The Rug Merchant

I seem to be writing a lot of "mea culpa" reviews lately. Here's another...

I attended a book conference in the fall of 2005, where the reps from The Penguin Group were really excited about one of their new titles, "The Rug Merchant" by Meg Mullins. When it was released in hardcover a few months later, I suggested it to my co-worker, Cori, who was looking for a good read. She loved it and tried to tell me all about it, and together we attempted to contain her excitement in review form. We were both less than satisfied with our efforts, so "The Rug Merchant" had a short lifespan at the store.

When it was released in paperback earlier this year, I recalled Cori's enthusiasm and selected it as our December Watermark Book Club pick. When show more the time came to read it, I was a bit reluctant. In fact, I didn't even begin reading until the day before book club met. Well, let me tell you--"The Rug Merchant" was hands-down our favorite book club selection of the year.

The protagonist of the story is Ushman, who after an earthquake destroys his Iranian rug workshops and delivers a fifth miscarriage to his wife, moves to pre-9/11 New York to set up shop as a rug merchant. The move comes with the understanding that his wife, Farak, will stay behind to send rugs as well as care for his invalid mother, but will later join him after he saves enough money.

Ushman spends his days catering to his upper-Eastside clients, and spends his evenings longing for his wife who refuses to join him, even after money is no longer a problem. Farak later reveals that her reluctance is due to an affair she had with a Turk which resulted in pregnancy, and she petitions Ushman for a divorce on the grounds of desertion.

Ground in sorrow, Ushman spends his evenings at JFK International Airport where he pretends he's waiting for his wife to arrive, watches others greet loved ones at baggage claim, before he finally retreats to his apartment in Queens. One evening, he buys a ticket to Paris for a change of scenery. Not Paris, but beyond baggage claim through the security gates. This new location rewards him, as a beautiful blonde woman is caught in a stare through a glass reflection. At 19, Stella is half his age, but that doesn't deter the love affair which follows.

Now, I know what you're thinking... that this is some smarmy love story. It's not. Mullins has woven a gorgeous tapestry with beautiful and heartbreaking complexities. The cast of characters and their stories will remain you long after you turn the last page.

Review by Beth Golay, December 27, 2007 show less

I thought as I read "The Rug Merchant" that it had the feel of a very long short story, mainly because it only has three characters. Indeed, I learned from the author blub after I finished it that it is based on a short story of hers published earlier. Mullins does a magnificient job expressing the deep undercurrent of thoughts that go through the simplest of actions. Ushman, an Iranian immigrant to NYC who sells hyper-expensive hand woven rugs, is burdened by loneliness. He has planned for years to bring his wife to New York, but now she has left him for another man and moved to Turkey. The book is the story of Ushman's romance with a young and pretty college student, and of the awkward relationship between himself and his best show more customer, an elderly woman whose husband is terminally ill. show less

Poignant study of an Iranian immigrant to the U.S. and how he faces the shadows of his past and his present loneliness.

this is one of those books i randomly pulled out of the shelves of the public library and considered myself lucky to have read them. the simplicity of its characters stuck with me for years. I read it again recently . what a tender love story! the end was heartrending like the end of Anne Tyler's " A Slipping Down Life", though the story more engrossing.

Ushman is an Iranian rug merchant who left his wife Farat in Iran while he went ahead to America to make a place for them. Farat remained in Iran tending to Ushman's ailing mother and finding the rugs which Ushman sells in NYC. However, Ushman & Farat's marriage was strained before he left by the fact that she had been unable to carry a baby to term.
Ushman is a foreigner alone and lonely in NYC. The story goes on to tell of two relationships which he encounters as he waits for Farat.
While I was interested in the story, I found myself impatient with Ushman and his lack of assertiveness. It was a major detractor to the otherwise engaging novel.

This was an enchanting story, beautifully written. Although the author purposely placed the timing of the store prior to 911, I would love to know what happened over time with the characters. A sequel could happen just to see how the characters would evolve, most especially, the rug merchant himself.

I liked this book very much. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that the pacing was perfect and that I'm glad the novel ended the way it did. There are several possibilities for the way love stories can end, and I'm glad that the author chose to end it the way she did.