"This sharp debut from O’Dell, a professor at Sichuan University–Pittsburgh Institute in China, examines the role of Islam in the writings of 13th-century poet Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi. Lamenting that Western appropriations of the poet 'have often stripped his poems of their religious references and spiritual richness,' she explores how Islamic mysticism permeates Rumi’s writings and outlook. She offers close readings of Rumi’s poems and traces their recurring Sufic themes of “abstaining from the desires of the body” and working to overcome personal imperfections...."
Excerpt of Review from Publisher's Weekly.

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