty of the story. I’m sure some people will find it interesting but it was not for me.

The Forty Rules of Love contains two parallel narratives. Firstly, Shams of Tabriz and Rumi whom were two real life historical figures. Shams is a wandering whirling dervish, a follower of Islam. Rumi is an unhappy but successful Islamic cleric. Shams becomes Rumi’s spiritual mentor and the two are soon inseparable. Rumi later embraced Sufism and became a famous poet, writing passionate and enduring messages of love.

The fictional characters of Ella and Aziz meet in a contemporary storyline which in some ways echoes that of Shams and Rumi in the thirteenth century. Ella is about to turn forty and is in an unsatisfying, stultifying marriage. She takes on a new role as reader to a literary agent and begins exchanging emails with the author Aziz Zahara. His book Sweet Blasphemy is the first proof she must read and write a report on. During this process Ella is drawn to Aziz story of how Shams and Rumi meet, and finds the writing challenges her to take action and move forward in life. Their relationship develops and eventually the two meet.

There are a host of other characters in the historical storyline, with the main focus of the book being set in this period.

I realise the contemporary narrative is to highlight the timeless nature of love, spirituality, and the search for meaning but I found this novel really hard going, it is very slow and drawn out. I found the relationship between Ella and Aziz totally unbelievable. The email exchanges were fine, however the later events and evident lack of chemistry or passion between the characters reduced the power of their story.

Perhaps I might have enjoyed the novel more if it had been solely based in the 13th century and I could have immersed myself fully in the story, but jumping backward and forwards to the current period was jarring and provided a disjointed experience. I would have given up altogether after reading nearly half, but was a little curious to find out what would happen to Ella, after all we know from the beginning what happens to Shams and Rumi. I ended only reading Ella’s chapters to the end. Sadly I found the writing in these somehow flat and lacking emotion, strange since the whole book is about love and being human. I am disappointed because I enjoyed The Island of Missing Trees so much recently, it was a book club poll winner.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

I’ll be up front. Prior to reading this book my experience of reading Elif Shafak (two books, There are Rivers in the Sky and The Island of Missing Trees) propelled her right up near the top of my list of favourite writers. On that basis alone I was looking forward to The Forty Rules of Love. And maybe partly because my expectations were so high, I was disappointed.

The book is a dual timeline, balancing a journey of self-discovery for Ella, a middle-class liberal Jewish housewife in the States, against the historical story of the relationship between the thirteenth century Turkish poet, Rumi, and the whirling Dervish, Shams of Tabriz. I’m always a bit sceptical of this format, though normally Shafak does it well. Too often I find that one strand outweighs the other and so it proved in this case. Ella’s storyline felt dull to me and a faint echo of the historical story, rather than offering any kind of enrichment of it. I was less interested in her boredom than with the richness of what felt to me like the main story.

This, then, is a matter of historical fact in which the renowned Rumi becomes obsessed with his spiritual teacher, alienating many people along the way and inspiring many others, until events reach a tragic conclusion. Both Rumi and Shams are still quoted today and the book takes the reader through Shams’ Forty Rules of Love, showing us events through a lot of different points of view, which I liked.

So far so good, but I did find that for much of the book I was sucked into dense paragraphs and pages of philosophical exposition. The minor characters, who by and large don’t get bogged down in this kind of detail, are much the most entertaining and engaging (even the baddies). Shams comes across as alternatively too good or too bad to be true (perhaps that’s deliberate) and Rumi, the leader, seems overwhelmed by him to the point of neglecting family and friends.

I found the religious debate and discussions o overwhelming that they were almost suffocating; too much of it felt as if I was being lectured, rather than encouraged, about a better way to live my life. When I compare that with the sparkling storytelling and clever construction of, say There Are Rivers in the Sky, I have to admit I was disappointed, and it took me a lot longer to read than I had thought.

Just because this book isn’t as good as I expected doesn’t, of course, make it bad and I’m sure many other will people enjoy it. But for me, it’s not Shafak’s best.

I was given a copy of Elif Shafak's The Forty Rules of Love from Goodreads and Penguin in exchange for an honest review - and honest I shall be.

This was a very tepid novel, which is a real shame considering I very much enjoyed the rebellious spirit of 10 minutes 46 seconds (or whatever the title was) that I read for my book group.

Truth be told, I may well have not finished it but ploughed on for my review. This was close to a one-star, apart from Desert Rose, the whore-with-a-heart who had some enjoyable scenes, even though her character lacked dynamism overall. Basically, she really love God and that was her thing.

So, a housewife (and not a particularly interesting one at that) has to read a book for her new job working at a publishing house. The book is akin to a sort of Bridges of Madison County-type story-within-a-story where Ella, the housewife, falls in love with the author and his art.
The book is crucial because it's about Sufism, which was portrayed here as a type of divinity within Islam. Love, honour and truth were espoused by the two Sufi devotees, known as whirling dervishes in the 13th Century, Sham and Rumi. There were many skipable scenes, maybe Khaled Hosseini could have given this story the detail it needed for the reader but Shafak, for her good intentions missed the mark.

Love is obviously the core tenet of the book, it is also not interesting. The forty rules of love did not inspire it, in fact it made me quite angry. It was a stream of philosophical musings, aphorisms really, that made me sigh instead of wistfully smile.

Shafak, I think, wrote a book for women of a certain age to feel inspired by love and religious ties. The religious elements of this book are really intense and almost pamphlet-like. At the end, she dictates that the Itinerant Mystics of Islam were focused on "the basic principles of the religion of love", which I think shows how she is promoting the religion by telling us, not showing us.

Speaking of love, mild spoiler alert, this does not feel like a book about love. Actual spoiler now, the marriage between the young girl and her dervish is bizarre. He rejects her and treats her inhumanely from the get-go, leading her to die of a broken heart. It is inferred, I guess that the two dervishes are much more interested in their private party of thought and reason. Nothing about this section is charming.
Also, the affair that Ella has is with a boring, know-it-all convert to Islam. His way of talking grinded my gears and then some. He didn't say a thing wrong. He was 'learned' and humble.

I'll stop as I think I have conveyed my feelings for this book. I am distrustful of Goodreads if this is a 4.11 but will eventually try Shafak's tree book, as long as it has less sap and much less sentimentality. This book skirted around purple prose that it has a faint dye on every page.

Beautifully written with totally believable characters from this wonderful author. Highly recommended

I was sent a copy of The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak to read and review by NetGalley. This is a very interesting book and I learnt a lot about Sufism, which is a belief and practice within Islam. The main story is set in modern times and within that there is a book about a dervish called Shams of Tabriz and his connection with the poet Rumi. There are stories within this manuscript featuring disparate individuals that are made to highlight the said Forty Rules of Love. While I found the novel interesting and am glad that I have read it I cannot honestly say that I was actively rushing back to carry on reading. I have given the book 4 stars as I do think that it is an important book making the teachings of Sufism accessible and is very thought provoking. Certainly not a bad set of rules to live by.

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak is a beautifully woven dual narrative, blending the 13th-century spiritual connection between Rumi and Shams of Tabriz with the modern-day awakening of Ella Rubinstein, a discontented Massachusetts housewife. Through the manuscript Ella is editing, she becomes immersed in the transformative philosophy of Shams’ forty rules, prompting her to re-examine her own life and desires.

Shafak’s decision to tell Rumi and Shams’ story through the perspectives of those around them—sons, wives, beggars, prostitutes, and enemies—adds remarkable depth. The female voices, in particular, stood out to me, bringing both strength and vulnerability as they grappled with applying the rules to their own lives. The forty rules themselves are quietly powerful and linger long after the final page, inviting reflection and a renewed look at love, faith, and human connection.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

If you are a fan of Elif Shafak then this is for you!
A beautifully written book following Rumi, Shams of Tabriz, and wider characters in Konya.
The forty rules are beautiful and really make you think about your actions, love, grief and so much more.
There are chapters of modern day Ella and Aziz so the story flits back and forth between modern love also.
If you enjoy a book to give much food for thought, I recommend this.

I have mixed feelings about this one. As a huge fan of Elif Shafak I regret having to mention a few negative points, but I also want to be honest.
I jumped at the chance of reading this via Netgalley as it was one of only two books of hers I had yet to read. Obviously the author was the greatest pull, but I also own a beautifully illustrated and antique copy of Rumi's poetry, which was another draw.
This one just didn't sustain my interest like her other novels though, and I struggled with it a few times. I think, in large, this was because of the frequent POV changes which on occasion made it difficult to keep up with the characters' voices in my head.
Nevertheless a clever novel and I would still recommend it.
P.S. My all time favourite of Shafak's is 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. It's one of those books you want everyone to read.

I have read a number of Elif Shafak books over the years, some I really love but others I find a bit of a struggle. Unfortunately this was one of the latter. I found the pacing of the book slow in places and I did not really 'connect' with the characters or the timelines. I found myself getting rather bored. Not for me I am afraid.
Thank you to NetGalley Penguin General UK and for the advance copy of this book.

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars
Publication date: 3 July 2025 (originally published in 2010)

Thank you to Viking Books and Netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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’s 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.

Elif Shafak has really established herself as a favourite author of mine, and it was an absolute pleasure to dive into one of her earlier books. I loved the book within a book structure, and I much preferred reading the story of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz through a range of various POVs. The main story, or present timeline, wasn't quite as compelling for me and Ella is a difficult character to get on with or empathise with.
However, this is a minor grumble because Shafak’s prose is ultimately so beautiful, so evocative that I was transported, especially in Rumi and Shams’ story which I was always happy to go back to. This is a very spiritual and philosophical book, almost mystical, and I'm honest enough with myself to admit that I probably didn't grasp all the nuances of Shafak's writing. It is about love in its multitude: romantic, religious, from friends or soulmates, about the importance of living a purposeful life seeking, understanding and accepting these different kinds of love. I just lost myself in the beautiful writing and the beautiful quotes, and I absolutely want to read everything Shafak has ever written and is going to write in the future.