Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

 "You don't require the complete knowledge of love to experience love; at the same time, having the complete knowledge of love doesn't ensure the experience of love."

This book is rich, poetic, and written in a rhythm. Bouncing between two timelines. You see the pattern repeat itself after so many years.

Ella is a 40-year-old housewife living a safe life with her husband and three kids. Her life looks good from a third person. And she would be called mad for thinking of abandoning her life. But what kind of love is it if it doesn't have the edge of madness? 

The story begins as Ella gets her first assignment for her editorial job. It's a book written by an author Aziz, named “Sweet Blasphemy”. This book is a story of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. When Ella starts reading the book it introduces her to a world she was yet unaware of. 

It's interesting to read how Shams of Tabriz impacts Rumi’s life and how the book, Sweet Blasphemy, impacts Ella's life. Throughout the book, the 40 rules of love guide you in your journey of understanding love. 

I loved the book as I began reading it. And I was left with an emptiness as it approached the end. 

“Love is the water of life. And a lover is a soul of fire! 

The universe turns differently when fire loves water.”