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blackoxford's review against another edition
2.0
Eat Me, America
Anger, unaccountable, existentially driven, psychologically depressing, non—directive anger is the subject matter of Fury. It is anger without a source and without any definite object, pure anger at being alive. It is anger that cannot be assuaged by apology or bought off by restitution. If one were religious, it might be directed toward God in a Job-like tirade. But in an atheist like Solly Solanka it can only be bottled up and leak out unexpectedly for the most trivial reason.
Solly, a cosmopolitan native of the sub-continent, is aware of his paradoxical situation. He has no reason to be angry; yet he is. This makes him angrier still. The world is alien to him. Not just the people but also the architecture, the food, the culture. Everything irritates him from the insane chat of the cleaning lady to the trivialities of the gossip mags. Every comment, every sound, every person grates. He knows it’s his fault, not theirs. But does that really matter?
Solly collects dolls. In fact he made a fortune through dolls - not by collecting but by creating a best selling one called Little Brain. His commercial success has allowed him to bail from his academic Cambridge donnery (dondom? donnage?) to join the New York glitterati as a media luvvie. This is somewhat strange because one of the few things that Solly knows he is really, really angry about is America. He hates its foreign policies, its garish superficiality, its casual racism, its self-satisfied neediness to make anything worthwhile in the world into a commodity it owns.
Solly has escaped Europe precisely because of what America is. “America is the great devourer, and so I have come to America to be devoured,” he says. His anger is not even noticed in America where everyone is angry about something, and where there are even people like him who are angry about everything. Solly is in his element - the pseudo-sophisticated sham of the Manhattan bien-pensant baroque culture of death. He doesn’t want to be a part of this culture, he wants to be consumed by it as a response to his own self-disgust.
Unfortunately all this anger goes nowhere. It is never explained or resolved but peters out in an unfortunate and sordid set of romances. Kingsley Amis’s Money covered more or less the same ground but with much less hoopla and name dropping. As an almost prophetic statement of the psychological situation of the world just prior to 9/11, I suppose it has merit. But as a novel it’s a collection of snappy lines and even snappier digs that goes nowhere..
Anger, unaccountable, existentially driven, psychologically depressing, non—directive anger is the subject matter of Fury. It is anger without a source and without any definite object, pure anger at being alive. It is anger that cannot be assuaged by apology or bought off by restitution. If one were religious, it might be directed toward God in a Job-like tirade. But in an atheist like Solly Solanka it can only be bottled up and leak out unexpectedly for the most trivial reason.
Solly, a cosmopolitan native of the sub-continent, is aware of his paradoxical situation. He has no reason to be angry; yet he is. This makes him angrier still. The world is alien to him. Not just the people but also the architecture, the food, the culture. Everything irritates him from the insane chat of the cleaning lady to the trivialities of the gossip mags. Every comment, every sound, every person grates. He knows it’s his fault, not theirs. But does that really matter?
Solly collects dolls. In fact he made a fortune through dolls - not by collecting but by creating a best selling one called Little Brain. His commercial success has allowed him to bail from his academic Cambridge donnery (dondom? donnage?) to join the New York glitterati as a media luvvie. This is somewhat strange because one of the few things that Solly knows he is really, really angry about is America. He hates its foreign policies, its garish superficiality, its casual racism, its self-satisfied neediness to make anything worthwhile in the world into a commodity it owns.
Solly has escaped Europe precisely because of what America is. “America is the great devourer, and so I have come to America to be devoured,” he says. His anger is not even noticed in America where everyone is angry about something, and where there are even people like him who are angry about everything. Solly is in his element - the pseudo-sophisticated sham of the Manhattan bien-pensant baroque culture of death. He doesn’t want to be a part of this culture, he wants to be consumed by it as a response to his own self-disgust.
Unfortunately all this anger goes nowhere. It is never explained or resolved but peters out in an unfortunate and sordid set of romances. Kingsley Amis’s Money covered more or less the same ground but with much less hoopla and name dropping. As an almost prophetic statement of the psychological situation of the world just prior to 9/11, I suppose it has merit. But as a novel it’s a collection of snappy lines and even snappier digs that goes nowhere..
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
3.0
La vârsta argintului aşternut la tâmple, profesorul Malik Solanka – istoric al ideilor retras din activitate, plăsmuitor de păpuşi irascibil, celibatar de curând, de când împlinise cincizeci şi cinci de ani şi alesese singurătatea (fiind aspru criticat pentru asta) – se pomeni trăind într-o epocă de aur. Dincolo de fereastra odăii sale, totul se cocea şi năduşea în căldura jilavă a verii nesfârşite, prima din cel de-al treilea mileniu. Oraşul clocotea de ritmul afacerilor. Nivelul chiriilor şi valoarea proprietăţilor imobiliare nu fuseseră nicicând mai ridicate, iar în industria confecţiilor mai toată lumea socotea că moda nu fusese niciodată mai la modă. Noi restaurante se deschideau la fiecare pas. Depozitele, intermediarii, magazinele de lux se dădeau peste cap pentru a satisface creşterea vertiginoasă a cererii de mărfuri speciale: uleiuri de măsline rare, tirbuşoane de trei sute de dolari bucata, transportoare militare de comandă, ultimele programe antivirus, contorsioniste şi gemene oferite drept dame de companie, instalaţii video, obiecte de artă neconvenţională, eşarfe ca un fulg ţesute din smocul de barbă al unor capre de munte dispărute. Atâţia oameni îşi renovau apartamentele, încât materialele de calitate nu se găseau decât la suprapreţ. Lumea era înscrisă pe liste de aşteptare pentru căzi de baie, clanţe, lemn de esenţă tare din import, şeminee de modă veche, bideuri, dale de marmură.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
4.0
I always comes away from a Rushdie novel feeling a little drunk on words, and Fury is no exception. It's typically words and images and ideas balanced precariously on top of each other, and the exploration of dolls and images and politics, the stories we make up to explain the fundamental moments of our lives, is fascinating if sometimes unfocused.
helie's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first of Rushdie's novels I've read. Some parts of it will stay with me for a long time.
I didn't enjoy the third section. I thought the fantasy story was the weakest thread of the novel, and the whole island bit felt rushed.
The character is so autobiographical, but I didn't hate that. Padma Lakshmi's character, though, was done a disservice. If Rushdie really saw her as that much an agency-lacking sex object, then their divorce starts to make a lot of sense.
In any case, Rushdie's skill is undeniable, and I'll be looking forward to reading something else by him soon.
I didn't enjoy the third section. I thought the fantasy story was the weakest thread of the novel, and the whole island bit felt rushed.
The character is so autobiographical, but I didn't hate that. Padma Lakshmi's character, though, was done a disservice. If Rushdie really saw her as that much an agency-lacking sex object, then their divorce starts to make a lot of sense.
In any case, Rushdie's skill is undeniable, and I'll be looking forward to reading something else by him soon.
samseybert's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nmp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abandonment, Violence, Torture, Death, and Death of parent
risky_oak's review against another edition
Λόγω του ότι έχω αυτό το χούι να αγοράζω βιβλία και ως αντικείμενα, ως συλλέκτης, συνήθως την πατάω και απογοητεύομαι.
Αυτό το βιβλίο το αγόρασα από ένα thrift shop κυρίως λόγω του ότι ήταν υπογεγραμμένο από τον Σαλμάν Ρούσντι τον ίδιο. Δηλαδή αυτό το βιβλίο το άγγιξε ο ίδιος ο Ρούσντι, περιέχει το DNA του.
Χωρίς να ήταν υπογεγραμμένο θα το προσπερνούσα απλά. Αλλά την πάτησα.
Χωρισμένο σε τρία μέρη αυτό το βιβλίο ξεκίνησε όμορφα (και τηλεφωνικό κατάλογο να έπαιρνα μετά απ' εκείνο το ανυπόφορο βιβλίο του Νταλί θα ήταν ενδιαφέρον), μου άρεσε που άκουγα ξανά την φωνή του Ρούσντι, γέλασα σε μερικά σημεία, και υπέθεσα ότι θα απολάμβανα αυτό το βιβλίο όπως έγινε και με το βιβλίο του Μπουκόφσκι αλλά δεν.
Το μομέντουμ που απέκτησε αυτό το βιβλίο εμφανίστηκε και χάθηκε στο πρώτο μέρος. Έτσι τα επόμενα δυο μέρη μου φάνηκαν χλιαρά, επαναλαμβανόμενα, με αχρείαστες λεπτομέρειες και βιογραφικά κομπάρσων (τυπική τεχνική του Ρούσντι) και βρέθηκα να το διαβάζω μόνο και μόνο για να τελειώσει.
Είχα αποφασίσει να του βάλω 2,6 να εμφανίζεται ως 3άστερο αλλά το γελοίο τέλος με ξενέρωσε μέχρι τον μυελό των οστών που το βάζω ένα καθαρό 2.
Πρωταγωνιστής της ιστορίας είναι ο Μάλικ Σολάνκα, ένας Βρετανός καθηγητής του Κέιμπριτζ ινδικής καταγωγής που ξαφνικά του την βάρεσε να παρατήσει την γυναίκα του και το τρίχρονο αγοράκι του και να πάει στην Αμερική να χαθεί, να τον ρουφήξει αυτή η Αμερική που απορροφά κουλτούρες, λαούς, έθιμα, να τον ρουφήξει και αυτόν και τον θυμό (ή παραφορά κατά τον ελληνικό τίτλο).
Ως έναν βαθμό τον καταλαβαίνω να είναι θυμωμένος με τη ζωή του να έχει τάσεις φυγής όπως εμένα, να θέλει να κάνει ένα διάλειμμα από γνωστούς και φίλους, αλλά - όπως εμένα- δεν διάβασε πρώτα τους στίχους του Καβάφη που λένε:
Έτσι όπως λέει και το ποίημα ο καθηγητής αυτός δεν μπόρεσε να ξεφύγει απ' το θυμό του, το πρόσφατο παρελθόν του, το μακρινό παρελθόν του (που όπως κάθε ινδικής καταγωγής χαρακτήρας του Ρούσντι, θέλει να ξεχάσει). Η πόλις τον ακολουθεί, τον κυνηγάει . . .
Αλλά όπως είπα η ιστορία έχασε το μομέντουμ (στο πρώτο μέρος) που είχε με την ωραία γραφή, την καυστικά αστεία κριτική πένα του Ρούσντι για την αμερικανική κοινωνία.
Έτσι το υπόλοιπο βιβλίο ήταν απλά μια επανάληψη που δυστυχώς δεν ήταν το ήμισυ της μαθήσεως.
Αυτό το βιβλίο το αγόρασα από ένα thrift shop κυρίως λόγω του ότι ήταν υπογεγραμμένο από τον Σαλμάν Ρούσντι τον ίδιο. Δηλαδή αυτό το βιβλίο το άγγιξε ο ίδιος ο Ρούσντι, περιέχει το DNA του.
Χωρίς να ήταν υπογεγραμμένο θα το προσπερνούσα απλά. Αλλά την πάτησα.
Χωρισμένο σε τρία μέρη αυτό το βιβλίο ξεκίνησε όμορφα (και τηλεφωνικό κατάλογο να έπαιρνα μετά απ' εκείνο το ανυπόφορο βιβλίο του Νταλί θα ήταν ενδιαφέρον), μου άρεσε που άκουγα ξανά την φωνή του Ρούσντι, γέλασα σε μερικά σημεία, και υπέθεσα ότι θα απολάμβανα αυτό το βιβλίο όπως έγινε και με το βιβλίο του Μπουκόφσκι αλλά δεν.
Το μομέντουμ που απέκτησε αυτό το βιβλίο εμφανίστηκε και χάθηκε στο πρώτο μέρος. Έτσι τα επόμενα δυο μέρη μου φάνηκαν χλιαρά, επαναλαμβανόμενα, με αχρείαστες λεπτομέρειες και βιογραφικά κομπάρσων (τυπική τεχνική του Ρούσντι) και βρέθηκα να το διαβάζω μόνο και μόνο για να τελειώσει.
Είχα αποφασίσει να του βάλω 2,6 να εμφανίζεται ως 3άστερο αλλά το γελοίο τέλος με ξενέρωσε μέχρι τον μυελό των οστών που το βάζω ένα καθαρό 2.
Πρωταγωνιστής της ιστορίας είναι ο Μάλικ Σολάνκα, ένας Βρετανός καθηγητής του Κέιμπριτζ ινδικής καταγωγής που ξαφνικά του την βάρεσε να παρατήσει την γυναίκα του και το τρίχρονο αγοράκι του και να πάει στην Αμερική να χαθεί, να τον ρουφήξει αυτή η Αμερική που απορροφά κουλτούρες, λαούς, έθιμα, να τον ρουφήξει και αυτόν και τον θυμό (ή παραφορά κατά τον ελληνικό τίτλο).
Ως έναν βαθμό τον καταλαβαίνω να είναι θυμωμένος με τη ζωή του να έχει τάσεις φυγής όπως εμένα, να θέλει να κάνει ένα διάλειμμα από γνωστούς και φίλους, αλλά - όπως εμένα- δεν διάβασε πρώτα τους στίχους του Καβάφη που λένε:
Καινούριους τόπους δεν θα βρεις, δεν θά βρεις άλλες θάλασσες.
Η πόλις θα σε ακολουθεί. Στους δρόμους θα γυρνάς
τους ίδιους. Και στες γειτονιές τες ίδιες θα γερνάς·
και μες στα ίδια σπίτια αυτά θ’ ασπρίζεις.
Πάντα στην πόλι αυτή θα φθάνεις. Για τα αλλού — μη ελπίζεις—
δεν έχει πλοίο για σε, δεν έχει οδό.
Έτσι όπως λέει και το ποίημα ο καθηγητής αυτός δεν μπόρεσε να ξεφύγει απ' το θυμό του, το πρόσφατο παρελθόν του, το μακρινό παρελθόν του (που όπως κάθε ινδικής καταγωγής χαρακτήρας του Ρούσντι, θέλει να ξεχάσει). Η πόλις τον ακολουθεί, τον κυνηγάει . . .
Αλλά όπως είπα η ιστορία έχασε το μομέντουμ (στο πρώτο μέρος) που είχε με την ωραία γραφή, την καυστικά αστεία κριτική πένα του Ρούσντι για την αμερικανική κοινωνία.
Έτσι το υπόλοιπο βιβλίο ήταν απλά μια επανάληψη που δυστυχώς δεν ήταν το ήμισυ της μαθήσεως.
florina's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the parts where anger was described, analyzed and dealt with.
soradsauce's review against another edition
5.0
For my first Salman Rushdie experience, this seems like it was a good choice. I started out tentatively but by part two, I was completely involved in Professor Solanka's life and Rushdie had a very easy and succinct way of portraying human emotion, and uncontrollable human emotion, throughout the text. Although, at times, I popped out of the story slightly with the amount of convoluted and confused scenarios and scenes, but I'm not sure that was unintentional. The removal of the reader from the story seemed to make me, as the reader, compare Solanka et al to my life more than I usually do with stories that I'm completely enthralled in. It feels like Rushdie had a plan to use the book as a mirror, instead of the book being the normal mirror of society and self - it really emphasized that this story contained emotions that we all feel and struggle with. I will definitely be reading more Rushdie.