Bibliofreakblog

Crashing Parties & Blaspheming God for Love

Over at that other job I have where I write stuff and don’t get paid either, I’ve had a couple of articles lately.  

Most recently, I reviewed Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love: A Novel of Rumi.

The novel goes back and forth between the story of Ella Rubinstein, and her increasing interest in a modern Sufi named Aziz, and the relationship between Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, who first introduced Rumi to mysticism.

I wrote:

Ella detaches herself from her own family as she falls in love with Aziz. Her actions are not always admirable, and Shafak raises the question of how far a person can rightfully travel into the recesses of mysticism and love when they have children who need them. But Shafak’s Rumi and Shams come alive, bringing their mysticism with them into the 21st century, which is perhaps not all that different from their own time. Shams imparts rules to Rumi that remain controversial, and possibly heretical, in the United States today, such as number 25

(and if you want to know what that rule is, you’ll just have to go read the post for yourself)

Last month, I wrote an article in the Party Crasher section of the paper, about a Mardi Gras party–or as they more properly called it, a Samedi Party.  Here’s a snippet:

Being slightly tipsy is the way to go when you’re watching fire dancing—you’re still aware that fire is dangerous, and you occasionally wonder if you’re standing too close, but you’re too mesmerized by the swooping flames to bother doing anything about it.

Read all about fire-dancing, hula-hooping, the barter system, and pasties here.

Though that was actually in last week’s paper, so if you are in the Seattle area, you can still probably find a copy.  It’s on page 51.