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sidharthvardhan's review
4.0
Salman Rushdi is at his best when he is writing about Kashmir. It is as if you are suddenly taken to hills of Kashmir.
Where so much is said about Kashmir issue, most of it is biased inf favor of one party or other. Slaman Rushdi has been able to provide most neutral of all descriptions of the issue, I've come up with. He has managed to cover the whole history of place in a single story with out appearing to lecture.
For as much, I could have given him five stars.
It is true that this is no Midnight Children of stories. At its rots, it is a revenge story but there are very few stories that are great in themselves - most are made great by the way told. This one belongs to the later group.
The story is full of beautiful passages, metaphors and allegories but i'm sorry to say not all of us get most of them. I believe a great story teller has privilege of choosing his audience.
The passages are long but that doesn't trouble reading.
The only limitation that i find is that the book seemed stretched at places. Not too much, mostly details were easy to go through and were just building atmosphere, but there were a few places specially in the last section where it could had been cut short.
Where so much is said about Kashmir issue, most of it is biased inf favor of one party or other. Slaman Rushdi has been able to provide most neutral of all descriptions of the issue, I've come up with. He has managed to cover the whole history of place in a single story with out appearing to lecture.
For as much, I could have given him five stars.
It is true that this is no Midnight Children of stories. At its rots, it is a revenge story but there are very few stories that are great in themselves - most are made great by the way told. This one belongs to the later group.
The story is full of beautiful passages, metaphors and allegories but i'm sorry to say not all of us get most of them. I believe a great story teller has privilege of choosing his audience.
The passages are long but that doesn't trouble reading.
The only limitation that i find is that the book seemed stretched at places. Not too much, mostly details were easy to go through and were just building atmosphere, but there were a few places specially in the last section where it could had been cut short.
erhwang's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ayagi's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
tomgenue's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
nainatai's review
4.0
Great book. I just wish he had kept thr last chapeter shorter. Jas lots of historical references which made it interesting.
somanybookstoread's review
5.0
loved it! what a worthwhile read. salman rushdie is a literary master. this book was complex, funny, rich, historical, interesting, symbolic, clever, challenging...basically anything a good piece of literature should be. definitely one to read again! i recommend to all literature lovers.
samtast1cal's review
2.0
Ha, perhaps I'm a pathetic reader, because I am basing this mediocre rating on the fact that I detest basically every single character Rushdie introduced in this novel. But my distaste made me hesitate to pick it up again, made me dread turning the pages. I did like the end. Perhaps because that meant it was over. "It was ok" because the characters are obviously robust enough for me to hate them...
akessle2's review
5.0
Salman Rushdie is the best fiction writer I've ever read. Hands down. I personally don't think anyone writing today can match the sheer magic of his storytelling.
corinth11's review
4.0
This book is beautifully written, and the glimpses into Kashmir are interesting, but I kept being disturbed by the gender politics--colonialism as played out on the female body or through female desire. Not sure how I feel about it still.