Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Soufi, mon amour

Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Soufi, mon amour by Elif Shafak

5 reviews

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I have been meaning to read something, anything, by Shafak for years. She's a prolific author, and everything she writes seems to have really good reviews. Plus, I follow her on social media and her advocacy and activism for feminism is really inspiring. I know this isn't one of her most well known books, but I found it at a used bookstore sometime during the past few years, and the audiobook was available from my library, so this is where I started...

In the present day, Ella Rubenstein is a wife and mother who doesn't even realize how...unsatisfied...she's been in life. When she starts a new part time position with a literary agency, she is assigned to read a novel draft called "Sweet Blasphemy" by author Aziz Zahara. The novel, which unfolds in parallel to Ella's story, tells the thirteenth century tale of Shams of Tabriz, a whirling dervish known to have been the close companion and confidant of the famous poet of love, Rumi. As Ella is drawn into the mysticism and ruminations on love throughout the novel, she begins an email conversation with the author, Aziz. Over time, their connection with each other grows into something more than pen pals, and Aziz's philosophy about love as a unifying connection across all peoples and religions starts to convert Ella in the same way that Shams' philosophy in the past turned Rumi on to a new path as an advocate of passion, mysticism, and love.

This was an incredibly reflective and lyrically philosophical novel. I was originally quite surprised, and not entirely happily so, to realize how heavy the theological philosophy was throughout this story. I really don't have a lot of knowledge about Rumi's personal life or path, so I don't know if I realized (though perhaps I should have considering the time and climate of his life) how intertwined his views and teachings on love were with that type of religious outlook. However, as I read further, I realized what Shafak was doing. She began with that strong connection to formulaic religion and over the course of the book, through Aziz and Shams' influences, transformed it into something looser and, in my opinion, more meaningful. The basic doctrines of religion, to help the downtrodden and love all neighbors are those that are so easy for well-off/powerful followers to ignore, creating hierarchies in access and reality, which is the reason I struggle with organized religion. Shafak's use of different reviled perspectives - the drunk, the harlot, the diseased - to show the internal goodness that many of these "dismissed due to their exterior persona" characters, and throws into sharp relief the truly irreverent and actually "against the faith" caricatures: the corrupt. What an impressive illustration of what faith is supposed to be versus what it has been manipulated into.

I also appreciated the interrogation of the obvious/surface interpretations of religious texts, to get to the deeper meanings. Again, it's philosophy I'm not altogether interested in personally, but would be great critical thought for all believers (something I feel that many believers, of any religious doctrine, could use more of). In this respect, this novel reminded me in some ways of Alif the Unseen, with that deeper read into the real meaning of these religious texts. Just...a great commentary on how religion (faith) and love were originally meant to be so intertwined and somehow along the way, we've really lost the plot with that. On that note: love. This was clearly a central factor to the novel and it was explored from myriad perspectives and styles, successful and otherwise, with deep meditation on what different ways love can look and, especially, at how loving and losing reaches a deeper mine of emotion than simply loving. I really liked, like really a lot, the forty rules of love and how they were woven into the story. It was a gorgeously done thematic connection and they really did make me think and reflect.

While I did have a few...less favorite...things, like the audiobook narrator was not my favorite, the fact that I thought all the “plot” and “characters” stood only in service of the philosophy, and not on their own, and that overall this was a bit too slow and reflective for my personal tastes, stylistically, I have to say that my opinion of Shafak as a storyteller is high. The way she is able to weave a spell with her words is impressive and her disrupting of the status quo of religious hierarchy (with the truth of their own teachings!) is incredibly satisfying. I will definitely be picking up another by her after this reading experience.

“Having roots nowhere, I have everywhere to go.”

“Ella found it puzzling that an unpredictable and impenetrable world could drive people like her back into their houses but almost the opposite affect on someone like Aziz, inspiring him to embark on adventures far off the beaten track.”

“The quest for Love changes us. There is no seeker among those who search for Love who has not matured on the way. The moment you start looking for Love, you start to change within and without.”

“You know, this is exactly why I abhor religion. All sorts of them! Religious people are so confident of having God by their side that they think they are superior to everyone else.”

“Do not go with the flow. Be the flow.”

“Is there a way to grasp what love means without becoming a love first? Love cannot be explained. It can only be experienced. Love cannot be explained, yet it explains all.”

“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.”

"Love is the water of life. And a lover is a soul of fire! The universe turns differently when fire loves water."

Content Warnings

taulkstoomuch's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Been trying to combat my short attention span and bad night habits by reading a little every night. This book really helped with that. I read a little everyday and it took me about a month to get through it. Took ages, but was interesting enough to keep me wanting to read onwards.

Content Warnings

lucie437's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

raelin's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I think this is a book I would love to revisit at some point when I am in a different mood. I read this for book club and my head just wasn’t in a space to absorb the full message.

I enjoyed Rumi/Shams story so much more than the Ella story. I honestly probably could have done without it. Her story felt very brushed over and undeveloped. We heard more about the dishes she made for dinner than what was happening with her relationship with her kids, especially her younger daughter with an ED.

I am interested in reading more from Elif after reading this and watching a couple of interviews with her.

Content Warnings

saroshnandwani's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

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