The Rug Merchant

This book reminds me of Carson McCullers' book "Where All the Lonely Hearts Go" that I read sometimes a go. A book that tells about loneliness, sadness and despair in a beautiful way. I know those three conditions are not nice things to enjoy, but I have to admit that the writer, Meg Mullins is really a master in describing the negative feeling in a good way.

This story is about Ushman, an Iranian guy who leaves his country, his wife and his mother in order to get a better life in New York. But, dreams not always have a good ending. His wife leaves him and gets married with other guy. This condition really turns Ushman down. He breaks into pieces.

Out of the blue, he meets Stella, a 19-yr-old-American-girl who also has sad stories about her family. They get together and have a special relationship. Again, happy ending is not their friend. This relationship does not lead to a good ending. The differencies on age, religion and culture indeed become a serious problem between them.

Already translated into Bahasa Indonesia by Penerbit Bentang on May 2009.